Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Virtual Tour

About this tour

The tour

The photos in this tour were taken by the author (unless otherwise noted) during various visits to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the Air Force Space & Missile Museum. A majority of the photos in this virtual tour were taken in areas of the Air Force Station not open to the general public (other than for special events). I was given a personal tour by the former museum director on June 15th of 1996. I greatly appreciate the director taking an entire day out of his busy schedule to escort me to the sites and answer all of my questions; without his help, this tour wouldn't be here.

The photos

The unattributed photos you see were all taken with my trusty Minolta X-700. I was shooting Kodak Royal Gold film (ASAs 25 and 100). The pictures were scanned on an HP ScanJet 6200C scanner, then tweaked if necessary with the ever-versatile Adobe Photoshop (special thanks to Walt Skurda for help with the image editing) and converted to JPEGs.

Attributed photos are used with permission. Over the years, photographers with access (not to mention photographic skills) superior to mine have sent me photos of sites that I've expressed interest in. Notable among these are Joe Marino (whose aerial photos first appeared here in 1999), and Steve Sanders (whose incredible access and knowledge is helping make the goal of documenting every complex on the Cape a reality).

If you want to use any of my photos (mine are the unattributed ones) in this tour for non-commercial purposes, that's fine - please just credit me as the photographer, and provide a link to the tour homepage. Please contact me with questions regarding commercial use of photos. Questions regarding usage of photos from other sources should be directed to the person or agency credited.

Throughout the tour, you'll see various navigational aids. Here's a quick summary:

Go to the next stop on the tour
Go to the previous stop on the tour
Get more details
Skip ahead to the next Complex
Skip back to the previous Complex
Show a larger (zoomed) version of the photo in a pop-up window
"Go back in time": See the site as it appeared years ago

You'll also see blue buttons at the bottom of the screen:
Aerial view Display a labeled aerial photo of the current complex or site being visited. Raw aerial photos courtesy of St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD). This feature is not yet available on all pages.
CCAFS map Display a graphical map of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. You can use this map to navigate the tour.
Website map Display a site layout for the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Virtual Tour. You can use this to navigate the tour.
Tour home Return to the tour homepage.

Visiting Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

A great way to see two historical launch sites is to visit the Air Force Space & Missile Museum (NOTE: clicking on either Air Force link in this section may bring up a dialogue concerning a security certificate. This is part of the security at Patrick AFB's web site; it is OK to accept the certificate). This is on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station property, so it can only be accessed by badged Cape employees or tour groups. The Museum is located at Complex 26 (where America's first satellite, Explorer I, was launched), and is staffed by friendly, knowledgeable volunteers. Immediately south of the Museum is Complex 5/6, where America's first manned space mission, Freedom 7, was launched. The Museum and all of its displays are free of charge, but donations are accepted. The Museum also has a small but well-stocked gift shop on the premises.

Air Force Space & Missile Museum Foundation, Inc.

The Air Force Space & Missile Museum receives a small amount of funding from the Air Force. However, donations from the public are greatly appreciated (and in my opinion, sorely needed). Donations are used to support ongoing restoration and maintenance of the Museum's exhibits. If you would like to make a donation to the Air Force Space & Missile Museum, there is a foundation that has been set up to accept donations. You may send your tax-deductible donation to:

Air Force Space & Missile Museum Foundation, Inc.
c/o Emily Perry
191 Museum Circle
Patrick Air Force Base, FL  32925-2535

If you have questions regarding the Air Force Space & Missile Museum Foundation, you may contact Ms. Perry at (321) 853-9171. Please note that I am not in any way affiliated with the Air Force Space & Missile Museum or the Foundation. I am not acting for the Museum or the Foundation in any official capacity; but I strongly believe that this fine Museum deserves our support.

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