A Piece of Space History Comes to Powerhouse Parramatta

By Declan Bowring

702 ABC Sydney

Topic: Libraries, Museums and Galleries

Friday, 17 July 2026, at 7:22 am

In short:

A test command module from the Apollo space program is coming to Powerhouse Parramatta.

It's the first time an Apollo boilerplate has come to Australia.

What's next?

Powerhouse Parramatta will open before the end of the year.

A critical piece of the 20th century's defining technological achievement will be at the centre of Powerhouse Parramatta's opening exhibition.

The boilerplate weighs 4.5 tonnes and was used for the Apollo space program that landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. It was a test command module.

The boilerplate was tested 102 times to ensure the spacecraft was safe after the Apollo 1 fire.

In 1967, a fire broke out in the command module during a test, killing three astronauts. The fire was caused by a spark in a wire.

Three astronauts died in the Apollo 1 fire.

If the lessons from Apollo 1 were not learned, humans would not have made it to the moon in 1969, according to historian Teasel Muir-Harmony.

The boilerplate was used to figure out how to make the spacecraft safe.

A mixture of nitrogen and oxygen is less flammable than 100 per cent oxygen.

This mixture is similar to the air on Earth and is still used today.

The boilerplate was tested many times.

The lessons from Apollo 1 also helped during the Apollo 13 mission when an oxygen tank exploded.

The oxygen tank's ignition would have been worse without the Apollo 1 lesson.

The boilerplate is being loaned to Powerhouse by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Powerhouse Museum conservators are restoring the boilerplate to its original state.

The boilerplate will be central to the Task Eternal exhibition, which has 850 items.

Dr Muir-Harmony hopes visitors will see the importance of perseverance and testing in space exploration.

When the Apollo 1 fire happened, many people thought it would end the space program.

Instead, the response was to find and fix the problems.

'Monumental' Pacific journey

A custom-built cage and cradle were used to ship the boilerplate from the US to Australia.

After a 43-day journey, it was unpacked at the Powerhouse's Castle Hill premises.

Katherine Rosenthal says it's fantastic to see the boilerplate in Australia.

It was a big effort to bring the boilerplate to Sydney.

The conservation team is repainting the boilerplate and putting back the original NASA logo.

The boilerplate is a rare piece of space technology in Australia.

A reminder of Australia's role in lunar exploration

Australia played a critical role in communicating with the Apollo missions.

People in Australia saw the Moon landing before everyone else.

Lunar exploration was on screens again this year with the Artemis II mission.

Jaklyn Babington says the boilerplate will take pride of place in the exhibition.

The Powerhouse will bring a piece of lunar mission history to Australians.

The exhibition places Australian audiences in contact with one of the 20th century's defining technological achievements.

The boilerplate is one of the largest objects in the exhibition and is at its centre.

A parachute from the Apollo 17 mission will be on display.

Task Eternal will also feature a rock sample box from the Apollo 15 mission.

Astronaut John Glenn's customised camera will be featured.

The camera was used to take the first human-captured colour photos of Earth from orbit.

Task Eternal will also feature a wafer with messages for deep space.

Powerhouse Parramatta will open before the end of the year with five exhibitions.

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Friday, 17 July 2026, at 7:22 am

Friday, 17 July 2026, at 9:20 am

The critical component will take pride of place in the Powerhouse Parramatta exhibition.

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