Browse Items (69 total)
Sort by:
Glenn's Rocket Found in Africa
A newspaper article, originally posted by The Associated Press, published in The Miami Herald on March 2, 1962. According to the article, a fragment of the Atlas rocket used for John Glenn's mission was found on a farm in South Africa. South African…
Canaveral Leaves Mind Sharp Bits Amid Clutter
A newspaper article from The Baltimore Sun published on May 20, 1963. Written by Stephen A. Bennett, the article provides details Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9), the final manned space mission for Project Mercury. MA-9 launched from Launch Complex 14 at Cape…
Letter from General Ben I. Funk to Dr. Calvin D. Fowler (May 14, 1963)
After the successful completion of the final manned Mercury-Atlas flight (MA-9), General Ben I. Funk (b. 1913), who was the U.S. Air Force general in charge of manned rocket development, sent this letter of commendation to Dr. Calvin D. Fowler,…
Astronauts' Biggest 'Booster': Button Pusher with Prime Job
A newspaper article by Peter Reich published in The Chicago's American. The article provides a contemporaneous account of Dr. Calvin D. Fowler, manager of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) and launch conductor, whose job was…
Letter from Colonel William E. Todd to Dr. Cal Fowler (December 4, 1961)
A letter of correspondence from Colonel William E. Todd to Dr. Cal Fowler (1929-2013) dated December 4, 1961. In the letter, col. Todd invites Dr. Fowler, the former chief activation engineer, to attend ceremonies marking the completion of the U.S.…
President John F. Kennedy Touring Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14
High-profile projects, such as Project Mercury, typically get a great deal of attention from Presidential Administrations. This presidential visit occurred on September 11, 1962, a month before the fifth Mercury flight. President John F. Kennedy…
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 (LC-14), where some of the United States' first astronauts were launched into space, had a heavily built concrete and steel blockhouse which housed the actual rocket firing button. This blockhouse…
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse Launch Tote Board
The Launch Tote Board at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) detailed the rocket launches carried out at the facility. Posted outside of the blockhouse, it showed the vehicle type, designation and launch date.
Workstation Containing Analog Electronics in Rack at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse
Used during the launches of the Mercury-Atlas rockets—from the first American to orbit earth, John Glenn (b. 1921), to the last Project Mercury flight with Gordon Cooper (1927-2004), Jr.—this was one of the workstations in the blockhouse at Launch…
Rocket Monitoring and Launch Workstations at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse
The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) Blockhouse was where Mercury-Atlas rockets were launched using analog electronic equipment to monitor various aspects of the rocket. One might note that these Project Mercury workstations…
GD/Astro Greeters See Kennedy on Cape Trip
A newspaper article on President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)'s visit to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) on September 11, 1962. Presidents typically use such visits to gain firsthand understanding of important programs.…
Cal Fowler and Others at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14
Dr. Calvin D. Fowler with others at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 (LC-14). Dr. Fowler is photographed second from the right. Dr. Fowler was the manager of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 during the final three…
A Great Trip in a Sweet Bird
A newspaper article published by The Plattsburgh Press-Republican on October 4, 1962. Dr. Calvin D. Fowler was the manager of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 during the final three launches of Project Mercury. In this newspaper…
John Glenn Returning to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 After Mercury 7 Flight
As the third Mercury 7 astronaut, John Glenn (b. 1921) became the first American to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962. On February 23, he returned to Patrick Air Force Base (Patrick AFB), accompanied by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson…
Dr. Calvin D. Fowler and T. J.O'Malley Observing Project Mercury
Dr. Calvin D. Fowler, T. J. O'Malley (1915-2009) and others observing Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9)'s spacecraft, Faith 7, for Project Mercury. Faith 7 was piloted by Gordon Cooper (1927-2004), on May 15, 1963. After the launch, the team assembled in the…
Astronaut Wally Schirra
Wally Schirra (1923-2007) was the fifth American astronaut in space and the third to orbit the Earth. On October 3, 1962, Dr. Calvin D. Fowler, who was the manager and launch conductor for Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 (LC-14),…
Mercury-Atlas Management Team at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse
A group photograph of the Mercury-Atlas launch management team. Left center in the back row is Dr. Calvin D. Fowler, who launched astronauts Scott Carpenter (1925-2013), Wally Schirra (1923-2007), and Gordon Cooper (1927-2004). The other men in the…
Dr. Calvin D. Fowler at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse's Launch Conductor Console
