A shiny stone monument honoring fallen astronauts at Kennedy Space Center is suffering from "metal fatigue."
The Space Mirror was built as a memorial to the seven astronauts who died in the 1986 Challenger space shuttle explosion, and also includes the names of other astronauts who died on duty.Ninety-three black granite panels make up a 42 1/2-foot wall that rotates to catch the sunlight, highlighting the names etched in the stone. Fifty feet wide and weighing 70,400 pounds, the monument includes 50,000 pounds that moves; steel supports weigh 250,000 pounds.
The mirror normally is at a 52-degree angle. Saturday, it suddenly sagged to about 40 degrees.