We then were taken the short distance to the LC26 blockhouse which forms part of the Air Force Space & Missile Museum.  LC26 was used, apart from missile testing, to launch the first US satellites notably Explorer 1 as is noted on the sign.

The blockhouse is similar in design to that at LC5 / LC6 but is notably further (400 feet) from the actual launch pads - presumably they had access to better cables.

Inside the blockhouse are a number of displays including the photograph giving an overall view of the site (see previous page).  One item on display is a Gemini Capsule (Gemini 2) as shown below.

The launch pad area is the site of a large number of items from the Air Force space programs including launch vehicles, missile and parts of the supporting infrastructure (including a Locomotive used to move Titan components around).  Below are several views of this interesting area that can only be reached via the NASA tour.

Leaving the Air Force Space and Missile Museum we passed the then active Launch Complex 17 which was used to launch the Delta II (and before that the Thor) launch vehicle. LC17 is fairly close to the museum (in the first photograph they are on the right of the museum area) but as they were active with a rocket being prepared for launch we were not able to get close. 

Below is a photograph of LC17 taken from inside the tour bus..

As you travel around Cape Canaveral on the tour you pass buildings left over from earlier programs and now abandoned (as they were frequently constructed of several feet of reinforced concrete demolition is too expensive).  One such building is shown below.

After some research I decided this was Launch Complex 21 that was used for horizontal launches of cruise missiles between 1958 and 1963.  It initially consisted of a single launch rail, from which XSM-73 Bull Goose missiles were tested.  However, between 1959 and 1960, the complex was rebuilt for the MGM-13 Mace, with a second rail added, and a large concrete structure erected around the launch rails.

Below is a picture from the USAF Museum Archives of a MGM-13 Mace missile being launched from LC21.

The Then and Now Tour continues on the next page.