Retro Rocket Ship

Altoona, Iowa

The plaque in front of Altoona's rocket ship dedicates it to John Houbolt, an Altoona native and NASA scientist who championed the idea of landing on the moon with a Lunar Module, rather than with a single, giant rocket.

So why does the rocket resemble something out of a Buck Rogers movie rather than John Houbolt's NASA?

Because the plaque is an afterthought.

The rocket was created independently, in the imagination of steamfitter/artist John Brommel, when the city asked him to build something that would entertain and motivate children. Brommel felt that a rocket might inspire a kid to become a scientist and perhaps later go to Mars, and he designed it like a pulp sci-fi rocket because, he said, they're more interesting to look at than real rockets.