Successor to the Hubble Telescope, the JWST will enable a detailed astronomical and cosmological investigations. The 6.5 meter primary mirror will observe some of the most distant objects in the Universe.

By Eiffleman

America's second manned launch vehicle and the first to reach orbit for the Mercury program. Manufactured by Convair and derived from the SM-65D Atlas missile making it a member of the Atlas family of rockets. Launched a total of four crewed Mercury spacecraft.

By Eiffleman

American launch vehicle derived from the Titan II missile. Launched twelve Gemini program missions featuring the first flights with two astronauts.

By Eiffleman

NASA modified Army M113s used as armored rescue vehicles.

By Eiffleman

America's first crewed suborbital launch vehicle. Member of the Redstone rocket family derived from the U.S. Army's Redstone missile and the Jupiter-C LV. Used for six suborbital Mercury flights carrying astronauts Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom.

by Kevin Huang

USAF expendable launch vehicle used from 1965 until 1982. First Titan family rocket to use large solid rocket motors. Intended for launch of the Dyna-Soar (cancelled) but primarily launched DoD payloads.

By Eiffleman

SpaceX partially reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle derived from the Falcon 9. Consists of a strengthened Falcon 9 first stage center core and two Falcon 9 first stage strap-on boosters. As of 2021, Falcon Heavy had the highest payload capacity of operating rockets and the third highest of...

By Kevin Huang

American manned spaceplane used for hypersonic research. Conducted tests for ballistic flight, winged reentry, and gliding recovery. The X-15 was intended to evolve to a manned orbital spacecraft until the urgent need for the Mercury and Gemini programs surfaced. Research from the X-15 eventually led to the...

by Eiffleman

The Apollo Command Module was the crew and reentry capsule portion of the CSM. It housed crew accommodation, equipment bays, and the controls and displays for operating the Apollo spacecraft.

By Kevin Huang

First launch of the Mercury program. Launched a boilerplate Mercury capsule to test the ablative heat shield, afterbody heating, and reentry dynamics.

By Eiffleman

Seventh crewed Apollo mission aborted after the Oxygen tank of the Service Module exploded.

By Kevin Huang

First American orbital human-rated launch vehicle. Used to launch the Mercury capsule to low Earth orbit.

By Eiffleman

Titan IIIC modified to carry a boilerplate mockup of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory.

By Eiffleman

Mobile launcher for the Little Joe II rocket.

By Eiffleman

Standardized Atlas plus Agena D used for a variety of NASA and Air Force programs, including Ranger, Mariner, Midas, and Gambit.

By Eiffleman

NASA vehicle used to quarantine astronauts returning from the first four Apollo lunar missions. An Airstream trailer was converted by Melpar, Inc. to house three crew, a physician, and an engineer.