The Big Problem (TRUMP Pt. 2/10)
Early rockets flew—but not as expected. Trajectories missed, vehicles drifted, and engineers didn’t know why. A major issue for ICBMs and early spaceflight.
In 1963, the Air Force launched Project TRUMP at Cape Canaveral to find answers.
#museum #space #history
What was Project TRUMP? In the early 1960s, the U.S. ran a secret program at Cape Canaveral: Target Radiation Measurement Program. It studied missiles in flight to answer a Cold War challenge: how do you measure what you can’t touch? 10-part series coming.
#space #museum #trump
Visit our website here - ccspacemuseum.org/facilities/l... for a deeper dive on Launch Complex 21. #Museum #missile #history #spacecoast #capecanaveral #lovefl
WWII had its own “Ruperts”! On D-Day, Allied forces dropped burlap parachute dummies during Operation Titanic to fool German troops. Brits called them Ruperts, Americans said Oscars. Today you can spot some in museums. Our Rupert prefers space missions 😉🚀
@ccspacemuseum
More information on the Gemini-Titan V booster segment here - ccspacemuseum.org/artifacts/ge.... #Museum #artifacts #space #history #capecanaveral #spacecoast #astronauts #lovefl
The entire Cape is a National Historic Landmark! #spacecoast #museum #history #space #capecanaveral #lovefl
Some tour groups just get it. Lt Col Alan Vaughn’s AFROTC cadets from Valdosta State University explored Cape Canaveral’s Cold War launch history with real curiosity and even bonded with Rupert the Space Armadillo. With future leaders like these, the mission is in good hands.
#FollowRupert
Before Kennedy Space Center began launches in 1967, NASA’s early missions lifted off from Cape Canaveral. Pads like LC-5/6, 12, 14, 17, 26, 34, 36, and 37 launched Mercury, Gemini, and early Apollo flights—building on a missile range active since 1950. 🚀
#museum #space
Before Kennedy Space Center began launches in 1967, NASA’s early missions lifted off from Cape Canaveral. Pads like LC-5/6, 12, 14, 17, 26, 34, 36, and 37 launched Mercury, Gemini, and early Apollo flights—building on a missile range active since 1950. 🚀
#museum #space
Honored to be welcomed into the Blue Marble Hall of Fame by the Blue Community Consortium - www.bluecommunity.info/about/bluema.... Inspired by Apollo astronauts who saw Earth as a small blue marble, this community works to protect our only home. Grateful for the recognition.
#museum #space
On 17 March 1958, the U.S. Navy launched Vanguard 1 from Cape Canaveral’s LC-18 aboard a Vanguard TV-3BU rocket. It became the 4th artificial satellite, the first solar-powered spacecraft, and today remains the oldest man-made object still in orbit. 🚀
#museum
It’s the 100th anniversary of the first successful liquid-fueled rocket launch!!!
#Goddard100Launch #RocketCentennial #FirstLaunchCentennial #RocketScience #Goddard #space #rocketry #capecanaveral #spacecoast #lovefl
70 years ago today (15 Mar 1956), the first Jupiter-A rocket launched from Pad 6 at LC-5/6 at Cape Canaveral. Built by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, the modified Redstone tested guidance, reentry, and other tech for the Jupiter IRBM. 25 Jupiter-A launches flew here from 1956–1958. 🚀
#museum
55 years ago today (13 Mar 1971), the only Delta M6 “Super Six” ever launched from Cape Canaveral’s LC-17A, carrying Explorer 43 (IMP-H). With six Castor-2 boosters, the rocket placed the spacecraft into orbit to study the solar wind and Earth’s magnetosphere.
#history #space #museum
American Society of Appraisers - www.appraisers.org
International Society of Appraisers - www.abaa.org
Appraisers Association of America - www.appraisersassoc.org
#museum #appraisal #history #artifacts
Happy National Debunking Day!
Myth: America’s first satellite, Explorer I (1958), launched on a Jupiter-C.
Fact: It launched on a Juno I.
They looked nearly identical, but Juno I had a fourth stage that allowed it to reach orbit. Sometimes the details matter!
#museum #space
Before giant rockets ruled the Cape, some missiles needed a boost. 🚀
Rocket Assisted Take Off (RATO) boosters were solid-fueled rockets that launched early cruise missiles like Matador, Mace, and Snark from a standing start at Cape Canaveral.
#museum #history #space
🚀 Meet a real physician astronaut!
Join us March 12 at 6 PM at the Sands Space History Center for Dr. Gretchen Green, who flew aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-32, becoming the first commercial woman physician astronaut.
More: ccspacemuseum.org/visit-us/eve...
#museum #space #history
The latest issue of Trajectories is out!
Inside: Rupert returns from space, a surprising Jean Harlow connection, new preservation work, the story behind the launch countdown, and a Space Coast Museum Trail patch you can earn.
Read it: ccspacemuseum.org/wp-content/u...
#space #Museum
Today we celebrate what would have been the 99th birthday of astronaut Gordo Cooper. From Cape Canaveral he flew the final Mercury mission (MA-9) in 1963 and Gemini 5 in 1965, helping prove humans could stay in space long enough for a trip to the Moon. 🚀
#museum #space #lovefl
You can find more information on the Skybolt missile program and our restoration here - ccspacemuseum.org/artifacts/sk....
#museum #artifacts #missile #capecanaveral #spacecoast #lovefl #hypersonic
Before Atlas became America’s first ICBM, it took a road trip. 🚛🚀
In Oct 1956, the first Atlas test missile traveled 2,622 miles from San Diego to Cape Canaveral in a guarded truck convoy.
#museum #missile #lovefl
Happy March Forth and Do Something Day! 🚀
March forth to the Sands Space History Center and explore 76 years of Cape Canaveral launch history. Kids can enjoy the Rupert the Space Armadillo coloring station and a scavenger hunt.
Admission is FREE! 🚀🦔
#museum #lovefl #space #FollowRupert
Happy Unique Names Day! Did you know America’s first intercontinental cruise missile of the early Cold War had a name straight out of 19th-century nonsense poetry? Meet the Snark. Sometimes the wildest names in history are absolutely real. #Museum #missile #snark #capecanaveral #spacecoast #lovefl
Happy National Dadgum That’s Good Day! 🚀
Our Space Coast area code 321 was chosen to honor the rocket countdown.
See the full story in Roger “The Oracle” McCormick’s lobby display at the Sands. Bonus: the Space Eats exhibit is still up!
#museum #space
More on the Jupiter missile here - ccspacemuseum.org/artifacts/ju.... #Museum #sex #space #history #capecanaveral #spacecoast #lovefl
Happy National Tongue Twister Day!
Cape Canaveral’s constantly calculating crews carefully conducted countless Cold War countdowns, launching more than eight thousand missiles, missions, and milestone machines across seventy-six sensational years.
#museum #space #lovefl
Happy National Retro Day! Check out our Gemini 2 capsule here - ccspacemuseum.org/artifacts/ge....
#museum #space #history #spacecoast #lovefl #retro #NationalRetroDay
