Scientists and Technicians Window — “Space Window”

The stained glass “Scientists and Technicians Window” commemorates America’s exploration of space and man’s first steps on the moon. In the upper center of the window is a 7.18-gram basalt lunar rock from the Sea of Tranquility.

The rock was donated to the Cathedral by the crew of Apollo 11 (Neil Armstrong, Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin and Michael Collins). The window was dedicated on the fifth anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, July 21, 1974. Collins is an alumnus of St. Albans School on the Cathedral Close.

The artist, Rodney Winfield of St. Louis, created the design to symbolize the macrocosm and microcosm of space. Radiations of light emminate from numerous solar spheres. Shining through deep colors are white dots symbolizing stars. The thin white trajectory encircling a sphere depicts a manned space ship. Winfield wanted to show the minuteness of humanity in God’s universe. Inspiration for the window’s design and color palette came from photographs taken during the Apollo 11 mission.

Dr. Thomas Paine, director of NASA during the first three years of the Nixon administration, was the window’s benefactor.

The “Space Window” is the only stained glass window in the Cathedral that incorporates all three lancets into a single image. It is located on the south side of the Cathedral just west of the tomb of Woodrow Wilson.