The Air Force Space and Missile Museum Preserves the Legacy of Early Space Travel. The Air Force Space and Missile Museum is located at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It has preserved the legacy of early space flight and has an outdoor rocket garden displaying vintage rockets and missiles from the early days of space flight. From experimental missiles to replicas of the Mercury and Gemini manned spaced missions, this museum explores the painstaking process of space travel from the development of the earliest missiles for use in warfare to the actual launch pads and white rooms where Alan Shepard and Virgil Grissom prepared for their historic flights into space.
The museum is a must-see for anyone interested in the history of space travel and should be included if you are visiting the nearby Kennedy Space Center. The museum is accessible by a special shuttle bus that operates from the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex. The tour lasts 21/2 hours and includes the museum, the Kennedy Space Center and NASA’s Launch Pad 5/6.
The museum complex includes Complex 26, the original blockhouse where launches were controlled from. This blockhouse was located 400 feet from the launch pad and visiting it one can almost feel the rumble of the rockets blasting off into space. All of the original equipment has been preserved to give the visitor a feel of what it was like on launch day back in the early days of the space program.
Next to the blockhouse is the exhibit hall, which contains many important displays of engines and other Air Force developments that were crucial in the development of the manned space program. Included in the display are the only two complete German V-2 engines in the U.S.
The highlight of this musuem tour is the rocket garden, which has fully restored versions of various rockets and missiles that made history. A Mercury Redstone rocket sits on a launch pad completely restored and looking how it did on the day Alan Shepard became the first American in space and launched the space race to the moon. As you stroll through the rocket garden, you will see a variety of rockets, missiles and actual re-entry vehicles that were used during actual spaceflight. Included are two Gemini re-entry spacecraft that were used during actual missions.
This is truly an inspirational museum and should be included on any itinerary of the spaceflight enthusiast. For great hotel rates in Cape Canaveral, visit Hotels Combined for excellent accommodation options.
AIR FORCE SPACE AND MISSILE MUSEUM
191 Museum Circle
Patrick AFB, FL 32925-2535
321-853-9171
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