Rocket Science

NASA didn't call us in to give them a quote, but I sure would love to work on this unusual Airstream.

Four of these custom units were built for NASA. Their purpose was to quarantine the returning astronauts of the moon missions. They were called the Mobile Quarantine Facility or MQF.

Nixon greeted the returning astronauts of Apollo 11 on the deck of the USS Hornet through that very window. The concern was that the astronauts might have picked up some space germs while on the moon walks. The movie Alien did not come out until 10 years later, but someone was considering the possibility.

NASA was playing it safe and found that nothing came back with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, or Michael Collins. Michael Collins didn't get to walk on the moon, he just got to pilot the Command Spacecraft. 

I have often said that Airstream was really embracing the space race during the 1966- 1969 era of construction. Without a doubt the Hornet 3 MQF proves it.

She sports a near perfect skin sporting an original factory finish. Not too shiny, not too dull. There is very little filiform corrosion but the seams are all glommed up and could use a bit of cleaning. 

I wonder if the hatches blow out like most 1968 models do. 

Those doors are hard to come by. I am sure it was removed to make exhibiting it easier.  It obviously is a real Airstream since it has a suicide door. Notice the hasp to the right of the door. The Hornet 3 would make a great deer camp since it already has the mandatory hasp.

That is quite the generator system on the back bumper. Hope it does not cause rear end separation. 

NASA must have been a very happy customer for they came back to buy more. The Crew Transport Vehicle or Astrovan was pressed into service, shuttling the Shuttle Crew to the Shuttle.