In 1987 The Astronauts Memorial Foundation conducted a national design competition to find the design of the Space Mirror. Registrants submitted 756 designs to the competition making this the largest such competition since the Vietnam Veterans Memorial competition.
The Space Mirror is a 42.5 foot hight by 50 foot wide memorial constructed out of Steel and mirror-finished granite with the names of the 25 astronauts cut through its surface. The names are illuminated 24 hours a day by weather proof LED lighting.
As you look up at the names carved into the mirror polished granite on the memorial you will lose track of the monument itself as you see the names floating in the reflection of the sky.
The Astronauts Memorial was designed by Holt, Hinshaw, Pfau, and Jones. A San Francisco architecture firm. Their submissions was one of the 756 designs submitted to the design competition hosted by The Astronauts Memorial Foundation in 1987.
The $7.8 million dollar project sits quietly next to a lagoon as a part of The Astronauts Memorial Foundation property along with The Center For Space Education located at The Kennedy Space Center.
Funding for the memorial was provided in large part by the successful sale of the Challenger license plate in the State of Florida
