The American Space Museum is a museum in

Titusville, Florida Titusville is a city in eastern Florida and the county seat of Brevard County, Florida, United States. The city's population was 43,761 as of the 2010 United States Census. Titusville is located along the Indian River, west of Merritt Island and ...

. It includes the US Space Walk of Fame, an outdoor plaza on the Indian River that honors both the

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

s and the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

and contractor personnel who made American manned space exploration possible. The monuments surround a pool and are dedicated to the Mercury, Gemini,

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

and

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program n ...

programs. The museum houses related exhibits and artifacts and is located at 308 Pine Street.

Mission

The stated mission of the museum is, “Preserving Achievement; Inspiring Innovation.” To accomplish this, the museum preserves artifacts, history and individual stories related to the American space program, and showcases them to inspire a new generation to innovate, invent, explore and discover. The Walk of Fame at the park describes itself as "The first and only 'walk' in the nation that honors America's astronauts as well as the men and women behind the scenes who helped America lead the world in space exploration and accomplishments."

Monuments

The monuments at the walk were created by the non-profit US Space Walk of Fame Foundation (USSWOFF) composed of community leaders, aerospace industry officials and current and retired space workers. The foundation is also building a database, currently including more than 10,000 names, of space workers and their employers; and has received a grant to record oral histories from many of the men and women associated with the early US space program. File:American Space Museum, Titusville, FL, US (14).jpg, Mercury Monument File:Astro Walk of Fame Gemini.jpg, Gemini Monument

History

The USSWOFF, a partnership between the foundation and the City of Titusville, created the US Space Walk of Fame as a major component of a redevelopment master plan for Titusville's downtown waterfront. It was conceived in 1988 by Titusville physician Dr. Doyle E. Chastain, who wrote a letter to the Titusville City Council suggesting such a project. With a downtown redevelopment program in progress and a desire to further enhance the area by taking advantage of the riverfront, the proposal was welcomed by the council and the city's Community Redevelopment Agency. The result was the US Space Walk of Fame Foundation. Several volunteers including space pioneers created USSWOFF with the assistance of the City of Titusville, and the use of grants. The city provided the park infrastructure; and the foundation raised funds for the monuments, plaques, mission insignia markers and other space-related items to carry out the riverwalk's space theme. Engravings sold through the foundation enable space workers or their families to honor the worker by having his or her name engraved on the appropriate monument. In July 1994, the city dedicated the new riverfront area, named Space View Park, which provides the anchor point for the US Space Walk of Fame. The Mercury Monument and mission plaques, with cast bronze hand prints of six of the original seven astronauts, were dedicated on May 12, 1995; and the Mercury mission insigniaThese insignia were designed in 1970. were unveiled on May 23, 1997. The Mercury monument is a copy of the one at Launch Complex 14. Groundbreaking for the Gemini Monument, and the first Gemini reunion, were held on July 19, 1996. The Gemini Monument was dedicated on November 7, 1997. Groundbreaking for the Apollo Monument was held on July 16, 1999 at precisely 9:32 a.m. ET, exactly 30 years after the lift-off of

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, ...

. The event kicked off a week-long 30th anniversary celebration of the launch of Apollo 11 and the first manned Moon landing. The Apollo Monument dedication and an Apollo reunion were held on July 17, 2009 with

Apollo 15 Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the United States' Apollo program and the fourth to land on the Moon. It was the first J mission, with a longer stay on the Moon and a greater focus on science than ear ...

astronaut Al Worden. The Gemini and Apollo monuments also include cast bronze hand prints of the surviving astronauts who flew those missions. The Space Shuttle monument was dedicated in 2014.

Museum

The American Space Museum, located nearby at 308 Pine Street, illustrates America's history in space exploration by displaying hundreds of artifacts, including photos, hardware, flight suits, Space Shuttle tiles, space patches and pins, and other memorabilia from personal collections of space workers. The museum also features several launch consoles from

Launch Complex 36 Launch Complex 36 (LC-36)—formerly known as Space Launch Complex 36 (SLC-36) from 1997 to 2010—is a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Brevard County, Florida. It was used for Atlas launches by NASA and the U.S. Air Forc ...

. The museum was the U. S. Space Walk of Fame Museum until the name changed in 2016 to the American Space Museum. In 2016, the museum updated exhibits, focusing on new interpretive signage, new artifacts and interactive displays. The museum is adding 3D printers, computers, and other technology focused exhibits designed for children. Also under the auspices of the museum is the

STEAM Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizatio ...

space program, focusing on science and technology. File:American Space Museum, Titusville, FL, US.jpg, Space suit, probably Gemini File:American Space Museum, Titusville, FL, US (06).jpg, Early model of the Apollo Lunar Module File:American Space Museum, Titusville, FL, US (04).jpg, Neil Armstrong's hand prints File:American Space Museum, Titusville, FL, US (03).jpg, The hatch of the

Mercury-Atlas 1 Mercury-Atlas 1 (MA-1) was the first attempt to launch a Mercury capsule and occurred on July 29, 1960 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft was unmanned and carried no launch escape system. The Atlas rocket suffered a structural failure 58 ...

spacecraft

Notes

External links

*
Space Walk of Fame–Titusville Community Guide
{{authority control Walks of fame

Space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consi ...