South Dakota Air and Space Museum

South Dakota Air and Space Museum
Ellsworth AFB
Location within South Dakota
Location Adjacent to Ellsworth Air Force Base, Box Elder, South Dakota, United States
Coordinates 44°08′0.82″N 103°04′23.31″W / 44.1335611°N 103.0731417°W / 44.1335611; -103.0731417
Type Aviation museum
Collection size 25+ aircraft
Nearest car park On site
Website sdairandspacemuseum.com

The South Dakota Air and Space Museum, part of the museum system of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, is located in Box Elder, South Dakota, just outside the main gate of Ellsworth AFB. The South Dakota Air and Space Museum serves to educate and entertain the public. Not only does it give information about the history of U.S. Air Force aviation, it promotes South Dakota aviation history. Major exhibits include the B-1B Lancer and the B-29 Superfortress.

During the summer months, visitors can take a base bus tour for a nominal fee.[1]This includes touring a Minuteman missile Training Launch Facility as well as seeing a number of sites on the base.

Exhibits

The museum contains a number of interior and exterior exhibits including:

  • Over 30 static display aircraft ranging from World War II to current active-duty bombers including the B-1B Lancer[2]
  • 4 different missiles, including a LGM-30 Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, and a brand-new Titan I ICBM static display that opened in 2017.
  • The museum's four indoor galleries showcase AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY, COLD WAR history, Aviation PIONEERS and Ellsworth Air Force Base history
  • The South Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame
  • A Minuteman Missile crew Mission Procedures Trainer exhibit
  • An F-106 interactive aircraft cockpit
  • An F-16 interactive aircraft cockpit
  • A B-1B bomber cockpit and Offensive/Defensive System Operators Simulator exhibit
  • A comprehensive space gallery that showcases the history of U.S. space flight and rocketry, from the Titan through to the Saturn V.
  • An exhibit describing the Stratobowl Balloon Launches from South Dakota in the 1930s

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.