Dr. Calvin D. Fowler seated at the launch conductor's console in the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (Cape Canaveral AFS) Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) blockhouse for Mercury-Atlas launch. Fowler would conduct the final three Project Mercury launches…
Launch Control Room at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse
During a launch of a Mercury-Atlas mission, these workstations were occupied by workers who monitored critical systems on the rocket and maintained lines of communications with essential locations around the world. Instead of digital readouts and big…
Electronic Equipment Racks at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse
Electronic equipment at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (Cape Canaveral AFS) Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) blockhouse. The equipment was mounted in racks similar to the way modern computer servers are and was used to monitor the rocket during…
Rack of Electronic Equipment at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse
Electronic equipment at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (Cape Canaveral AFS) Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) blockhouse, mounted in racks similar to the way modern computer servers are, was used to monitor the rocket during Project Mercury launches.…
Television Control Equipment at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse
The television Control equipment at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse, mounted in racks similar to the way modern computer servers are, was used to monitor the rocket during Project Mercury launches. Instead of digital…
Launch Control Simulator Console at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse
tHE Launch Control Simulator at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse. This console likely allowed the launch team in Launch Complex 14's blockhouse to practice countdowns under simulated conditions. This could have…
Playback Head Selector Equipment at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse
Electronic equipment at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse, mounted in racks similar to the way modern computer servers are, was used to monitor the rocket during Project Mercury launches. Instead of digital readouts…
Astronaut Wally Schirra and B. G. MacNabb
Astronaut Wally Schirra (1923-2007) named his boat Sigma 7, after the spacecraft which took him into orbit. In the photograph, Schirra shows the watercraft to General Dynamics/Astronautics director of operations B. G. MacNabb at what is believed to…
Dr. Calvin D. Fowler Exiting Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse
Dr. Calvin D. Fowler and an unidentified person exiting the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Blockhouse. The tote board, which recorded the launches from Launch Complex 14 (Lc-14), can be seen above them.
Astronaut Gordon Cooper with Management Team at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14
In the first photograph, astronaut Gordon Cooper (1927-2004), pictured in the center, standing with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) managers on the right and contractor managers on the left. Then men are pictured in front of the…
Atlas Rocket Under Construction at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14
In the final launch of Project Mercury, the Atlas launch vehicle sits on its side before being fully assembled and lifted vertically on the gantry. The Atlas was America's first rocket capable of lifting a man into orbit. Faith 7's Atlas booster…
Dr. Calvin D. Fowler and Wayne Reid at Launch Conductor's Workstation in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14
Dr. Calvin D. Fowler sitting at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14's Launch Conductor's workstation, is depicted ghere with Wayne Reid, of the Aerospace Corporation, around the time of Wally Schirra's (1923-2007) Sigma 7 launch.
B. G. MacNabb with Astronaut Gordon Cooper
B. G. MacNabb, General Dynamics/Astronautics director of operations, greeting Mercury 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper (1927-2004) during a practice, the day before a launch was scrubbed or launch day at the launchpad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station…
President John F. Kennedy with B. G. MacNabb at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14
During one visit to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14, President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) talking with General Dynamics/Astronautics director of operations B. G. MacNabb. Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) manager Dr. Calvin D.…
Astronaut Gordon Cooper at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Launchpad
While visiting the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Launchpad before the launch of the Faith 7 Mercury-Atlas mission, astronaut Astronaut listens to Günter Wendt (1923-2010) of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, the man who supervised…
Launch Crew in the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 Launchpad Blockhouse
T. J. O'Malley (1915-2009), who launched astronaut John Glenn (b. 1921) into orbit, is photographed on the left, and Dr. Calvin D. Fowler, who launched Scott Carpenter (1925-2013), Wally Schirra (1923-2007), and Gordon Cooper (1927-2004), is seen on…
Dr. Calvin D. Fowler as a Test Conductor at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 11
Before being manager of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 and launching three astronauts into space, Dr. Calvin D. Fowler worked as a test conductor for Atlas missile tests at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 11.
