View source for U.S. Space & Rocket Center

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox museum
 |name      = U.S. Space & Rocket Center
 |image     = Ussrc logo.png
 |established= {{Start date|1965}}
 |coordinates = {{coord|34|42|41|N|86|39|15|W|display=inline,title}}
 |location  = [[Huntsville, Alabama]]
 |type      = Science museum
 |owner     = [[Government of Alabama|State of Alabama]]
 |director  = Dr. Kimberly Robinson<ref name="Robinson1">{{Cite web |last=Lyons |first=Wes |date=2020-12-15 |title=MSFC's Dr. Kimberly Robinson named CEO of U.S. Space & Rocket Center |url=https://sprocketeers.org/2020/12/dr-kimberly-robinson-ceo/ |access-date=2020-12-15 |website=Sprocketeers |language=en}}</ref>
 |curator   =
 |network   = ASTC
 |website   = {{URL|http://www.rocketcenter.com/|rocketcenter.com}}
}}

The '''U.S. Space & Rocket Center''' in [[Huntsville, Alabama]] is a museum operated by the [[government of Alabama]], showcasing [[rocket]]s, achievements, and artifacts of the U.S. space program.  Sometimes billed as "Earth's largest space museum", astronaut [[Owen Garriott]] described the place as, "a great way to learn about space in a town that has embraced the space program from the very beginning."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/magazine/article/SPACE-CAMP-DOGWOODS-AND-CUE-IN-HUNTSVILLE-ALA-2542023.php |title=Space Camp, Dogwoods And 'cue In Huntsville, Ala. |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=September 9, 2007 |access-date=September 24, 2011 |author=Villano, Matt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bon-voyage.co.uk/destinations/huntsville_alabama_holidays |title=Huntsville Holidays |access-date=September 24, 2011}}</ref>

The center opened in 1970, just after the [[Apollo 12]] Moon landing, the second crewed mission to the lunar surface. It showcases [[Apollo Program]] hardware, including the [[Apollo 16]] capsule, and also houses interactive science exhibits, [[Space Shuttle]] exhibits, and [[United States Army|Army]] rocketry and aircraft.<ref name="hist">{{cite web |url=https://www.rocketcenter.com/overview |title=History and Overview |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2017 |website=U.S. Space & Rocket Center |access-date=May 7, 2017 |quote=The U.S. Army donated land, and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center® opened its doors in 1970.}}</ref> With more than 1,500 permanent rocketry and space exploration artifacts, as well as many rotating rocketry and space-related exhibits, the center occupies land carved out of [[Redstone Arsenal]] adjacent to [[Huntsville Botanical Garden]] at exit 15 on [[Interstate 565]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://huntsville.about.com/cs/attractions/a/spacecamp.htm|title=In the Beginning: US Space & Rocket Center|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075012/http://huntsville.about.com/cs/attractions/a/spacecamp.htm|archive-date=July 7, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref>  The center offers bus tours of nearby NASA's [[Marshall Space Flight Center]].<ref name="busBack">{{cite web |url=http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/08/us_space_rocket_centers_bus_to_1.html |title=U.S. Space & Rocket Center's bus tours to Marshall Space Flight Center are a popular attraction |publisher=The Huntsville Times |work=al.com |date=August 8, 2012 |access-date=October 12, 2012 |author=Accardi, Marian}}</ref>

Two camp programs offer visitors the opportunity to stay on the grounds to learn more about spaceflight and aviation. [[United States Space Camp|U.S. Space Camp]] gives an in-depth exposure to the space program through participant use of simulators, lectures, and training exercises. [[Aviation Challenge]] offers a taste of military fighter pilot training, including simulations, lectures, and survival exercises.  Both camps provide residential and day camp educational programs for children and adults.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1570 |title=U.S. Space & Rocket Center |publisher=Auburn University |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Alabama |date=March 7, 2011 |access-date=April 28, 2012 |author=Foster, Amy E.}}</ref>

==Exhibits==
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center has one of the most extensive collections of space artifacts and displays more than 1500 pieces. Displays include rockets, engines, spacecraft, simulators, and hands-on exhibits.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://clui.org/ludb/site/us-space-and-rocket-center |title=U.S. Space & Rocket Center |publisher=Center for Land Use Interpretation |work=Land Use Database |access-date=May 3, 2012}}</ref><ref name="heroic"/>

