In support of an official event 

The Museum will be closed Sunday, May 25
In addition, the Fourth Hangar will be closed Saturday, May 24

Access to the Presidential Gallery will be limited from May 15 to June 5
 

Fact Sheet Alphabetical List

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  • German V-2

    Much of the basic theory used by German scientists in the development of the engine for the V-2 came from experimentation by Dr. Robert Goddard in the United States. Post-war American liquid fueled rocket engines evolved directly from the German V-2 engine; later U.S. Air Force space boosters owed

  • V-2 Rocket

    This rocket engine powered Germany's V-2 "Vengeance Weapon" during World War II. The engine was a technical achievement, using high-speed pumps to move large volumes of fuel into the thrust chamber very quickly. Its design also contributed to American rocketry following WWII.The V-2's liquid oxygen

  • Minuteman III Second Stage Rocket

    This rocket engine, designed and built by Aerojet, powers the second stage of the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, large numbers of which are currently on constant alert in blast-proof underground silos at various locations in the United States.After a Minuteman III is launched by

  • Bell Model 8048

    This liquid-fueled rocket engine powered early Agena spacecraft that played a crucial role in putting the first reconnaissance and early warning satellites into orbit in the 1950s and 1960s. Used as a second stage to boost satellites into higher orbits, Agena upper stages transformed Air Force

  • Grid-Sphere Passive Communications Satellite

    In 1959 the USAF became interested in the use of satellites as space reflectors for long distance communications. One possibility was a metalized balloon-type structure that could be boosted into space in a small container and inflated after it reached orbit. The NASA ECHO I, launched Aug. 12, 1960,

  • EROS Reflector

    The USAF's Project EROS (Experimental Reflector Orbital Shot) was the first USAF solar reflector experiment in space. Its purpose was to find out if reflectors could be used for collecting and concentrating the sun's heat to generate electricity in space solar power systems. The USAF completed the

  • Discoverer XIV

    The Discoverer XIV is the first satellite to be ejected from an orbiting space vehicle and to be recovered in midair. Discoverer XIV was launched into a polar (north-south) orbit by a Thor booster from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on Aug. 18, 1960. After the Thor exhausted its fuel, the Agena

  • Martin Marietta SM-68B/LGM-25C Titan II

    Titan II was the longest-serving ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) in the U.S. Air Force strategic arsenal. The SM-68B, developed from the Titan I ICBM, was on operational alert from 1963-1987. For most of its nearly 25 years of operation, Titan II was the largest and most powerful American

  • Martin Marietta SM-68A/HGM-25A Titan I

    Entering operational service in 1962, Titan I was the United States' first multistage ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile). Incorporating the latest design technology, Titan provided an additional nuclear deterrent to complement the U.S. Air Force's Atlas missile. Though the SM-68A was

  • Thor Agena A

    The U.S. Air Force launched the world's first space photo reconnaissance satellites using a rocket like the Thor Agena A on display. These satellites, secretly code-named Corona, took pictures of the Soviet Union's bomber and missile bases during the Cold War. The USAF and the Central Intelligence