After a breakdown last year, the State Fair's "Space Tower" is ready to launch again

The Space Tower at the Minnesota State Fair is fixed and ready to launch. Just four days into last year's "Great Minnesota Get-Together", the Space Tower broke down.

"A wire was plugged in that should not have been plugged in," says Ben Kantor who is the fair's manager of the ride. "Two wires were unplugged that should have been plugged in and potential meter had failed."

Getting it fixed has not been as easy as that may sound.

"Oh, that's the understatement of the century," Kantor jokes. "It's been very frustrating, very difficult."

Why is it so difficult? The simple answer is age.

"Well, it's 1964 electronics and the schematics we have are not exactly complete," Kantor explained. "And they're not exactly right because changes have been made over the years and what's actually installed doesn't exactly match what is supposed to be installed."

Kantor says he was four-years old when his parents bought the ride in 1982, so he knows the attraction inside and out.

"Well, if one of the three things had happened, it would have been much easier to figure out, but we had three things happen," he tells WCCO. "So it was extremely difficult to troubleshoot."

But, with the fair starting on the Thursday, the ride is ready to go and soar 300 feet above the fairgrounds once again.