[[File:Saturn V, Davidson Center for Space Exploration (Huntsville, Alabama, USA).jpg|thumb|left|A mock-up display of the Saturn V rocket (scale 1:1) at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center beside the Davidson Center for Space Exploration]]
The Space & Rocket Center introduces visitors to U.S. rocketry efforts via both indoor and outdoor displays, from its predecessor at [[V-1 flying bomb facilities|Peenemünde]] with the German [[V-1 (flying bomb)|V-1 flying bomb]] and [[V-2 rocket]], through a progression of U.S. military rockets, such as the [[Redstone (rocket)|Redstone]] and [[PGM-19 Jupiter|Jupiter IRBM]] vehicles, and civilian derivatives such as the [[Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle|Mercury-Redstone]] and the [[Juno II]], up to the [[Saturn (rocket family)|Saturn]] rocket family civilian rockets, including the vertically displayed Saturn I Block 2 Dynamic Test Vehicle, ''SA-D5'', which has become a famous local landmark, and on to the [[Space Shuttle]]. The [[Saturn V Dynamic Test Vehicle]], ''SA-500D'', the only Saturn V of the three on display to have been brought together outside a museum, is displayed overhead in a new building designed specifically for the rocket named ''Davidson Center for Space Exploration''. The {{OV|98}}, sometimes described as the first manufactured Space Shuttle Orbiter, was a mockup made of steel and wood to test facilities for later handling the actual vehicle. Until it was removed for refurbishment in February 2021<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.space.com/space-shuttle-pathfinder-lowered-for-restoration |title=Mock space shuttle Pathfinder lowered to ground for first time in 30 years |date=February 8, 2021 |publisher=Space.com |access-date=September 3, 2022}}</ref> it sat atop an [[Space Shuttle external tank|external tank]] with [[Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster|solid rocket boosters]] attached.<ref>https://www.airliners.net/photo/NASA/Rockwell-Space-Shuttle-mock-up/7592059/L </ref> ''Pathfinder'' was lifted back into place on the external tank and boosters in September 2024. A homecoming rededication took place on October 24, 2024.

[[File:USSRC Rocket Park.JPG|thumb|right|Some of the rockets in the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. From left to right: [[Saturn I]], [[PGM-19 Jupiter|Jupiter IRBM]], [[Juno II]], [[Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle|Mercury-Redstone]], [[Redstone (rocket)|Redstone]], and [[Jupiter-C]] ]]
The center showcases significant military rockets, including representatives of the [[Project Nike]] series, which formed the first ballistic missile defense, [[MIM-23 Hawk]] surface-to-air missile, [[Hermes (missile program)|Hermes]], an early surface-to-surface missile, [[MGR-1 Honest John]] and [[MGM-5 Corporal|Corporal]] nuclear missiles and [[MIM-104 Patriot|Patriot]], first used in the [[Gulf War]] of 1991.

The rocketry collection includes numerous engines, as well. In addition to the authentic engines mounted on rockets on display, the museum has unmounted engines on display, including two [[F-1 (rocket engine)|F-1s]], the type of gigantic engine that produced {{convert|1500000|lbf|N}} to push [[Saturn V]]s off the launch pad, [[J-2 (rocket engine)|J-2]] engine that powered second and third stages of the Saturn V, and both Descent and Ascent Propulsion System (DPS/APS) engines for the [[Apollo Lunar Module|Lunar Module]]. Engines from the V-2 engine to [[NERVA]] to the [[Space Shuttle Main Engine]] are on display as well.<ref name="heroic">{{cite web |url=http://heroicrelics.org/ussrc/index.html |title=U. S. Space & Rocket Center |work= heroicrelics.org |author=Jetzer, Mike |access-date=May 3, 2012}}</ref> The rocket park area renovation was completed in November 2024. 

