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Stafford Air & Space Museum

The Stafford Air & Space Museum is located in Tom Stafford's hometown of Weatherford, Oklahoma (about an hour west of Oklahoma City), on the grounds of Weatherford's airport. The museum and airport terminal share a lobby.

I've visited Stafford twice, in 2008 and in 2016. Between my visits the museum added a number of exhibits and was in the process of receiving additional artifacts.

For a number of years, the Gemini 6 spacecraft (the first spacecraft in which Tom Stafford flew) was displayed at the Oklahoma History Center (which has virtually no other aerospace exhibits) rather than here (at Stafford's eponymous museum). This was apparently something of a sore spot with the museum, as they were apparently denied the spacecraft due to their lower attendance figures than the museum located in Oklahoma City, so I was very pleased when I heard that Gemini 6 was relocated to Stafford in July 2018.

The museum has also undergone an expansion, with construction underway as of June 2019, so I'm definitely looking forward to my next visit.

Even before receiving Gemini 6 or adding the additional 20,000 square feet, this was already a really great museum, with a number of artifacts I'd not seen elsewhere or which are uncommon, and the rocket engine exhibits are very accessible. In addition to the space artifacts I've photographed, they have a fine collection of jet fighters and replicas of several historically-important aircraft. The passageway between two if their galleries is made from a 747 engine nacelle. The staff is friendly and the museum is very photo-friendly. The museum seems deceptively small from the outside, but it has three large galleries filled with aircraft, space program, and missile artifacts, along with artifacts in the lobby and in smaller galleries. The museum also houses a large conference room and an education center.

Aerial view.

As of now, I have not yet sorted through all of my pictures from Stafford, but some other page references this location. Thus, this is a "place holder" version right now, with only the pictures actually referenced. Come back some time later to see if I've finished up, or drop me an email to request me to prioritize the rest of these pictures.

 
Stafford Air & Space Museum
Stafford Air & Space Museum
F-4
F-4
F-104
F-104
T-33
T-33
Apollo Boilerplate BP-1210
Apollo Boilerplate BP-1210
Skylab In-Flight Garment
Skylab In-Flight Garment
Ambassador of Exploration
Ambassador of Exploration
ASTP Docking Module Display
ASTP Docking Module Display
Stafford's Apollo 10 Inflight Coverall Garment (ICG)
Stafford's Apollo 10 Inflight Coverall Garment (ICG)
Apollo FA-5 Penlight
Apollo FA-5 Penlight
Apollo 10 Artifacts
Apollo 10 Artifacts
LM Rendezvous Radar Antenna
LM Rendezvous Radar Antenna
Stafford's Apollo 10 Suit
Stafford's Apollo 10 Suit
LR-91 Engine
LR-91 Engine
Gemini Ejection Seat
Gemini Ejection Seat
Apollo Bench
Apollo Bench
H-1 Engine
H-1 Engine
V-2 Engine
V-2 Engine
LR-105 (Atlas Sustainer) Engine
LR-105 (Atlas Sustainer) Engine
YLR-91 Engine (With Skirt)
YLR-91 Engine (With Skirt)
LR-87 Engines
LR-87 Engines
J-2 Engine
J-2 Engine
F-1 Engine
F-1 Engine
ASTP Docking Module Mockup
ASTP Docking Module Mockup
ASTP Garments
ASTP Garments
Apollo High Gain Antenna
Apollo High Gain Antenna
Apollo Probe & Drogue System
Apollo Probe & Drogue System
Apollo Artifacts (Display Case 1)
Apollo Artifacts (Display Case 1)
Crawler-Transporter Tread
Crawler-Transporter Tread
SPS Engine
SPS Engine
Apollo Fuel Cell
Apollo Fuel Cell
Apollo Service Module Cryogenic Oxygen Tank
Apollo Service Module Cryogenic Oxygen Tank
Stafford Apollo 10 Suit #2
Stafford Apollo 10 Suit #2
Mission Control Console
Mission Control Console
SRB Casing
SRB Casing
Apollo Artifacts (Display Case 2)
Apollo Artifacts (Display Case 2)
Gemini Artifacts
Gemini Artifacts
Gemini Astronaut Maneuvering Unit
Gemini Astronaut Maneuvering Unit
Titan II
Titan II
Stafford's Gemini Suit
Stafford's Gemini Suit
Agena Engine
Agena Engine
YLR-91 Engine
YLR-91 Engine
Titan II Mark 6 Reentry Vehicle
Titan II Mark 6 Reentry Vehicle
F-1 Engine Nozzle Extension Handling Fixture
F-1 Engine Nozzle Extension Handling Fixture
J-2 Engine Transportation Dolly
J-2 Engine Transportation Dolly