Rocket Park is a 5,000-square-foot exhibition on the grounds of the New York Hall of Science. Rocket Park features two newly refurbished icons of the U.S. space program—an original Atlas booster with a replica Mercury capsule and an original Titan II booster with a replica two-man Gemini capsule.
Rocket Park also features a Friendship 7 Mercury capsule interactive replica, which allows visitors to climb inside and experience the close-quarters environment in which Mercury astronauts conducted their missions.
The exhibition also chronicles, in words and pictures, the history of rocket development and the evolution of the U.S. space program.
Inside the museum, the first Mercury capsule ever made and flown is also on display.
Atlas/Mercury: The Hall’s original Mercury capsule was the first U.S. spacecraft. Designated Mercury # 1, it was launched on May 9, 1960 as part of the beach abort mission testing the Mercury escape system. At the time of this launch the interior of Mercury #1 was fully equipped for space, making it the first spacecraft. The replica of this capsule sits atop of an Atlas rocket, the type used in several of the Mercury missions.
Titan/Gemini: The success of the Mercury program paved the way for Gemini. Named for the astrological twins, Gemini capsules were designed for two-man teams. During the Gemini 4 mission in June 1965Edward H. White became the first American to "walk" in space. The Titan II rocket is the same type that was used in all of the Gemini missions.