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92-Foot-Tall Mercury Redstone Rocket Replica.

92-Foot-Tall Mercury Redstone Rocket Replica

Field review by the editors.

Concord, New Hampshire

Alan Shepard, a New Hampshire native, became the first American to fly into outer space on May 5, 1961. Nearly fifty years later, in 2009, the state erected a life-size perfect replica of the Redstone rocket that launched Shepard skyward. Explanatory signs around the rocket reveal that the Redstone was in fact just a nuclear ballistic missile, barely six feet wide, with a space capsule stuck on top. Shepard was a brave man, and a little nuts.

The rocket stands in front of the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, an upscale planetarium. There's a little bronze bust of Shepard on the admission desk, but that's the extent of his personal glorification -- which is as he would have wanted it (Shepard was an intensely private man). And the rocket really was the star of those early Mercury flights.

The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center is co-named for Christa McAuliffe, New Hampshire's other famous astronaut. Unfortunately, her spacecraft didn't perform as well as Alan's.

92-Foot-Tall Mercury Redstone Rocket Replica

McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center

Address:
2 Institute Drive, Concord, NH
Directions:
The rocket stands outside of the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, a half-mile northeast of I-93 exit 15W.
RA Rates:
Worth a Detour
Save to My Sights

Nearby Offbeat Places

Dress Worn by President Franklin PierceDress Worn by President Franklin Pierce, Concord, NH - < 1 mi.
Statue of Franklin PierceStatue of Franklin Pierce, Concord, NH - 1 mi.
Doorstep Defended by Franklin Pierce, Vacant Lot Where He DiedDoorstep Defended by Franklin Pierce, Vacant Lot Where He Died, Concord, NH - 2 mi.
In the region:
Indian Village Attack Site, Plymouth, NH - 38 mi.

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