[[File:F-1 rocket engine at United States Space and Rocket Center in 2006.jpg|thumb|right|The F-1 rocket engine is {{convert|18.5|ft|m}} tall and produced {{convert|1500000|lbf|N}} of thrust.]]
The [[Apollo program]] gets full coverage in the Davidson Center for Space Exploration with artifacts outlining Apollo missions. Astronauts crossed the [[service structure]]'s red walkway to the White Room, both on display, and climbed in the [[Apollo Command/Service Module#Command Module (CM)|Command Module]] atop a Saturn V which was their cabin for the trip to the Moon and back. The [[Apollo 16]] command module, which carried astronauts [[John Young (astronaut)|John Young]], [[Charles Duke]] and [[Ken Mattingly]], orbited the Moon 64 times in 1972, is on display.<ref>[https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_16a_Summary.htm NASA Apollo 16 summary page]</ref> The [[Saturn V Instrument Unit]] controlled five F-1 engines in the first stage of the rocket as it lifted off the pad. Several exhibits relate the complexity and magnitude of that phase of the journey. They took a [[Apollo Lunar Module|Lunar Module]] (mockup on display) to the lunar surface where they collected [[Moon rock]]s such as the [[Apollo 12]] Lunar Sample Number 12065,15 at the museum.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lunar Sample Displays |url=https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/displays/LunarSampleDisplays.pdf |website=Lunar Curation |publisher=NASA JSC |access-date=9 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Apollo Sample 12065 |url=https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/samplecatalog/sampleinfo.cfm?sample=12065 |website=Lunar Curation |publisher=NASA JSC |access-date=9 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=12065 Pigeonite Basalt 2109 grams |url=https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/lsc/12065.pdf |website=Lunar Curation |publisher=NASA |access-date=9 July 2024}}</ref> Later Moon trips took a [[Lunar Roving Vehicle]] (displayed beside the LM). The first few Moon trips ended at a [[Mobile Quarantine Facility]] (Apollo 12's is on display) where astronauts stayed to ensure containment of any Moon contamination after that mission.<ref name="noGala">{{cite web |url=http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/01/us_space_and_rocket_center_can.html |title=U.S. Space and Rocket Center cancels gala, focusing on Space Camp registrations and budget challenges |publisher=Huntsville Times |date=January 19, 2011 |access-date=August 31, 2011 |author=Kessner, Kenneth}}</ref><ref name="mqf">{{cite web |url=http://www.spacecamp.com/webmail/newsletter0907/ |title=Space Camp Newsletter: Mobile Quarantine Facility |date=September 2007 |access-date=February 16, 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Apollo 16 capsule.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Apollo 16]] capsule, which orbited the Moon 64 times in 1972, is displayed with the recovery parachute hanging above it.]]
A restored engineering mock-up of [[Skylab]] is also on display, showing the Apollo project's post-lunar efforts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://photos.al.com/huntsville-times/2013/01/skylab_moves_into_saturn_v_hal_27.html |title=Skylab moves into Saturn V Hall |publisher=al.com |date=January 25, 2013 |access-date=July 6, 2014 |author=Schultz, Eric |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714230102/http://photos.al.com/huntsville-times/2013/01/skylab_moves_into_saturn_v_hal_27.html |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.al.com/breaking/2013/01/post_1045.html |title=Skylab engineering mockup moves into Saturn V Hall at Space and Rocket Center after 10 years outdoors |publisher=al.com |date=January 29, 2013 |access-date=July 6, 2014 |author=Emmett, Nicole}}</ref> Various simulators help visitors understand the spaceflight experience. [[Space Shot (ride)|Space Shot]] lets the rider experience launch-like 4 [[standard gravity|gs]] and 2–3 seconds of weightlessness. G-Force Accelerator offers 3 gs of acceleration for an extended period by means of a centrifuge. Several other simulators entertain and educate visitors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://space.about.com/cs/nasa/p/ussrcvisit.htm |title=Visiting the US Space & Rocket Center |publisher=about.com |access-date=April 27, 2012 |author=Greene, Nick |work=About.com Education |archive-date=September 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906014854/http://space.about.com/cs/nasa/p/ussrcvisit.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Other exhibits offer a hands-on understanding of concepts related to rocketry or space travel. A [[bell jar]] demonstrates the reason for using a rocket instead of a propeller in the vacuum of space. A [[wind tunnel]] offers visitors the opportunity to manipulate a model to see how forces change with its orientation, and The Mind of Saturn exhibit demonstrates gyroscopic force (necessary for rocket navigation). An Apollo trainer offers visitors the opportunity to climb in.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/08/nasa_administrator_charles_bol_4.html |title=NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to speak at event at U.S. Space & Rocket Center |publisher=The Huntsville Times |date=August 25, 2011 |access-date=September 10, 2011}}</ref>

Some simulators on exhibit were used for astronaut training. A [[Project Mercury]] simulator shows the cramped conditions endured by the first Americans in space. A [[Project Gemini|Gemini]] simulator shows visitors the accommodations when two people flew together to space for the first U.S. missions involving [[Extra-vehicular activity|extra-vehicular activities]] and [[space rendezvous]].<ref name="heroic"/>

Exhibits also cover the future of space flight. Two [[Orion spacecraft]] exhibits show the next NASA spacecraft, and a [[Bigelow Aerospace]] commercial habitat model details a space tourism effort.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/08/us_space_rocket_center_opens_e.html |title= U.S. Space & Rocket Center opens exhibit with model of commercial space habitat module |publisher= Huntsville Times |date= August 27, 2011 |access-date=August 31, 2011}}</ref>

===Bus tours===
The Space & Rocket Center offers bus tours of [[Marshall Space Flight Center]]. The tour offers views of all four [[National Historic Landmark]]s at the center including a stop at the landmark [[Redstone Test Stand]], where [[Alan Shepard]]'s [[PGM-11 Redstone|Redstone Rocket]] was tested prior to launch.<ref name = "HAERtxt47-48">{{Citation |last = Bonenberger |year = 1996 |title = Written Historical & Descriptive Data |url = http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/al/al1100/al1184/data/055.tif |access-date = July 1, 2011 |format = TIFF |contribution= MSFC, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand |contribution-url= https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/al1184/|pages = 47–48}}</ref> Another scheduled stop is the [[Payload Operations and Integration Center]], which serves as mission control for a number of experiments. 

[[File:Redstone Test Stand with USSRC tour bus.JPG|thumb|A tour bus waits as tourists inspect the Redstone Test Stand on a 2012 tour of Marshall Space Flight Center.]]
Bus tours originally started July 4, 1972,<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yBcfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=J5wEAAAAIBAJ&dq=space-and-rocket-center%20bus%20tours&pg=3342%2C163417 |title=Starts July 4: Now! NASA Bus Tours Daily from Space and Rocket Center |publisher=The Tuscaloosa News |date=July 2, 1972 |access-date=October 14, 2012}}</ref> but were suspended following the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001. Tours resumed July 20, 2012, the 43rd anniversary of the [[Apollo 11]] Moon landing, limited to U.S. citizens because of security protocol at the Army installation, [[Redstone Arsenal]], which contains Marshall Space Flight Center.<ref name="busBack"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/09/ask_us_why_cant_non-citizens_t.html |title=ASK US: Why can't non-citizens take Marshall Space Flight Center tour? |publisher=The Huntsville Times |work=al.com |date=September 10, 2012 |access-date=October 12, 2012 |author=Hollis, Mike}}</ref> As of summer 2025, bus tours of MSFC have resumed on Friday and Saturday. Bus tours to see the aircraft inside Space Camp's Aviation Challenge campus are also available on a limited schedule.

