Apix, Florida facts for kids

Testing a rocket engine at the Apix facility.

Apix, Florida was a secret place in Florida where rockets were tested. It was built during the Space Race as part of something called Project Suntan. This facility was hidden in Palm Beach County. To keep it a secret, people were told it was just a fertilizer plant in the swamps. Not much information has been shared about this hidden rocket testing site.

What Was Apix, Florida?

Why Was Apix Created?

After 1945, scientists started studying hydrogen as a fuel. The United States Air Force wanted to build a super-fast spy plane. This plane needed to fly much faster than the U-2 spy plane they already had.

Where Was Apix Located?

In 1956, a company called Pratt and Whitney teamed up with the Air Force. They bought a large piece of land, about 10 square miles, in western Palm Beach County. Their plans included building a main street called Hawthorn Road. There were also plans for many housing lots around it.

Apix was supposedly located a few miles west of Jupiter. It was near the end of West Indiantown Road and State Road 710. This area is also known as the Beeline Highway. Apix never had a real downtown, a post office, or a local government. It also had no actual residents. However, "Apix" did appear on some maps from 1959 and 1960. One map showed Apix next to the Pratt & Whitney plant and other local landmarks.

How Was Apix Kept Secret?

At that time, the western part of Palm Beach County had very few people. To hide their secret operations, officials told everyone it was a fertilizer factory. This way, local residents would not suspect anything unusual. The name Apix actually stood for "Air Products Inc, Experimental."

They also used special ways to buy the land. This stopped people from guessing it was for United Aircraft (now United Technologies). A different company bought a ranch and gave it to the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. This commission then gave the land to the U.S. Air Force. This helped keep the project a secret.

What Was Tested at Apix?

The main goal of Project Suntan was to test liquid hydrogen as a fuel for rockets. The U.S. government had been interested in this idea since the late 1940s. Apix was part of this very secret project, which ran from 1956 to 1958.

The facility could turn hydrogen into a liquid. It made about half a ton of liquid hydrogen each day. This process was very expensive, costing millions of dollars. The liquid hydrogen was then sent through an underground pipeline to a testing area. In 1959, a second plant was built. It could make 30 tons of liquid hydrogen daily. However, managers soon realized that moving liquid hydrogen through the pipeline used too much energy. So, they decided to close the pipeline. Instead, they started shipping the hydrogen in special insulated tanks along the Beeline Highway.

Apix Today

As of 2024, the company Pratt & Whitney still has an active campus at this location. Another company, Aerojet Rocketdyne, also has facilities there.