Space Hardware Transformed into Art

An Apollo lunar module propellant tank sits on display in Dale Cox III’s Seattle-area backyard, alongside a more traditional sculpture. The tank might have been sent to the moon if NASA went ahead with Apollo 18, 19 and 20, as originally planned. Instead, it’s been turned into an art installation. (Alan Boyle / msnbc.com)

Half of a titanium tank that was once destined to go inside a lunar module now sits beside a 600-year-old yew tree in the front yard of Dale Cox III’s house. (Alan Boyle / msnbc.com)

Dale Cox III points to the area on NASA’s Apollo lunar module where one of the titanium tanks would have been installed. The diagram is taped to the tank itself, sitting in Cox’s backyard. (Alan Boyle / msnbc.com)

Dale Cox III points to sheets of titanium with pieces cut out, cookie-cutter-style. The cut-out pieces were used in hardware construction. The leftovers were assembled into an abstract gate ornament. The half-moon hanging to the right is part of a titanium tank, artistically embellished with additional squares of metal. A blue-colored fuel line, also made of titanium, rises from the ground. (Alan Boyle / msnbc.com)