Sands Space History Center

Cape Canaveral, Florida

Formerly the Air Force Space and Missile History Center, it was renamed for Maj. Gen. Harry James Sands Jr., who had, since 1961, petitioned the Air Force to open its own space museum. When it finally did on August 13, 2010, Sands had been dead for 17 years.

The museum is small, not more than a large room, but it exhibits some interesting space relics, such as a twisted fragment of an early Juno rocket that blew up on the launch pad in July 1959 (as seen in The Right Stuff); a light from Alan Shepherd's Mercury launch tower autographed by America's first spaceman; one of the 11 original Mercury boilerplate capsules; and the launch console used for the Gemini missions, and signed by most of the Gemini astronauts.

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Sands Space History Center

Address:: 100 Spaceport Way, Cape Canaveral, FL
Directions:: Exit Hwy A1A just east of the causeway onto FL-401. Follow it for two miles, and just past the storage tanks on the right, and just before reaching the entry gate for the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, veer right onto Spaceport Way. This dead-ends at the parking lot for the museum.
Hours:: Tu-F 9-2, Sa 9-5, Su 12-4 Local health policies may affect hours and access.

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