Chinook Helicopter

In addition to being the official visitor center of Marshall Space Flight Center, the U.S. Space & Rocket center also serves as the visitor center for Redstone Arsenal, the U.S. Army base which surrounds MSFC.

While the Rocket Center definitely focuses on space flight, it also features a number of Army-related displays, probably the largest of which is a CH-47D Chinook helicopter, which occupies a portion of the space formerly occupied by the Saturn V.

This helicopter was added to the Rocket Park sometime before the COVID lockdowns. When initially emplaced, visitors were allowed to board the helicopter, which had what I judged to be "that new helicopter smell." I was surprised when I read the accompanying signage and found that this particular helicopter was originally delivered in 1969 and saw service in Vietnam and Afghanistan, among other missions. The museum has since erected railings to prevent visitors from entering the helicopter.