Space & Missile History Center To Open At Cape Canaveral

A new museum devoted to preserving the hardware and the history of the birthplace of the nation's space program will open this week just outside the gates of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The U.S. Air Force Space & Missile History Center is located in the auditorium of the old Space Florida building next to Gate 1, also known as the South Gate, at the air base.

An offshoot of the Air Force Space & Missile Museum, which is located in a secure area of the base, the new museum will be free and open to the public six days a week.

On display at the museum: An exhibit that tells the story of each launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, which was established in 1949 as the nation's Joint Long Range Proving Ground.

"It's a start. It's a foothold outside the gate," said Jim Banke, secretary of the board of directors at the Air Force Space & Missile Museum Foundation. "It's a way to tell the story of the Cape."

The foundation operates a museum located at Complex 26, the launch site for Explorer 1, America's first orbiting satellite and the nation's response to the Russian launch of Sputnik. Nearby is Complex 5/6, the site where Alan Shepard blasted off on a Mercury-Redstone rocket and became the first American to fly in space.

The on-base museum is open to the public through a bus tour at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex or a monthly Air Force tour that requires reservations. Banke said the new museum aims to serve a broader portion of the public.

"This has the potential to be a major tourist attraction," Banke said.

The Space & Missile History Center, which also includes a gift shop, will be open noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

An invitation-only dedication ceremony will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. The museum will open to the general public on Saturday.

NOTE ON IMAGES: The top image shows the July 24, 1950, launch of Bumper 8 -- the first launch from Florida's storied Space Coast. The second is a U.S. Air Force image of a Snark intercontinental cruise missile. The third is a NASA image of an Air Force Navaho cruise missile launching in 1957. The heavy Navaho vehicle weighed 300,000 pounds and was capable of flying at three times the speed of sound. But it was most legendary for being hard to get off the ground. Aerospace journalists from that era called it the "No-Go Navaho." A restored Navaho missile is on display at the entrance to the new museum.