===Traveling exhibits===
In the summer of 2010, the Space and Rocket Center began hosting traveling exhibits. The first was [[Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination]] with other exhibits planned. The [[United States Space Camp]] hosted at the facility has provided themed camps in conjunction with the exhibits, including a Jedi Experience camp.<ref>{{cite news|title=STAR WARS: Where Science Meets Imagination (Press Materials)|url=http://www.spacecamp.com/news/node/1902|access-date=November 23, 2010|date=May 28, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100711055207/http://www.spacecamp.com/news/node/1902|archive-date=July 11, 2010|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Other traveling exhibits include:
* [[The Chronicles of Narnia]]: The Exhibition Traveling Exhibit<ref>{{cite news|title=The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Exhibition coming to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center|url=http://www.spacecamp.com/news/node/1914|access-date=November 23, 2010|date=August 5, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629112425/http://www.spacecamp.com/news/node/1914|archive-date=June 29, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
* CSI: The Experience Traveling Exhibit<ref>{{cite news|title=CSI: THE EXPERIENCE coming to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center|url=http://www.spacecamp.com/news/node/1923|access-date=November 23, 2010|date=November 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629112509/http://www.spacecamp.com/news/node/1923|archive-date=June 29, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
* A T-Rex Named Sue and Be the Dinosaur<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.al.com/entertainment-times/2011/05/new_us_space_and_rocket_center.html |title=New U.S. Space and Rocket Center exhibit showcases discovery of rare T. rex skeleton |publisher=Huntsville Times |date=May 23, 2011 |access-date=August 31, 2011 |author=Welch, Chris}}</ref>
* 100 Years of Von Braun: His American Journey<ref name="ht120503">{{cite web |url=http://blog.al.com/huntsville-times-business/2012/05/us_space_rocket_centers_von_br.html |title=U.S. Space & Rocket Center's von Braun exhibit travels abroad this summer |publisher=Huntsville Times |date=May 3, 2012 |access-date=May 4, 2012 |author=Accardi, Marian}}</ref>
* Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age<ref name="ht120503" />

==Miss Baker gravesite==
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is the resting place of [[Miss Baker]], a [[squirrel monkey]] who flew on a suborbital test flight of the [[PGM-19 Jupiter]] rocket on May 28, 1959. Baker lived in a facility at the center from 1971 until she died of kidney failure in November 1984.<ref name="USSRC20">{{cite book |title=20th Anniversary U.S. Space and Rocket Center |date=March 17, 1990 |publisher=USSRC}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Alabama Space and Rocket Center Initial Museum Floor.jpg|thumb|left|Visitors to the new museum saw Mercury and [[Apollo 6]] capsules, lunar rovers and lander concepts, and more.]]

The idea for the museum was first proposed by Dr. [[Wernher von Braun]], who led the efforts of the United States to land the first man on the Moon.<ref name="moniquegerman87">{{cite book |last=Laney |first=Monique |date=2015 |title=German Rocketeers in the Heart of Dixie: Making Sense of the Nazi Past During the Civil Rights Era |location=New Haven and London |publisher=Yale University Press |pages=87 |isbn=978-0-300-19803-4}}</ref> Plans for the museum were underway in 1960 with an economic feasibility study for the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce.<ref>{{cite book |title=Economic Feasibility of a Proposed Space Science Exhibit in Huntsville, Alabama |publisher=Southern California Laboratories of Stanford Research Institute |author=Kopp, William T. |year=1960 |location=Pasadena, California}}</ref>

Von Braun, understanding the dominance of [[American football|football]] in the Alabama culture, persuaded rival [[Alabama Crimson Tide football|Alabama]] and [[Auburn Tigers football|Auburn]] coaches [[Bear Bryant]] and [[Shug Jordan]] to appear in a television commercial supporting a $1.9 million statewide bond referendum to finance museum construction.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/31/us/31huntsville.html |title=When the Germans, and Rockets, Came to Town |work=New York Times |date=December 31, 2007 |access-date=September 25, 2011 |author=Dewan, Shaila}}</ref>  The referendum passed on November 30, 1965, and a donation of land from the [[United States Army|Army's]] [[Redstone Arsenal]] provided a location on which to build.<ref>{{cite news |title=Madison County Election Returns |work=The Huntsville Times |date=December 1, 1965 }}</ref><ref name="hist" /><ref name="aero">{{cite web |url=http://www.aero.com/museums/us_space_and_rocket/wmuusr01.htm |title=United States Space and Rocket Center |access-date=September 25, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123120602/http://www.aero.com/museums/us_space_and_rocket/wmuusr01.htm |archive-date=January 23, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

