Object Details
Summary
This plastic icon was placed on a large wall map of the Earth and used in the Mission Control room at Cape Canaveral, during the Mercury and early Gemini eras. The map, with this icon, was featured on many news reports from that era and is well-remembered by the public. Wires attached to the icon and linked to telemetry data allowed it to be moved across the map, to show where the spacecraft was at any time. It is in the shape of a Mercury capsule, although it was used for the first few Gemini flights as well.
Midway through the Gemini program, Mission Control moved to Houston, Texas, and the control room at Cape Canaveral was dismantled. This icon was one of the few historic pieces salvaged from that center.
Credit Line
Gift of Steven R. Cox.
Inventory Number
A20020366000
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
SPACECRAFT-Crewed-Guidance & Control
Materials
Plastic material, probably plexiglas.
Dimensions
3-D (including wires): 15 × 18.5 × 2cm (5 7/8 × 7 5/16 × 13/16 in.)
Country of Origin
United States of America
See more items in
National Air and Space Museum Collection
Location
National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
Exhibition
Destination Moon
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nasm_A20020366000
