South Dakota Air and Space Museum
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The South Dakota Air and Space Museum, part of the museum system of the National Museum of the US Air Force, is located in Box Elder, South Dakota, just outside the main gate of Ellsworth AFB. The South Dakota Air and Space Museum serves to educate and entertain the public. Not only does it give information about the history of US Air Force aviation, it promotes South Dakota aviation history.
During the summer months, visitors can take a base bus tour for a nominal fee. This includes touring a Minuteman missile Training Launch Facility as well as seeing a number of sites on the base.
The museum contains a number of interior and exterior exhibits, including:
- 25 aircraft ranging from World War Two bomber and transport aircraft to the contemporary B-1B Lancer
- 4 different missiles, including a Minuteman II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
- The South Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame
- A Missile Procedures Trainer Exhibit
- An F-106 interactive aircraft cockpit
- A B-1B Cockpit and Offensive/Defensive System Operators Simulator
- An exhibit of the Stratosphere Balloon Launch from the early 1930s.