[[File:Alabama Space and Rocket Center Rocket Garden 1970.jpg|thumb|On display immediately were the lunar landscape with lunar lander mockup, and a wide variety of hardware from [[United States Army Aviation and Missile Command]], [[NASA]], and aerospace companies, including a helicopter, and the rocket park.<ref name="SaturnVTunnel"/>]]
To help draw tourists from far afield, the center needed a crown jewel. ''The Huntsville Times'' reported, Center director "Edward O. Buckbee is the type of guy with the tenacity to 'arrange' for this planet's largest, most complex mechanical beast to become a part of the Alabama Space and Rocket Center at Huntsville. / Pulling off the coup – getting a Saturn 5 moon rocket here which cost 90 times the center itself – was 'a little difficult,' admits Buckbee in a galloping understatement."<ref name="wonder">{{cite news |title=A World Wonder in our Midst |work=The Huntsville Times |date=September 24, 1972 |author=Casebolt, Barry |pages=B-1+}}</ref>  Buckbee worked with von Braun to see that the [[Saturn V Dynamic Test Vehicle]] would be delivered to the site as it was on June 28, 1969.  The Saturn I Block 2 Dynamic Test Vehicle which stands erect at the museum was delivered the same day.<ref name="Siebel690630">{{Citation |author=von Braun, Wernher |editor1-last=Buckbee |editor1-first=Ed |title=The Rocket Man: Wernher von Braun: The Man Who Took America to the Moon: His Weekly Notes: 1961–1969 |url=http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum9/HTML/001778.html |format=DVD |year=2010 |publisher=Steward & Wise Music Publishing |isbn=978-1-935001-27-0 |page=NOTES 6–30–69 SIEBEL}}</ref> Initial plans called for visitors to walk through the Saturn V.<ref name="SaturnVTunnel">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PforAAAAIBAJ&sjid=usYEAAAAIBAJ&dq=space-science&pg=764%2C3938375 |title=Alabama Space Science Center |work=Times Daily |date=February 23, 1969 |access-date=September 29, 2011}}</ref> The center opened on March 17, 1970.<ref>{{cite news|date=March 17, 1970|title=Alabama Space and Rocket Center Dedication Set At Huntsville Today|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30228907/space_and_rocket_center_dedication_in/|work=Alabama Journal|location=Montgomery, Alabama|access-date=2019-04-03}}</ref>

The Space & Rocket Center was a "major sponsor" of the United States pavilion at the [[1982 World's Fair]], providing exhibits on space and energy as well as equipment and operations for the [[IMAX]] theater at the fair. At the time, the Space & Rocket Center also served as the Alabama Energy Information Center.<ref name="WorldsFair">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IkZBAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-6gMAAAAIBAJ&dq=rocket-center%20omnimax&pg=5490%2C5842962 |title=Space, Rocket Unit Will Be At The Fair |work=Harlan Daily Enterprise |date=April 23, 1982 |access-date=September 29, 2011 |pages=8B}}</ref>  The Spacedome IMAX theater at the museum opened December 19, 1982.<ref name="SpacedomeOpen">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24029664/alabama_opens_new_spacedome_movie/ |title=Alabama Opens New Spacedome Movie Theater |last=Dunnavant |first=Bob |date=1982-12-20|work=The Tennessean |page=23 |language=en |publication-place=Nashville, Tennessee |access-date=2018-09-25| via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The theater closed October 7, 2018 and was converted into the Intuitive Planetarium, featuring high-definition digital projectors, which opened February 28, 2019.<ref name="PlanetariumOpen">{{Cite web |url=http://communityjournal.org/planetarium-replaces-imax-at-huntsvilles-space-rocket-center/ |title=Planetarium Replaces IMAX at Huntsville's Space & Rocket Center |last=Hall |first=Brad |date=2019-03-27 |website=The Community Journal |language=en-US |access-date=2019-04-02}}</ref><ref name="Lyons">{{Cite web |date=2019-02-27 |title=New planetarium opens at U.S. Space & Rocket Center |url=https://www.waff.com/2019/02/28/new-planetarium-opens-us-space-rocket-center/|access-date=2025-10-13 |website=waff.com |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Alabama Space and Rocket Center initial building.jpg|left|thumb|"Early blockhouse modern" describes the architectural style chosen by Huntsville architect David Crowe for the initial museum building.<ref name="wonder"/>]]
[[Mike Wing]] plunged the Center into debt as its executive director from 1998 to 1999.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=4766836 |title=Mike Wing, former CEO of Space and Rocket Center, arrested |publisher=WAFF TV |access-date=October 2, 2011}}</ref>  Wing oversaw construction of a full-scale vertical Saturn V replica to be finished by the 30th anniversary of the [[Apollo 11]] moon landing, July 1999.  It serves as a towering landmark in Huntsville, and cost the center $8.6 million of borrowed money.  The ''Huntsville Times'' estimated interest costs at $10 million.  Wing also sought to create a program for [[fifth grade]] students in Alabama and elsewhere to attend Space Camp at no cost to them.  Anonymous corporate pledges that Wing promised would fund the $800 per student never arrived. Wing prolonged the Alabama Space Science Exhibit Commission's investigation into the pledges by writing bogus personal checks and having the center record them as received.  The program ultimately cost the center $7.5 million.  Wing was pressured to resign, and several members of the governing Alabama Space Science Exhibit Commission were ousted from that board as a result of the debacle.<ref name="Tuscaloosa">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=90ogAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WKYEAAAAIBAJ&dq=mike-wing&pg=6905%2C5593713 |title=Saturn V Replica Not Paid For Yet |work=Tuscaloosa News |date=July 17, 2001 |agency=AP |access-date=October 2, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hDwdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LqYEAAAAIBAJ&dq=mike-wing&pg=3058%2C2996528 |title=Audit Sparks Probe of Center Spending |work=Tuscaloosa News |date=May 14, 2001 |agency=AP |access-date=October 2, 2011 |location=Montgomery, AL}}</ref>  At the end of Wing's term as director, the center was $26 million in debt.<ref name="moreLayoffs">{{cite web |url=http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/09/us_space_and_rocket_center_lay.html |title=U.S. Space and Rocket Center lays off 5, cuts 7 to part-time to save $500,000 (updated) |publisher=Huntsville Times |date=September 30, 2011 |access-date=October 2, 2011 |author=Haskins, Shelly}}</ref><ref name="tackle">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ByUdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZaYEAAAAIBAJ&dq=wing%20space%20camp%20fifth%20graders&pg=4513%2C1883747 |title=New CEO Ready to Tackle Space Camp's Problems |work=Tuscaloosa News |date=February 11, 2000 |agency=AP |access-date=October 4, 2011 |location=Huntsville}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2MEfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gdgEAAAAIBAJ&dq=wing%20space%20camp%20fifth%20graders%20anonymous&pg=6262%2C2735916 |title=St. Clair Fifth-Graders get Free Space Camp |work=Gadsden Times |date=June 24, 1999 |access-date=October 4, 2011 |author=Lowry, Suzy |location=Asheville}}</ref>  The state sued Wing for $7.5 million over the Space Camp fraud.  They settled for $500,000.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://tdn.com/news/school-board-approves-hiring-of-baseball-coach-mike-wing/article_7329d165-e3d0-557d-821b-c6b951fb6ee9.html |title=School board approves hiring of baseball coach Mike Wing |last=Hart |first=Joshua |date=April 11, 2016 |work=Longview Daily News |access-date=2018-01-19 |language=en}}</ref>

