His mission accomplished

Orlando Sentinel - Monday, June 23, 2003

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The couple watch an orange forklift grab the cargo off the flatbed and deposit it in a loading bay. Two women hustle to cover the crates with a blue tarp before the next thundershower rains down.

"Have you been up to see the memorial at all?" asks Dave Dunn, facilities manager of the Astronaut Memorial Foundation.

No, they say. Singer never dreamed when he was cutting the stone that he'd ever get to see the Space Mirror in person.

"Well, let's take a look," Dunn says.

They walk down a tree-shaded path that emphasizes the dual nature of KSC's Visitor Complex, which is both a tribute to the space program and a nature preserve. Just past the Rocket Garden, the visitors see a turtle sunning on the bank of a pond and a young alligator sitting open-mouthed in some weeds.

Dunn pauses. The gator is separated from the humans by a low iron fence.

"Everything here is protected, including the alligators," he says. "A lot of tourists try to approach them. They don't know. They think they must be tame."

Singer laughs. "They ought to watch Discovery Channel a little more."

Dunn guides the couple down a sidewalk and up a slanted granite walk. Before them looms the dark memorial.

Singer stares. Born and raised on a family farm, he knew kittle about space when his company assigned him the memorial job. He figured astronauts and farmers were worlds apart - those who reach for the stars versus those who depend on the land.

But while cutting the names, he came to understand that they had much in common. Astronauts and farmers both understand the value of hard work, and both depend on forces beyond their control. Their work takes guts and grit and, if need be, sacrifice.

"I didn't think it'd be that big," Singer says of the memorial, looking up, hands in the back pockets of his Wrangler jeans. "The pictures don't do it justice."

Dunn points to where the new slabs will go. The names of the Columbia crew will hover to the right of the Challenger astronauts.

Destined to wait on the loading bay until another machine arrives to move them inside, the slabs won't be installed for several more weeks.

Even then, they will be shrouded. The families of the astronauts will be the first to see the new names. A dedication ceremony is set for Oct. 28.

The work on remaking the memorial has just begun. But for Singer, it's mission accomplished.

"I'm glad I got to see this," he says.

Dunn sends the couple off with thanks and free tickets to the Space Center. Topping, an artist, wants to start at the NASA Art Gallery, where they view paintings with names such as "Rollout, Columbia" and "T Plus 2:11."

They walk slowly through the park, pausing to read displays with names such as "Rocket Science Made Simple." They listen to tutorials on heat-shield tiles and how a payload bay works.

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