They did it that way for the display, I'm not entirely sure why... some sort of technical reason I'm sure. Maybe they didn't have the interstage or something??

At any rate, while an interesting display article constructed of actual surplus stages, I wouldn't rely on it for any kind of "scale information".

It is in the process of being restored... we stopped by there back in July on our way home from Indiana-- the bottom of the rocket was roped off and lots of drop cloth hanging around and scaffolding up for sandblasting/stripping/grinding off old paint and decades of bird poop and repainting. Glad to see they're actually making the effort to restore and maintain this noble bird.

Space vehicles don't fare well outside-- they're simply too fragile and too easily corroded by the substances present in the natural environment (water, bird poop, etc) and sunlight and weather DEFINITELY take their toll. I was mortified the last time I was at USSRC in Huntsville-- they'd moved their beautifully restored V-2, which used to be in a "Mittelwerk" type display inside, out into the capricious northern Alabama weather. Just while we were there, it came a typical summer thunderstorm which deluged the rocket-- laying on it's side in the open air. After the storm we went out to take photos while the "rocket garden" was still fairly cool and unoccupied, and water was literally POURING out of the seams between the fin section and the fuel/oxidizer tanks... I just shook my head because it won't last long like that... humidity inside the rocket body from evaporating rainwater will begin attacking EVERYTHING in very short order. Their Skylab simulator has literally rotted away-- there were holes rusted in it big enough to stick your head through... very shameful to allow our history to simply rot away like that...

Later! OL J R

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