The expenditures would shape more than the next decade for the center. Bill Stender took over from ousted Wing as acting chief executive officer on October 14, 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCarter |first=Mark |date=2014-10-14 |title=This day in Huntsville history: Residents fear creation of 'Condo Valley' with new construction |url=https://www.al.com/news/huntsville/2014/10/this_day_in_huntsville_history_95.html |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=al |language=en}}</ref>

The board of directors was largely changed out in the shakeup removing Wing. New directors included Larry Capps who was selected to head the museum on February 9, 2000, after Stender's interim appointment.<ref name="tackle"/>  He reduced the debt to $16 million while also building the Davidson Center for Space Exploration and moving the Saturn V Dynamic Test Vehicle into its custom-built facility.<ref name="moreLayoffs"/> Capps was director through his retirement in 2010.<ref name="BarnhartStart">{{cite web |url=http://blog.al.com/breaking/2010/12/new_space_rocket_center_ceo_ba.html |title=New Space & Rocket Center CEO Barnhart described as ideal choice |publisher=Huntsville Times |date=December 22, 2010 |access-date=October 2, 2011 |author=Lawson, Brian}}</ref>

Dr. Deborah Barnhart, who headed Space Camp from 1986 to 1990, was selected to run the museum in 2010.<ref name="BarnhartStart"/>  She has since brought Orion and other post-Shuttle training apparatus to Space Camp and retired the center's line of credit, reducing interest expenditures. The center had about $13 million debt in May 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.al.com/breaking/2014/05/us_space_rocket_center_set_to.html |title=U.S. Space & Rocket Center celebrates 'watershed' financial achievement, upgrade Space Camp facilities |publisher=al.com |work=Huntsville Times |date=May 16, 2014 |access-date=September 8, 2015 |author=Gattis, Paul}}</ref>  Barnhart retired in December 2019.<ref name="Robinson1" />

In July 2020, the center put out a plea for donations to help make ends meet since two–thirds of revenue had been lost due to shutdowns and cancellations from the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]], and because of the center's unique governance, it was not eligible for any state or federal bailout programs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Alicia |date=2020-07-29 |title=Alabama's US Space & Rocket Center may close forever unless it raises $1.5 million in the next 3 months |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/29/us/us-space-rocket-center-alabama-close-donation-scn-trnd/index.html |access-date=2020-12-15 |website=CNN}}</ref>  After a week, the center's fundraiser met its $1.5 million goal to continue operations through April 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grass |first=Jonathan |title=US Space & Rocket Center reaches fundraising goal |url=https://www.waff.com/2020/08/04/us-space-rocket-center-reaches-fundraising-goal/ |access-date=2020-12-15 |website= waff.com |date=August 5, 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref>

On December 15, 2020, the Alabama Space Science Exhibit Commission announced that Dr. Kimberly Robinson would be the next director, starting February 15, 2021.<ref name="Robinson1" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-12-15 |title=U.S. Space and Rocket Center names new director |url=https://whnt.com/news/u-s-space-and-rocket-center-names-new-director/ |access-date=2020-12-15 |website=WHNT.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Thusius |first=Ashley |date=2020-12-15 |title=Huntsville's U.S. Space and Rocket Center announces new CEO, Executive Director |language=en |work=WAAY-TV |url=https://www.waaytv.com/content/news/Huntsvilles-US-Space-and-Rocket-Center-announces-new-CEO-Executive-Director---573400081.html |access-date=2020-12-16}}</ref>

