I
today we kick off our anniversary year
by unveiling our time capsule in
commemoration of that original
groundbreaking of this laboratory on
january 23rd 1941 this sculpture serves
as a symbol of not only a proud past but
also as a commitment to the future to
begin the celebration I'd like to
introduce our director mr. Larry Ross
hold that thing down try to build
suspense ladies and gentlemen goodness
what a wonderful turnout ladies and
gentlemen honored guests and visitors
this is just great thank you so much for
being part of this kickoff event where
we look back on 50 years of proud
history and look forward to 50 years of
grand challenge and I think you'll
notice as we for the second time today
unveil our special sculpture which I am
proud to say was done the artistry was
done by a Lewis employee who you'll meet
a little bit later on that employee mr.
Frank calcio using computer-aided design
and manufacturing Kadim equipment
developed the final design the finished
design consists of a pedestal 62 inches
high holding a sphere 36 inches in
diameter with an 85 inch long band
mounted on the sphere in an orbital
configuration the initial idea of the
time capsule was conceived by the 50th
anniversary committee key personnel from
various organizations met weekly to
advise and coordinate its development
Lewis employees as well as support
service contractors work together to
prepare the site and manufacture and
assemble the sculpture a template of the
pedestal was made of plywood using Kadim
drawings as a guide this template was
used as a pattern to cut foam slabs to
the correct size and shape these pieces
of foam were glued together to create
the full-size model of the
the phone model was then hollowed out to
a wall thickness of one and a half to
two inches needed to satisfy good design
requirements of an aluminum casting this
size and shape the full size foam
pattern was then placed in a core box
and backfilled with foundry sand
creating a styrofoam cavity which will
vaporize and be displaced by molten
aluminum this process is known as lost
foam casting the entire casting was
ground smooth and shot blasted to
achieve the desired surface texture
while a pedestal was being prepared the
halves of the sphere were spun from
stainless steel plate an access hole was
machined through the base of the sphere
to provide a loading port the halves
were then welded together and polished
to a smooth finish here at lewes the
third element of the design the orbit
piece was cut from a long strip of
stainless steel which was then formed to
shape in a rolling press the bronze
color is due to an unusual heat
treatment the completed site is now
ready to receive the sculpture as the
dedication day draws near captures the
notion of building on the foundation of
our 50 years past and looks forward to
exciting 50 years in front of us and
it's just wonderful and I'm going to
call up the assistant unveil errs now
that we've seen how can be done to join
me you have two former center directors
in the group to jon kleinberg our most
recent center director please join me
jon kleinberg
Eddie go Hannah before John our sanitary
code running and Lewis research center
is particularly a community product and
as we move into our celebratory year I
think all of us wish to emphasize the
sense of community we have with us a
very close friend of the center and a
very prominent member of the media
community help us celebrate today and
has a few words about the community
aspect of this matter Larry moro
you should be proud you know we all know
that we live in the greatest city in
america for a variety of reasons we live
here because we love it and the legacy
that we want to leave is that it's not
only a great place to live but to work
to play and raise a family and you are
that reason for that don't ever lose
that kind of feeling thank you all for
having me today I'm delighted to be here
god bless you all
the capsule stands to greet employees
and visitors extending a special thank
you to those who contributed their
talents to the past 50 years and
challenging those in the next 50 years
you