Apollo Boilerplate 1210

Sitting in front of the Stafford Air & Space Museum is BP-1210. This particular boilerplate, BP-1210, was used in landing and recovery training, and to support the development of flotation devices by Department of Defense Apollo support crews. It had previously been located at Leonardo’s Discovery Warehouse in Enid, Oklahoma

Apollo Command Module Simulator

This Command Module Simulator was used at Johnson Space Center to train the Apollo astronauts. It was used in conjunction with the Lunar Module Simulator. The simulated command module was patterned after the actual spacecraft. Although the motion was not simulated physically, the sensations were provided by a visual system. Operated by a sophisticated computer […]

Apollo Boilerplate Capsule

This Apollo Boilerplate capsule was used during simulations designed to train land and sea rescue crews active during the Apollo U.S. manned space flight program. This capsule was formerly on display in the Pad 26B area of the museum until it was removed for restoration in 2008.

Failure Is Not An Option…

Inside the Saturn V enclosure, a 7-foot tall bronze statue depicting the safe return of Apollo 13 astronauts, Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise is now on display. The statue depicts the moment they stepped down from the recovery helicopter onto the USS Iwo Jima, a United States Navy assault ship.

Apollo Boilerplate 1207

This boilerplate (S/N 1207) was used at Patrick AFB to train Navy and Air Force personnel to recover Apollo capsules from the ocean. This boilerplate was displayed in Lake County, Florida at the Ocala Discovery Science Center. It was painted white and sat outdoors for 36 years. During the restoration process at Holloman AFB, the […]

Little Joe II

The solid-fueled Little Joe 2 was used to test the Apollo Launch escape System and verify the performance of the command module parachutes. Five Little Joe 2 tests were conducted at White Sands Missile Range between August 1963 and January 1966. The name “Little Joe” was provided by NASA engineer and Mercury capsule designer Max […]

Apollo BP-1224

Mounted outside the Harris County Youth Village is Apollo BP-1224. Fitted various connections, this boilerplate was used in 102 fireproof tests in the wake of Apollo 1’s tragic pad fire.

Launch Complex 34

Before the tragic fire of Apollo 1, this pad saw four Saturn I launchs. As part of the “Then and Now” tour of Cape Canaveral, I was able to visit Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 34. After the decommissioning of LC-34, the umbilical tower and service structure were razed, leaving only the launch platform standing at […]

Apollo-Saturn Launch Control

As part of the tour of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, you take a bus out to the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Upon entering the building, you stop at Firing Room Theater. Here an edited film of the launch of Apollo 8 is shown above a partial recreation of the Apollo-Saturn Launch Control.

Apollo Boilerplate BP-213

This full-size replica of an Apollo capsule never carried an astronaut or flew into space, but it did provide an important service to NASA. Having the same size, weight, and weight distribution of an operational Apollo capsule, test capsules like this one were used by NASA and the U.S. Navy to practice ocean recoveries during […]