==Buildings==
Huntsville architect David Crowe designed the initial building with {{convert|22000|sqft|sqm}} of exhibit space.<ref name="SaturnVTunnel"/> Since 1969, Huntsville residents could point to the vertical [[Saturn I]] rocket at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center as a distant landmark (located a few miles from the city center).<ref name="Siebel690630"/>  In 1999, a full-scale model of the [[Saturn V]] rocket was erected, standing nearly twice as tall as the Saturn I.<ref name="Tuscaloosa"/>

From 1979 to 2023 an unflown [[Saturn IB]] rocket owned by MSFC and leased to the museum stood at the Alabama Welcome Center in [[Ardmore, Alabama|Ardmore]] "as a reminder to visitors of Alabama's role in the space program." It was removed and salvaged due to lack of maintenance in September 2023.<ref>{{cite news |title=Space and Rocket Plans Summer Celebration |work=The Huntsville Times |date=May 6, 1979 |author=Dooling, Dave}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-101923a-saturn-ib-rocket-alabama-rest-stop-removal.html |title=Apollo artifacts: NASA salvages parts from Alabama's rest stop Saturn IB rocket }}</ref>

The dome theater addition opened December 19, 1982,<ref name="SpacedomeOpen"/> and was updated in early 2019 to be the INTUITIVE Planetarium.<ref name="PlanetariumOpen"/>

The 1986 film ''[[SpaceCamp]]'' promoted the camp and inspired more than a doubling of camp attendees (from 5,000 in 1986 to 11,000 in 1987), and the facilities had to be expanded again.<ref>{{cite news |title=Space Camp Expected to draw 9,000 |work=The Huntsville Times |date=February 4, 1987 |author=Burkey, Martin}}</ref><ref name="HabPlans">{{cite news |title=Space Camp Plans Futuristic Dorms: Space Station Inspired $3.65 Million Design |work=The Huntsville Times |date=August 14, 1987 |author=Burkey, Martin}}</ref>

A $3 million NASA Educator Resource Center was built during Larry Capps's tenure, opening mid-2005.<ref name="CappsRetiring"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/k-4/features/F_HSV_ERC_Groundbreaking.html |title=Teachers will Soon Have a New Launch Pad |last=Burns |first=Brooke |date=2004-07-30 |website=www.nasa.gov |language=en |access-date=2019-04-02}}</ref>

[[File:Davidson Center for Space Exploration.jpg|thumb|right|Front side of the Davidson Center for Space Exploration]]
The newest addition to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center is the Davidson Center for Space Exploration, named after Dr. Julian Davidson, founder of Davidson Technologies.<ref>[http://www.davidson-tech.com/company.php Davidson Technologies Inc.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830054023/http://www.davidson-tech.com/company.php |date=August 30, 2010 }}</ref> The {{convert|68000|sqft|sqm}}<ref name="CappsRetiring">{{cite news |url=http://www.decaturdaily.com/stories/Space-museum-CEO-retiring,66476?content_source==========stories==1332&category_id=&search_filter=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=&sub_type=stories&town_id= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405032256/http://www.decaturdaily.com/stories/Space-museum-CEO-retiring,66476?content_source==========stories==1332&category_id=&search_filter=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=&sub_type=stories&town_id= |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 5, 2012 |title=Space museum CEO retiring |work=Decatur Daily |date=August 14, 2010 |access-date=October 3, 2011 |author=Huggins, Paul |location=Huntsville }}</ref> building opened January 31, 2008.  The Davidson Center was designed to house the [[Saturn V Dynamic Test Vehicle]] (listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]) and many other space exploration exhibits. The vehicle is elevated above the floor surface with separated stages and engines exposed, so visitors have the opportunity to walk underneath the rocket.  The Davidson Center also features a 3D movie theater in addition to the planetarium in the original museum.

==Governance==
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is owned by the State of Alabama and operated by the Alabama Space Science Exhibit Commission (ASSEC), whose 18 members are appointed by the [[Governor of Alabama|Governor]] for terms of four or eight years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=1774848&nav=0hBEMBXm |title=Gov. Riley Appoints Members to Space Science Exhibit Commission |publisher=WAFF TV |date=October 1, 2009 |access-date=April 18, 2012}}</ref>  The composition and authority of the board are set forth in Title 41, Article 15 of the [[Code of Alabama]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/alcode/41/9/15 |title=Alabama Code – Article 15: SPACE SCIENCE EXHIBIT COMMISSION |work=Findlaw |access-date=April 18, 2012}}</ref> ASSEC meetings are open to the public.<ref name="SprocketFAQ"/>

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center Foundation is a nonprofit organization that raises funds for the ASSEC.<ref name="SprocketFAQ">{{cite web |url=http://www.sprocketeers.org/faq/ |title=FAQ |publisher=Sprocketeers.org |work=Sprocketeers.org, an unofficial blog |access-date=April 18, 2012 |author=Lyons, Wes |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419152201/http://www.sprocketeers.org/faq/ |archive-date=April 19, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gospaceeducation.org/foundation |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180512112820/http://www.gospaceeducation.org/foundation |archive-date=May 12, 2018 |title=The Foundation {{!}} US Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation}}</ref>

