AFSMM Special Collections
The Aerospace Corporation Collection
The Aerospace Corporation Collection (MS 01-01) is a 25 volume series of original publications that was intended “to present in a single source the most complete compilations of key photographic data and supporting technical supplements available on past, existing, and planned rocket, guided missile, spacecraft, and satellite flight testing.” The series was written by Frank L. Koen and prepared for Dr. Robert D. Turnacliff, Director, Project West Wing, Laboratory Operations, Aerospace Corporation of El Segundo, California from 1963-1965. Photographs and technical data have a standardized arrangement within each volume and are divided into subject areas to include trajectory, physical characteristics, engine data, and photographs.
The Kennedy Space Center Public Affairs Collection
The Kennedy Space Center Public Affairs Collection (MS 03-01) consists of approximately 35,000 photographs documenting operations at KSC between 1978 and 2002. Coverage includes both Space Transportation System (Space Shuttle) missions and Expendable Launch Vehicle missions with NASA payloads during this time period. Imagery documenting payload processing, astronaut training, vehicle assembly and erection, launch and recovery, and in-flight activities are common subjects found throughout the collection.
This collection consists of three record groups. Within each group, records are arranged both chronologically in ascending order and sequentially according to their photograph serial number. The first record group contains photographs documenting Space Shuttle missions arranged chronologically by their actual mission launch date. The second record group consists of photographs documenting Expendible Launch Vehicle missions with NASA payloads. These are arranged subjectively by launch vehicle type and chronologically by their actual mission launch date. The third and final record group contains photographs documenting miscellaneous subjects including various unmanned spacecraft imagery, the International Space Station, Space Shuttle repairs and modifications, astronaut training not associated with any particular mission, KSC operations and associated facilities, and Space Shuttle facilities constructed at Vandenberg AFB.
The Boeing Company Inertial Upper Stage Collection
The Boeing Company Inertial Upper Stage Collection (MS 05-01) consists of documents, photographs, videos, schematics, and oversized prints detailing the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) program. These records were donated by the Boeing Corporation and accompanied the last IUS vehicle and its transporter that were transferred to the AFSMM on 8 April 2005. The records document the 24 IUS missions from 1982 to 2004 flown on 15 space shuttles, eight Titan IVs, and one Titan 34D launch vehicle. The IUS system launched payloads for the Air Force including DSCS and DSP satellites and also for NASA including TDRS satellites, the Chandra X-ray Telescope, and the Magellan, Galileo, and Ulysses interplanetary spacecraft.
The Lockheed Martin Launch Complex 36 Collection
The Lockheed Martin Launch Complex 36 Collection (MS 06-01) consists of documents, photographs, oversized posters and prints, and VHS tapes detailing Atlas-Centaur launch operations at Complex 36, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, from 1990-2004. After the inactivation of Complex 36, Lockheed Martin disassembled its Site Support Building and donated these items to the AFSMM on November 28, 2005. These records document the payload processing, vehicle erection, and launching of military, commercial, and NASA sponsored satellites on a variety of Atlas-Centaur configurations.
The Lockheed Martin Titan IV Closeout Collection
The Lockheed Martin Titan IV Closeout Collection (MS 06-02) consists of documents, photographs, oversized posters, CDs and DVDs, and VHS tapes detailing Titan IV launch operations at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station from 1991-2005. After the launch of Titan IV B-30 on 29 April 2005, the last Titan vehicle to be launched from the Cape, Lockheed Martin initiated closeout procedures for all Titan operations at CCAFS and subsequently donated these items to the AFSMM on March 1, 2006. These records document the payload processing, vehicle erection, and launching of military, commercial, and NASA sponsored satellites on Titan IV Centaur and IUS configurations. Also included are several historical retrospectives detailing the entire Titan program from its inception to conclusion and focusing on launch operations at Cape Canaveral AFS.
The SGS Master Planning Collection
The SGS Master Planning Collection (MS 06-03) consists of reports, correspondence, and various size drawings documenting facility construction at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and several down range stations during 1961-2006. This collection contains documents produced by various contractors including Pan American World Airways, Johnson Controls, and Space Gateway Support. It was transferred to the Air Force Space and Missile Museum after all of the records had been digitally scanned by the SGS Master Planning Office for future engineering documentation and research.
Record Group 1
The bulk of this collection consists of numbered drawings prefixed either by the letters RFP (Range Facilities Planning) or SP (Site Planning) and are both numerically and chronologically arranged in ascending order. Each drawing identification number also includes the letters A through F signifying the actual size of the drawing. These are as follows:
A – 8.5 X 11
B – 11 X 17
C – 17 X 22
D – 22 X 34
E – 30 X 44
F – 8 X 13
The drawings are organized by these size classifications and are arranged both numerically and chronologically within these classifications.
There have been several modifications to the site plan numbering system during the years. The size identification letter was phased out during calendar year 2000 (all further site plan documents contained in this collection are the 8.5 X 11 “A” size) and replaced by the last two digits of the calendar year. Furthermore, the sequential numbering system was discontinued at the end of calendar year 2004 and was replaced by a resetting of the number sequence during each calendar year.
This collection of drawings is accompanied by a RFP site plan index (1961-1997) in which a portion of the numbered drawings (RFP 1001 – 5493) were recorded along with additional pertinent information.
Record Group 2
The second record group of this collection consists of blueprints, schematics, correspondence, reports, and other civil engineering records documenting various NASA owned facilities located on Cape Canaveral AFS.
Record Group 3
The third record group of this collection consists of blueprints, drawings, correspondence, reports, and other civil engineering records documenting various NASA owned facilities located on Merrit Island (Kennedy Space Center, formerly the Launch Operations Center) and telemetry sites located throughout the Eastern Test Range.
The Stephen W. Gilley Collection
The Stephen W. Gilley Collection (MS 06-04) consists of photographs documenting operations at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center from 1956-1968. It was the personal collection of Mr. Stephen Gilley, a docent of the Air Force Space and Missile Museum. Mr. Gilley worked for RCA from 1957-1969 as a technician at both Cape Canaveral and Grand Bahama Island. His duties included operation of various optical tracking instruments and the filming of daily operational tests. Mr. Gilley donated this collection to the AFSMM on May 16, 2006. These records document the processing, erection, and launching of various USAF missiles and launch vehicles.
Included in this collection are photographs from the personal collection of Mr. James Almond, an employee of the Boeing Airplane Company who worked at Cape Canaveral during the same period as Mr. Gilley. These photographs document research and development operations for the Bomarc missile program, the Minuteman missile program, and the Saturn V rocket. All photographs are primarily arranged in chronological order and secondarily arranged by photograph serial number.
The Titan Locomotive Collection
The Titan Locomotive Collection (MS 07-01) consists of documents, manuals, correspondence, schematics, and photographs detailing the SW8 Switcher Locomotive #2021 utilized in the transfer function of the Titan ITL (Integrate/Transfer/Launch) area of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The majority of records in this collection document the accessioning of this locomotive into the Air Force Space and Missile Museum’s static display collection. This includes a restoration program, the transportation and erection of the locomotive in the Museum’s “Rocket Garden”, and research materials used to design exhibit displays.