November 24, 2018

November 24, 2018

We are driving home today after spending the Thanksgiving holidays in Amarillo, TX. We didn’t leave at the crack of dawn like we should have so we need to stop somewhere. Alamogordo, NM is about half-way. This also seems like a good opportunity to visit the New Mexico Museum of Space History. We have passed it many times but timing never allowed us to stop.

Alamogordo is an apt spot for a space museum because it sits next to Holloman AFB and the huge White Sands Missile Range. This was our country’s focal point for missile development and testing. It was picked because of its isolation and flat terrain. My father spent his career designing missiles and traveled here many times.

The museum is housed in a four-story glass building with a commanding view of the surrounding valley. We start outside taking a quick peak at the many artifacts displayed on the grounds. They include several American rocket engines and the remnants of a WWII German V-2. The V-2 was the world's first guided ballistic missile and was tested here with the help of Werner Von Braun after he surrendered to Allied troops. There is a section of rocket sled track that was used to test acceleration on the human body. The “fastest man alive" achieved a land speed record of 632mph in 1954. Also on the grounds is the grave of ‘HAM', the first chimpanzee in space.

The main building is a two-fer. The International Space Hall of Fame lines the spiral exhibit path. The plaques honor those who made significant contributions to the field. Aimee spent most of her time here as she likes reading about people’s lives.

I spent most of my time with the exhibits about space history. It starts with a little about ancient Chinese rockets, 18^th century English Congreve rockets, and Goddard’s 1926 experiments. The modern era really started just before I was born with the surprise late 1957 launch of Sputnik. This first satellite circled the earth for 92 days and kicked US efforts into high gear. We quickly launched monkeys and humans into space culminating with the 1969 landing on the moon.

The museum has a lot on gyroscope guidance. I ended up watching several videos. In the midst of this Cold War arms race my father bought me a toy gyroscope after a missile trip hoping it might inspire me. Although a gyro is fun to play with I never understood till now how it related to guidance systems. It turned out I was missing the critical Gimbal support that allows it to freely float!

The museum ends with a room exhibit on Gene Roddenberry, an unusual inductee into the Hall of Fame. This WWII pilot went on to write scripts for Hollywood. His interest in space led him to write and produce Star Trek. The mock-up of a Transporter makes me wonder if I could "beam" home instead of finishing this long drive.