For now, the gondola will stay where it is, just off Bristol Road. A pavilion will be constructed over it, but Maguire isn't too concerned about its exposure to the elements.
“It sat outside in the Smithsonian storage yard for 47 years, and it looks great,” he said. “It's designed to withstand extreme G-force conditions, so it's pretty sturdy.”
Per the terms of the gift from the Smithsonian, the capsule was to be kept on no less than a 18” thick reinforced concrete pad. Nine years later, no pavillion to protect it, no longer on a concrete pad (the thin one it was on collapsed into pieces and was removed from under the capsule.)
I'm...less than impressed with the preservation efforts over the past nine years.
At least they didn’t blame the deterioration on climate change...