NORTH DAKOTA ( KXNET ) — The University of North Dakota has received an out-of-this-world gift from NASA — A space capsule to be repaired and ultimately displayed.

This capsule was once used during a “Launch Abort” test at the NASA Flight Facility on Wallops Island in Virginia. On July 8, 2009, it was launched as a trial run of an ejection system that would separate it from the larger spacecraft, much like an ejector seat on a fighter jet.

Pablo de Leon, UND’s Department Chair of Space Studies, notes that he had been asking NASA about the capsule for quite some time.

“The fact is, we are so far away from NASA centers,” states de Leon in a press release, “and we very seldom get pieces of historic significance. This is a major one.”

At 9:00 a.m. on Monday, August 26, the capsule was unloaded by a 60-ton crane after a long journey from Virginia via shipping truck. De Leon, UND Staff Members, transportation employees, and Space Studies graduate students watched as it was placed onto a wooden base. It is expected to stay in this location during the winter while De Leon and his students restore the capsule to its original paint scheme.

De Leon says he will need to inspect the capsule for saltwater damage as well after it splashed down into the Atlantic Ocean, although he is unsure what exactly he’ll find inside.

“NASA built it to be a weight simulator of the capsule, he states. “Chances are, it’s just metal.”

Once the capsule has been refurbished, it will be placed in a more visible location on campus, where it can be viewed by both current UND attendees and public school students from across the region. De Leon also hopes that he will have the opportunity to provide students with more educational material in the process, including a full film.

“We are seeing if we can, with the help of NASA, get a kind of a documentary produced on the capsule’s flight and why it’s important for the Artemis program,” he concludes, “so kids can learn about the history of it and why it’s important for the future.”

For more information on the capsule or UND’s Space Studies program, visit the school’s website here .

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