Space Hall of Fame

This page still under construction.

The Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo is hard to miss since it is part way up a hill side and has a large Little Joe II outside.

One of the most impressive pieces of hardware is a F1 engine (used on the Saturn V first stage - five of em!)

F1 engine with exit cone extension

Here is a view right down the nozzle throat into the combustion chamber. You can see some of the barriers on the face of the injector used to inhibit combustion instability. Which is a big problem on rocket engins this size.

F1 engine throat and combustion chamber

Inside are a lot of interesting displays. Unfortunately, when I visited I forgot to bring my flash so all of these pictures were taken with ASA 64 Kodachrome using available light. The florescent lighting caused the color balance to be a bit off but I was able to compensate when scanning the photos.

I will start with the Arcas. The thing that caught my eye about this particular display is the curl in the skin at the aft end of the boattail. ARCAS fins and tail
Here is the tail area of the cutaway model they had in a display case. Interesting detail on nozzle and fuel grain. ARCAS nozzle cutaway
Here we see the forward end of the motor (top) and the nosecone. Also notice the reflection of the photgrapher (me) in the display case. Since this case was facing a window, I couldn't find a way to lose the reflection. ARCAS nose cone
Here is the payload section. Notice how the payload extends into the nosecone. ARCAS payload
Here is the front and aft sections of the Arcas hanging from the ceiling. Don't ask me why I didn't get the whole thing in one shot. I can't remember! Full ARCAS hanging from ceiling ARCAS ceiling shot #2
Here is a Nike-Cajun. It is amazing how many places those old Nike rocket motors ended up. Starting with a view from the nose of the Cajun. Nike Cajun Nose view
The interstage Nike Cajun interstage
The fins on the Nike. The color of these is really hard to capture on film accurately. Nike Cajun - Nike fins
A closer look at the Cajun nose. Cajun nose
A display case with some model rockets including a Roc-A-Chute. I used to have a replica of this until a tree ate it. Roc-A-Chute model rocket. and friends.
A model of a Titan III. Also of note here is the picture of a Hermes rocket on the launch stand at LC33 on White Sands Missile Range. A location I visited many times. It being a favorite place for ATACMS flight tests. Scale model rocket of Titan III
The back side of the Nike-Cajun. A lousy photo without a flash. Parting shot of Nike-Cajun
A view behind the museum showing assorted junk. Junk out back