Air Force Space and Missile Museum Foundation

01/14/2025

Please come visit us at - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571566877015&mibextid=ZbWKwL. Rupert the Space Armadillo is waiting for you!

01/14/2025

Hello ! We've moved to a new page. Please come visit us at - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571566877015&mibextid=ZbWKwL - to enjoy plenty of great adventures from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum! Rupert the Space Armadillo is waiting for you!

Preserving the hardware and spirit of America's ventures into space. Page administered by the U.S. Space Force Historical Foundation, Inc.

01/11/2025

We hosted a U.S. Army promotion ceremony in Hangar C today. They were from the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC). Most had never set foot in Hangar C. It's always fun introducing new people to all the amazing history within! More on Hangar C here - https://ccspacemuseum.org/artifacts/hangar-c/.

01/11/2025

Mark your calendars! This is a worthy fundraiser to participate in.

Village Inn in Titusville is doing a Dine to Donate for MOB! Come out and eat on February 4 from 4 to 9pm. Village Inn will donate 10% of sales from dine in, takeaway, and whole pies to go.

01/09/2025

Happy National Word Nerd Day! Today’s word is “Trajectory”.

Trajectory usually refers to the path of an object to its intended target. For the history of America’s space and missile programs, trajectory can mean different things. For military missile programs, the type of trajectory depends on the launch vehicle and how it’s launched. Surface-to-surface, air-to-surface, and surface-to-air missiles follow different trajectories. A ballistic missile follows more of a traditional mortar trajectory while a cruise missile has more of a bullet trajectory.

For space launch vehicles, trajectory refers to the path through outer space, whether orbital or beyond. For instance, gravity-assist trajectories involve a spacecraft gaining speed from a planet’s tremendous angular momentum in a “slingshot” manner to reach a distant destination.

01/07/2025

On 7 January 1610 – 415 years ago today – Galileo Galilei noticed some illuminated dots around the planet Jupiter while making observations with his 20-power homemade telescope. Over the next several days, he concluded that they were moons of the planet. It was a momentous discovery for astronomy! Today, we know them as Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – or the Galilean moons.

Several space launches from Cape Canaveral added to our understanding of Jupiter’s moons over time. Some highlights include:

Pioneer 10 – This 1972 NASA probe was the first mission to Jupiter. Instruments aboard captured tons of data on Jupiter and its moons. Pioneer 10 launched on 3 March 1972 aboard an Atlas SLV-3C Centaur from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 36 Pad A - https://ccspacemuseum.org/facilities/launch-complex-36/.

Pioneer II – This NASA mission mirrored Pioneer 10’s efforts and gathered plenty of data on Jupiter and its moons. Pioneer II launched on 6 April 1973 aboard an Atlas SLV-3D Centaur from Launch Complex 36 Pad B - https://ccspacemuseum.org/facilities/launch-complex-36/.

Voyager 1 – The “Grand Tour” of the NASA Voyager missions included flybys of several planets including Jupiter. Voyager 1 took nearly 19,000 photos of Jupiter. It launched on 5 September 1977 aboard a Titan IIIE from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 41 - https://ccspacemuseum.org/facilities/launch-complex-41/.

Voyager 2 – This sister probe of Voyager 1 added thousands of additional images of Jupiter to our body of knowledge. It launched on 20 August 1977 aboard another Titan IIIE from Launch Complex 41 - https://ccspacemuseum.org/facilities/launch-complex-41/.

01/06/2025

Happy National Technology Day! There is an infinite array of historic Cape Canaveral tech to highlight. After all, out here it IS rocket science!

One artifact we have on display that tells a unique story is the Flight Termination Unit. Most launches perform well from the Cape, but what happens when something goes awry? That's when flight termination steps in. It's essential to public safety and remains a large part of Space Launch Delta 45's mission.

Check out these photos of our FTU and its webpage here - https://ccspacemuseum.org/artifacts/flight-termination-console/ - to learn more.

01/05/2025

Happy National Bird Day! We display several "birds" in Hangar C, including the ADM-72 Quail.

The Quail was an air-launched decoy missile developed by McDonnell Aircraft and carried aboard Strategic Air Command (SAC) B-52 bombers. Four of these jet-powered Quails could fit within the bomb bay of a B-52. When deployed, they would fly at the same speed and altitude as the bomber and mimic a B-52 on enemy radar screens. If the Cold War heated up in the 1960s, B-52's and Quails penetrating enemy airspace would have confused and overwhelmed adversarial defenses.

The Quail on display in Hangar C was restored in 2010-2011. It's one of over a dozen on display in aerospace museums across the nation. This one is popular with visitors and a favorite of Ruper the Space Armadillo. More on the Quail here - https://ccspacemuseum.org/artifacts/quail/.

01/05/2025

01/02/2025

Do your eyes dare witness total terror! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl8euHz-NHE&t=23s

Happy National Science Fiction Day! You can celebrate by watching Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster! This gem from 1965 turns 60 years old this year. The movie involves Martians coming to Earth to kidnap women, since all theirs died in an atomic war (except Princess Marcuzan, of course). The Martians shoot down a space capsule carrying an android astronaut. The damaged astronaut proceeds to go berserk in Puerto Rico.

The movie was filmed in Florida and Puerto Rico. It includes plenty of NASA and USAF period stock footage. Watch the entire film here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgxhEq8w9xw.

There are two fantastic scenes at the beginning. At the 3:57 mark you will see views of the rocket garden that used to sit outside Patrick Space Force Base on A1A. Then at the 4:36 mark, scenes of all the space-themed restaurants, hotels, and other businesses that graced the commercial strip of Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral in the 1960s. As an added bonus, the film was produced by Futurama Entertainment!

01/01/2025

Happy New Year from Florida's sunny Space Coast!!!