A plaque near the sculpture reads:

“Because of President Gerald R. Ford’s consistent interest and support of the space program as a Member of Congress and as President, he requested that a sculpture commemorating the U.S. space program be placed on Museum grounds.

Judson Nelson of New York City was selected to complete the first major sculpture in the history of art to depict weightlessness, and his work shows an astronaut leaving a spaceship.

Dedicated: September 7, 1984”

On his website Judson Nelson notes that "Astronaut Alan Bean, 5th man on the moon, modeled the Apollo 5 spacesuit for the sculpture."