The deteriorating Saturn rocket at the I-65 Welcome Center in Limestone County has garnered state headlines for months.
The widespread attention has caused lawmakers and other officials to consider various options in how to proceed with what Sen. Tom Butler has called a “monument.”
Butler, in an effort to confront the issue, has introduced Senate Bill 237, which stands to make a number of changes regarding the rocket.
To begin with, the legislation would require a controlling governmental entity, that replaces a memorial building, to maintain the original name or erect a marker memorializing the name.
It would also ensure that a petition for waiver is deemed denied if the Committee on Alabama Monument Protection fails to act on an application for waiver within 90 days.
Possibly the most important function of the proposed legislation, is its authorization of the Attorney General to commence a civil action, and to require the Alabama State Council on the Arts to oversee the design, construction, and installation of a replica Saturn 1B Rocket at the current location.
Butler discussed the rocket and its significance for the state.
“To me it’s an iconic symbol of the space program that the United States has. The space program actually started in Alabama, in Huntsville, at Redstone Arsenal with NASA,” he said. “The rocket is an iconic symbol of that space era that … has seen that rocket carry us to the moon and back. That to me is very significant in this particular monument.
“And I’ll call it a monument because that’s exactly what it is.”
According to Butler, the lack of upkeep on the rocket sends the wrong message to those from out of state.
“To me its a very significant symbol in that Alabama has been known to have some bad reputation before publicly about things that we have seen in the past happen, particular in the area of civil rights,” he said. “To me, to have an iconic symbol when people come into Alabama from out of state, they see that rocket and, to me, it sets all the negative images that Alabama has had in the past.
“It’s an iconic symbol of things that we’ve contributed to the nation and the world.”
Butler said that he has already received positive feedback on his newly introduced legislation and he believes in its importance for North Alabama.
“I have received several telephone calls that said ‘Thank you for your Senate Bill 237 regarding memorial preservation,’” Butler said. “I think the folks in my area, where Redstone Arsenal is located, where all the high tech industries are, that came together with NASA and sent us to the moon and back and now our future is on to Mars and beyond.
“So, it’s a statement to me as you come into the state that where Alabama is focused on the future and not in the past. We’re moving forward. We’ve got a lot of public support for this.”
For the senator, there is no question about the future of the rocket.
“That rocket is something that should be protected and we are going to do everything we can to see that that iconic symbol for Alabama remains where it is and is properly maintained, as far as refurbishing and restoration,” he said.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.