Atlas Core Arriving at Cape Canaveral
An Atlas core arriving at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Skid Strip. The core was flown from the manufacturer, Convair/General Dynamics, to Cape Canaveral, where it was unloaded and prepared for launch. This particular core was used for one…
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 13 Launch Tote Board
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 13 (LC-13) was the sister site of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) and was used for unmanned Atlas intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), rocket tests, and Atlas-Agena…
Time Capsule Placed at Mercury 7 Monument
The time capsule is located at the Mercury 7 Monument, which was placed at the entrance to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 (LC-14). Contents of the time capsule are said to include John Glenn's (b. 1921) Marine Corps pilot wings,…
Thor-Able Mission Being Prepared for Launch at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17
The Thor-Able rocket sits on the pad being prepared for launch. These missions were launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17 (LC-17).
Astronaut Gordon Cooper and Faith 7 Capsule at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14
Gordon Cooper (1927-2004), the astronaut aboard the last flight of Project Mercury, observing capsule preparations at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 (LC-14), as unidentified others look on. Cooper was to become the last American…
Astronaut Gordon Cooper Autograph
Years after his historic Mercury-Atlas 9 mission, astronaut Gordon Cooper (1927-2004) autographed this photograph of himself for the U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum in Titusville, Florida. During his Faith 7 flight, Cooper orbited the earth 22.5…
Günter F. Wendt and Astronaut Gordon Cooper at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14
Photographed on the left is Günter F. Wendt, who was in charge with launch pad preparations, with astronaut Gordon Cooper (1927-2004), photographed in a space suit, at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 (LC-14). It is not known if…
Astronaut Gordon Cooper and Dr. Calvin D. Fowler at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14
Gordon Cooper (1927-2004) with Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14's manager Dr. Calvin D. Fowler, who would launch Cooper into orbit, observing the rocket delivery. In the final launch of Project Mercury, Cooper's Atlas launch vehicle…
Friendship 7 Lift Off at the Launch Pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14
John Glenn's (b. 1921) Mercury-Atlas vehicle (MA-6) lifting off the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) on February 20, 1962. This was the first manned flight of a Mercury-Atlas spacecraft, which occurred after a…
Verification Vehicle Being Moved to Launch Complex 34
An Apollo verification vehicle being moved from the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB) (MSOB) at John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) industrial Area to Launch Pad 34 in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). Verification vehicles are…
Mating Apollo Command/Service Module to Launch Adapter
An early mating of a test Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM) to a Launch Adapter in Hangar AF in the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) industrial area. The CSM, along with the Lunar Module (LM), was a spacecraft used during Project Apollo to…
Mating Apollo Command Module to the Service Module
An early mating of a test Apollo Command Module to the Service Module in Hangar AF in the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) industrial area. The Apollo Command Module was the crew cabin for the Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM). The CSM,…
First Launch of Saturn I Booster
The first launch of the Saturn I (SA-1) booster from Launch Complex 34 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Saturn I was the first heavy-lift dedicated space launcher used in the United States. The Saturn I rocket…
Construction of Special Assembly Building
An aerial photograph of the Special Assembly Building (later known as Hangar AF) under construction at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Cape Canaveral, Florida. At present, the hangar is used by John F. Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) for its…
Launch Complex 37 Pre-launch Preparations for Saturn I
A view inside Launch Complex 37's blockhouse at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) the day before the launch of the Saturn I (SA-7) on its final qualification flight. Saturn I was the first heavy-lift dedicated space launcher used in the…
Saturn I Launch at Launch Complex 34
The second test flight of the Saturn I (SA-2) rocket was launched successfully not long after this photograph was taken at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Saturn I rocket was designed to launch payloads into…
Verification Vehicle Being Moved to Launch Complex 34
An Apollo verification vehicle being moved from the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB) (MSOB) at John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) industrial Area to Launch Pad 34 in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). Verification vehicles are…
Mating Apollo Command/Service Module to Launch Adapter
