White Sands Missile Range Museum - New Mexico Tours 

This museum and missile park provide an opportunity to learn about important developments in atomic and scientific history.  July 16, 1945 the world changed forever with the first explosion of an atomic bomb.  Testing of this bomb occurred at the Trinity Site in what is now the White Sands Missile Range with an explosion that shook homes 160 miles away and broke windows as far as 120 miles away.  Shortly after testing this technology was used on Japan during WWII in the form of two atomic bombs resulting in many thousands of deaths.  No technology since has been as destructive or powerful as the nuclear weaponry tested here.  Many missiles have also been developed and tested here, making this area an important site for military history.  Our visit to the White Sands Missile Range Museum on our New Mexico Tours provides insight into current and past military and space activity.

Not only military history has been made here- the space age was also welcomed and many important scientists have worked on space technology at the Range.  Often space and military technology stem from the same basic research and developments.   Important research was done here following WWII which helped to develop the technology that sent the USA to space.  A group of German scientists and their V-2 rocket technology were brought to the States, and led by Dr. von Braun these scientists and their American colleagues began working on rocket technology.  

This led to the Redstone rocket program, and later to other programs in the USA.  Among other accomplishments this group sent the first American astronaut to space.  Aside from technological advances the Strip at White Sands was considered as alternate landing site for space shuttles, and in 1982 the orbiter Columbia landed here.