Museum Audio Tour 62: Missile and Space Gallery: Missiles

DAYTON, OH, UNITED STATES

12.31.1969

Audio by NMUSAF PA 

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

Dominating the Missile & Space Gallery are missiles and a space launch vehicle standing upright in the silo-like facility. The gallery is designed to give visitors a slight feeling of being in an underground silo. The vehicles represent American airmen's proud heritage of nuclear deterrence and the Air Force’s leadership in space. Since 1959, U.S. Air Force strategic nuclear-armed missiles and the airmen who operate and maintain them have been on constant alert, on duty 24 hours a day. The gallery features the service’s missiles that helped maintain peace between Cold War superpowers and have shaped the world's strategic balance for more than half a century. You will see Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles such as Jupiter or Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, commonly known as ICBMs, such as Titan and Peacekeeper. Today, with significant reductions in nuclear weapons since the end of the Cold War, the modernized Minuteman III remains the U.S.'s only land-based ICBM. Also, be sure to walk behind the missiles, near the steps, to see a Minuteman II mission procedures trainer. Since 1962, the Minuteman missile system has played an important role in America’s strategic defense. Highly trained and disciplined U.S. Air Force crews in isolated, heavily protected missile control complexes maintain, secure and operate the system. This missile trainer and model on display represent Minuteman II systems operational from 1966 through 1991. Also, while in the Missile & Space Gallery, be sure to visit the balcony to learn about Project Manhigh and other high-altitude balloon flight experiments, as well as a replica of Sputnik, the first artificial earth satellite. The launch of this Soviet spacecraft, not much larger than a beach ball, was a defining moment of the Cold War and helped spur the U.S. to create the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA. The nuclear and space missions are still important and thriving careers fields in the U.S. Air Force. If you are interested in learning more about the Air Force’s role in these specialties, visit airforce.com or visit the Resources portion of this podcast for direct links.

• Date Taken: 12.31.1969
• Date Posted: 09.02.2015 13:51
• Category: Newscasts
• Audio ID: 41993
• Filename: 1509/DOD_102704426.mp3
• Length: 00:02:37
• Album: Museum Audio Tour
• Track #: 62
• Location: DAYTON, OH, US