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This website has been made possible by a grant from the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Museum Foundation. Its content has been produced and edited by staff members of the Air Force Space and Missile Museum and is thereby the only officially authorized website for this museum. However, this is not an official U.S. Air Force website, and its content is not necessarily the official view of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, the Department of Defense, or the Department of the Air Force.

The Air Force Space and Missile Museum at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station preserves both the hardware and the spirit of United State's ventures into space. The museum displays numerous missiles, rockets and related space equipment and is open daily.

Its primary mission is to collect, restore, and exhibit items of historical significance which relate to the development and heritage of U.S. Air Force space launch activities. This unique museum highlights the Air Force as a major participant in America’s space program and emphasizes activities at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station beginning in early 1950 and continuing today.

Since opening to the public in 1966, the museum has introduced millions of visitors to the history of rocketry and space flight. The museum is located at Launch Complex 26, the site of the first successful launch of an American satellite, Explorer I, in 1958 by the U.S. Army. Beginning with early Redstone, Jupiter and Juno flights in 1957, Complex 26 hosted 36 launches until its deactivation in 1963. Three primates, Gordo, Able and Miss Baker, were launched here in 1958 and 1959, paving the way for future manned space flights. Complex 26 also served as the site of numerous Jupiter launches as part of NATO's combat training program for Italian and Turkish missile crews through the early 1960s.

Visiting the Museum

The museum is open to the general public via a bus tour that originates from The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. NASA/Delaware North Parks Service operates a bus tour 7 days a week (launch schedule permitting) called "Cape Canaveral: Then and Now." The tour lasts about 2 1/2 hours and includes a stop at the museum, NASA's Launch Complex 5/6, and various other historic launch complexes at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. For more information about the tour call (321) 452-2121 or (321) 449-4322. If you have a group of 15 or more people, and would like to arrange a tour, please contact 45th Space Wing Community Relations office two weeks in advance.

For those possessing a Cape Canaveral Air Force Station badge, admission to the museum is free, although donations are always appreciated to support restoration and maintenance of the valuable collection of space artifacts. Photography is allowed and encouraged. The museum is handicapped accessible and offers free parking.

Due to the numerous launches at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the museum is closed periodically during fueling and other pre-launch operations. Please call the museum before visiting. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Complex 26 Blockhouse

The museum complex includes the original blockhouse, with two-foot thick walls, situated a mere 400 feet from twin launch pads. Visitors step back in time, passing through the outer blast doors and entering the firing rooms furnished with original computers, consoles, and launch support equipment; once state-of-the-art, now obsolete and antiquated by modern standards. A full-scale model of Explorer I and an "astro chimps" display are a few of the many exhibits contained in the blockhouse.

Exhibit Hall Displays

Adjacent to the blockhouse, the Exhibit Hall features numerous space related displays on the important role of the Air Force in the development of space exploration as well as its continuing involvement. Housed within the Exhibit Hall is one of only two complete German V-2 engines in the U.S. A similar engine powered the first two Bumper launches from Cape Canaveral in 1950. Dominating an entire room of the Exhibit Hall is Gemini II, the only unmanned spacecraft to complete two space missions and the only one to exhibit military markings.

Rocket Garden Displays

Visitors may stroll through the outdoor Rocket Garden which boasts one of the largest collections in the country featuring rockets, missiles, re-entry vehicles, and related space hardware. Active Delta II launch pads, located adjacent to the museum, provide a breathtaking backdrop to the historic aerospace vehicles now at rest in the Rocket Garden. The original Complex 26 gantry looms over Launch Pad B, which is the oldest service tower at Cape Canaveral. Visitors are permitted to drive around the perimeter of the rocket garden.

Just a short distance from the Rocket Garden is Launch Complex 5/6, where America's first two astronauts, Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom, were catapulted into space. A Mercury Redstone rocket sits on Pad 5, while a Jupiter C rocket is perched on Pad 6. Owned and operated by NASA, this complex is part of the "Cape Canaveral: Then and Now" tour.

Future Exhibits

Future plans at the museum include: an extensive restoration program for the Rocket Garden; an exhibit depicting "The Cape Before The Rockets" featuring the 1868 lighthouse; a display illustrating the 6,000-mile down-range tracking facilities which support launches from Cape Canaveral; and an exhibit documenting the transition of the Banana River Naval Air Station into the present day Patrick Air Force Base.

Museum Volunteers

Volunteer tour guides add unique insight to the museum visit. Many guides are retired military personnel, past and present space program employees, or amateur space historians, all eager to share their colorful personal experiences. Visitors may request a guided tour through the museum.

United States Air Force Space & Missile Museum Foundation

The mission of the United States Air Force Space & Missile Museum Foundation is to raise funds for and provide financial and other support to the Museum. To achieve these goals, the Foundation may serve as a philanthropic organization to assist the development and operation of the Museum and other historic sites at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Additionally, the Foundation receives and administers gifts from persons, organizations, corporations, foundations, and philanthropies for the best interests of the Museum. The Foundation operates a gift shop located inside the blockhouse which features unique gifts and souvenirs and administers the Museum Volunteer program.

Contact Us

For Air Force Space and Missile Museum Information:
please call the Museum Director at 321-853-9171

or write:
Air Force Space and Missile Museum
191 Museum Circle
Patrick AFB, FL 32925-2535

or e-mail:
airforcespaceandmissilemuseum@patrick.af.mil

For Research Library questions/information:
please call the Museum Archivist at 321-853-7670

For historical questions about Patrick AFB,
the 45^th Space Wing, or its predecessors:
please call the 45th Space Wing Historian at 321-494-2710

To schedule a group tour of the museum:
please call the 45th Space Wing Public Affairs Office at 321-494-5933

This page was last updated: 04 April 2007

Rocket Garden View

Launch of Delta II from Complex 17A

Payload: NAVSTAR II-5 Satellite

11 DEC 1989

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