Two historic space stations were to be demolished days after this publication 29 years ago.
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On July 21, 1969, Honeysuckle Creek, constructed in 1967 as part of NASA's Deep Space Network, transmitted to the world the pictures and words of US astronaut Neil Armstrong as he became the first human to land on the moon.
Orroral Valley, constructed in 1965, provided support for the first US-Soviet space mission, the Apollo Soyuz, the first international rendezvous in space.
Both buildings were left to rot after their closures in the early 1980s. Both buildings had been extensively vandalised and became a health hazard. The cost of the demolition was $300,000. It would have cost more to renovate both sites for future uses: $22 million to renovate for use as prisons, conference centres or a university studies centre.
The acting manager of the ACT Parks and Conservation Services, Mr Paul Davies, said visitors would still be able to see a "footprint" of the sites.
The foundations were to be left 20cm above ground. Senator Margaret Reid (Lib, ACT) said "it seems a great pity that so much heritage can be destroyed for so much money".