An early mating of a test Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM) to a Launch Adapter in Hangar AF in the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) industrial area. The CSM, along with the Lunar Module (LM), was a spacecraft used during Project Apollo to…
Mating Apollo Command Module to the Service Module
An early mating of a test Apollo Command Module to the Service Module in Hangar AF in the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) industrial area. The Apollo Command Module was the crew cabin for the Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM). The CSM,…
First Launch of Saturn I Booster
The first launch of the Saturn I (SA-1) booster from Launch Complex 34 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Saturn I was the first heavy-lift dedicated space launcher used in the United States. The Saturn I rocket…
Saturn I Booster with Boilerplate Apollo Command/Service Module
A Saturn I launching from Launch Complex 37 of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Saturn I was the first heavy-lift dedicated space launcher used in the United States. The Saturn I rocket was designed to launch…
First Launch of Apollo-Saturn Configuration
The first Apollo-Saturn launch vehicle as it sat on Launch Pad 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Cape Canaveral, Florida, before its launch on May 28, 1964. Saturn I was the first heavy-lift dedicated space launcher used in the…
Saturn I Booster Test Flight Launch
One of the first three test flights of the Saturn I booster. Here, it is depicted as it has lifted off from Launch Complex 34 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Saturn I was the first heavy-lift dedicated space…
Apollo 7 Liftoff
Apollo 7 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) atop a Saturn IB booster on October 11, 1968. It was an Earth orbital mission, which tested the improved Block 2 Command/Service Module (CSM). It was the first time the Apollo CSM had…
Apollo 7 Launch
Apollo 7 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) atop a Saturn IB booster on October 11, 1968. It was an Earth orbital mission, which tested the improved Block 2 Command/Service Module (CSM). It was the first time the Apollo CSM had…
Saturn IB Booster for Apollo 7
The Saturn IB used for the Apollo 7 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on October 11, 1968. It was an Earth orbital mission, which tested the improved Block 2 Command/Service Module (CSM). It was the…
Apollo 7 Astronauts Boarding a Transfer Van
Mission Commander Wally Schirra (1923-2007), Command Module Pilot Donn F. Eisele (1930-1987), and Lunar Module Pilot Walter Cunningham (1932-) boarding a transfer van before liftoff at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Cape Canaveral,…
Astronauts Load into Transfer Van for Apollo 7 Launch Demonstration Test
Mission Commander Wally Schirra (1923-2007), Command Module Pilot Donn F. Eisele (1930-1987), and Lunar Module Pilot Walter Cunningham (1932-) boarding a transfer van for a Launch Demonstration Test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Cape…
Project Mercury Test and Launch Engineers in Front of Mercury-Atlas 1
The engineering management team in front of Mercury-Atlas 1, an unmanned test rocket Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCFAS) in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in July of 1960. This was the first test of an Atlas D booster along with a Mercury capsule. The…
Schirra Presented with Launch Key from Atlas Crew
A newspaper article and photograph showing Dr. Cal Fowler (1929-2013), on the left, presenting the launch key to astronaut Wally Schirra (1923-2007) Dr. Fowler, the Launch Conductor at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS)'s Launch Complex 14…
Dr. Cal Fowler Presenting Wally Schirra with Launch Key
Dr. Cal Fowler (1929-2013), on the left, presenting the launch key to astronaut Wally Schirra (1923-2007) Dr. Fowler, the Launch Conductor at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS)'s Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) in Cape Canaveral, Florida, used the…
Wally Schirra and Others at Post-Flight Event
Astronaut Wally Schirra (1923-2007) at a post-flight event. Dr.Calvin D. Fowler, the Launch Conductor at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS)'s Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) in Cape Canaveral, Florida, presented Schirra with the key to launch…
Dr. Cal Fowler Receiving the Sapley Award
Dr. Cal Fowler (1929-2013), Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS)'s Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) Manager, accepting the Sapley Award for the "Best (Safest Complex during 1962)" on January 23, 1963. Photographed with him, from the left to right, are…
Memento of Appreciation Presented to Dr. Cal Fowler
On June 28, 1965, during Project Gemini, General Dynamics Astronautics Manager Dr. Cal Fowler (1929-2013) was presented a memento of appreciation for 10 years as a test and launch conductor at with company. At the time, Dr. Fowler was manager of Cape…
Cake in Honor of John Herschel Glenn, Jr. and Friendship 7
At an event in honor of the return of astronaut John Glenn (1921-), who had become the first American to orbit the Earth, Henri Landwirth (1927-), a hotelier in the area, had a cake baked. The cake was between 700-900 pounds and shaped like the…