Stafford Air & Space Museum facts for kids

The entrance to the Stafford Air & Space Museum

The Stafford Air & Space Museum is an exciting place in Weatherford, Oklahoma, USA. It's named after a famous NASA astronaut, Thomas P. Stafford, who was born in Weatherford. Since June 2010, the museum has been connected with the Smithsonian, which is a group of museums and research centers.

At the museum, you can see many amazing things. These include Stafford's spacesuit from the Apollo 10 mission and the actual Gemini 6A spacecraft. There are also items from the Space Shuttle program, a model of the Hubble Space Telescope, and parts of the Mir Space Station. You can even see a real Moon rock! The museum also has a huge Titan II missile and more than 20 old and historic airplanes.

The museum is located right at the Thomas P. Stafford Airport.

Who Was Thomas P. Stafford?

The F-4 Phantom jet at the museum entrance

Stafford and Alexei Leonov shaking hands in space during the 1975 Apollo–Soyuz mission

The museum is named after Lieutenant General Thomas P. Stafford. He was a legendary astronaut and a pioneer in flight. Stafford was born in Weatherford and is one of only 24 people who have ever traveled to the Moon.

He graduated from the United States Naval Academy. Stafford also received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, which is a very special award. He flew into space four times. He was the pilot for Gemini 6A and commanded Gemini 9A. He also commanded the Apollo 10 mission in 1969, which orbited the Moon. His last mission was the 1975 Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, where American and Russian spacecraft linked up in space.

Museum History

The Stafford Air & Space Museum first opened its doors in 1983. Back then, it was just two rooms at the Weatherford airport. Over the years, it grew bigger and bigger. By 2006, the museum had expanded to fill four different buildings.

Amazing Exhibits to Explore

The museum has many incredible exhibits. One of the most impressive is a real Titan II rocket. This huge rocket body stretches across an entire display gallery inside the building.

Many items at the museum came from the famous Smithsonian. These include a Gemini flight suit and special space food. You can also see survival items that were flown to the Moon on the Apollo 11 mission. A very special item is the actual pressure suit Stafford wore on Apollo 10. This was the first flight of the Apollo Lunar Module, which orbited the Moon.

You can also see the hatch that connected the American and Russian spacecraft during the 1975 Apollo–Soyuz mission. This was when U.S. astronauts and Russian cosmonauts met and shook hands in space. A picture shows Stafford reaching through this very hatch to shake hands with Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. The actual uniforms they wore during that historic handshake are also on display.

Other cool exhibits include retired aircraft like a Russian MiG-21R and an F-16 jet. There are also full-size models of famous aircraft. These include the Wright Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis, an Apollo Command Module, and a Gemini spacecraft.

The museum also has the Rose & Tom Luczo Educational Center. This center has a computer lab with flight simulators and a kids' library. You can even try a special motion-based flight simulator that uses X-Plane 11 and Microsoft Flight Simulator X. Another interesting item is a TP-82 Cosmonaut survival pistol that Leonov gave to Stafford.

In March 2018, the museum added a Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, also known as the "Warthog," which is displayed outside. In July 2018, the actual Gemini 6A spacecraft was moved to the museum for everyone to see.

Early Aviation Wonders

The Gemini 6A spacecraft, flown in 1965

Thomas Stafford's Apollo 10 spacesuit

A V-2 rocket engine

• Wright Flyer (a full-size, working model)
• Blériot XI (a full-size model)
• Curtiss Pusher (a full-size, working model)
• Sopwith Pup (a full-size model)
• Spirit of St. Louis (a full-size model)

Rockets and Space Exploration

• Goddard rocket (a full-size model)
• V-2 rocket engine (a real part from a rocket)
• Sputnik 1 (a full-size model)
• Explorer 1 (a full-size model)

Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo Missions

• Moon rock collected by Gene Cernan on Apollo 17 (a real piece of the Moon)
• Congressional Space Medal of Honor given to Thomas P. Stafford in 1993 (his actual medal)
• Gemini 6A spacecraft (the actual spacecraft that flew)
• General Stafford's Gemini space suit (his actual suit)
• Apollo 10 space suit (the actual suit he wore in space)
• Lunar Module Checklist (a real checklist used in space)
• Apollo–Soyuz Docking Ring (the actual part that connected the spacecraft)
• Mission Control console from Johnson Space Center (a real console used by flight controllers)
• F-1 rocket engine (a real rocket engine)
• J-2 rocket engine (a real rocket engine)
• Titan II rocket (a real, flight-ready rocket)
• 1/2 scale Lunar Module (a half-size model)
• Apollo Command and Service Module (a full-size model)
• Gemini spacecraft (a full-size model)
• Small models (1/72 scale) of all the rockets used to send people into space during the "Space Race"
• Astronaut Maneuvering Unit model

Modern Space and Aviation

• Space Shuttle main engine (a real engine that flew in space)
• Shuttle solid rocket booster segment (a real part from a Space Shuttle booster)
• Mark 6 nuclear warhead (a real, but made safe, part)
• 1/15th scale Hubble Space Telescope (a model)
• Rocket "Crawler Shoe" (a real part from the giant vehicle that moves rockets)
• Bell X-1 (a full-size model)
• F-86 "Sabre" fighter (a real aircraft)
• MiG-21R "Fishbed" fighter (a real aircraft)
• T-38 "Talon" trainer (a real aircraft)
• T-33 trainer (a real aircraft)
• B61 thermonuclear bomb (a real, but made safe, part)
• F-16 "Fighting Falcon" (a real aircraft)
• F-104 "Starfighter" (a real aircraft)
• F-4 Phantom (a real aircraft)
• A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog" (a real aircraft)