==Visitors==
The Space & Rocket Center saw 540,153 visitors in 2010 and 553,137 in 2011,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/03/us_space_rocket_center_in_no_1.html |title=U.S. Space & Rocket Center in No. 1 spot among state's top 10 attractions (updated) |publisher=al.com |date=March 2, 2012 |access-date=April 18, 2012 |author=Accardi, Marian}}</ref> and over 584,000 in 2013, the latter earning the museum recognition as the top paid-tourist attraction in Alabama.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.al.com/business/index.ssf/2014/02/us_space_rocket_center_in_hunt_2.html |title=U.S. Space & Rocket Center is top paid Alabama attraction in 2013; see other 9 destinations (photos) |publisher=al.com |date=February 27, 2014 |access-date=February 28, 2014 |author=Barry, Lucy}}</ref> In 2017, more than 786,820 people visited the center, ranking it first among state attractions that charge admission, according to the Alabama Department of Tourism.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wsfa.com/story/37388107/al-tourism-names-states-most-popular-attractions-for-2017 |title=AL Tourism names state's most popular attractions for 2017 |website=WSFA 12 News |language=en |date=2018-01-31|access-date=2018-05-04}}</ref>

The [[NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge]], previously known as the Great Moonbuggy Race, has run every year since 1994, and all but the first two have been held at the Space & Rocket Center.  The race challenges high school and college students to design and build a small moonbuggy that they can assemble on-site and ride across a simulated lunar terrain.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://dawn.com/2012/04/15/nasa-moonbuggy-race-pits-teams-from-around-world/ |title=NASA 'moonbuggy race' pits teams from around world |work=Dawn.com sci-tech |date=April 15, 2012 |agency=AP |access-date=April 18, 2012}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
{{See also|United States Space Camp#Media and popular culture|l1=United States Space Camp}}
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center was the setting for feature films ''[[SpaceCamp]]'' (1986),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fast-rewind.com/locations_spacecamp.htm |title=On Location... Space Camp Filming Locations |work=80's Movies Rewind |year=2009 |access-date=September 12, 2011}}</ref> ''[[Beyond the Stars]]'' (1989),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096921/locations |title=Beyond the Stars (1989) filming locations |publisher=IMDB |access-date=September 12, 2011}}</ref> and ''Space Warriors'' (2013),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2328745/ |title=Space Warriors Movie IMDB|website=[[IMDb]]}}</ref> along with the 2012 made-for-TV movie ''[[A Smile as Big as the Moon]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mlive.com/tv/index.ssf/2012/01/a_smile_as_big_as_the_moon_sta.html|title='A Smile as Big as the Moon' starring John Corbett airs at 9 tonight on ABC (video)|website=mlive.com|date=January 29, 2012|access-date=April 14, 2018}}</ref>

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center was the site of a Roadblock and Pit Stop at the end of Leg 3 of ''[[The Amazing Race 8|The Amazing Race: Family Edition]]'' aired in October 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.realitytvworld.com/news/the-aiello-family-becomes-third-team-eliminated-from-the-amazing-race-family-edition-3751.php|title=The Aiello family becomes the third team eliminated from 'The Amazing Race: Family Edition'|work=Reality TV World|last=Sellers|first=Andrea|date=October 12, 2005|access-date=December 31, 2019}}</ref>

''[[Good Morning America]]'' has featured the Space & Rocket Center multiple times. In their 2006 proclamation the "Seven wonders of America", GMA selected the [[Saturn V]] and particularly featured the [[Saturn V Dynamic Test Vehicle]] at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.<ref>{{cite news |title=Space Camp, Movie Topic on TV Show |work=The Huntsville Times |date=May 27, 1986 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/7WondersofAmerica/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604162401/https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/7WondersofAmerica/ |archive-date=2011-06-04 |title=Seven Wonders of America |publisher=ABC News |work=Good Morning America |year=2006 |access-date=September 11, 2011}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|U.S. Space & Rocket Center}}
{{portal|Alabama|United States}}
* [http://rocketcenter.com/ U.S. Space & Rocket Center website]
{{Huntsville, Alabama}}

{{NASAMSFC}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Space and Rocket Center}}
[[Category:U.S. Space & Rocket Center| ]]
[[Category:Aerospace museums in Alabama]]
[[Category:Museums in Huntsville, Alabama]]
[[Category:Marshall Space Flight Center|Space and Rocket Center]]
[[Category:NASA visitor centers|Space and Rocket Center]]
[[Category:Open-air museums in Alabama]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Huntsville, Alabama]]
[[Category:Culture of Huntsville, Alabama]]
[[Category:History museums in Alabama]]
[[Category:Huntsville-Decatur, AL Combined Statistical Area]]
[[Category:Landmarks in Alabama]]
[[Category:Rocketry]]
[[Category:Smithsonian Institution affiliates]]
[[Category:Space program of the United States|Space and Rocket Center]]
[[Category:Mountain biking venues in Alabama]]
[[Category:Museums established in 1965]]
[[Category:1965 establishments in Alabama]]
[[Category:Wernher von Braun]]