Titan II

The Titan II rocket served two important missions for the United States. It was originally developed by the Air Force as an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with the capability of carrying large nuclear warheads. NASA then determined that it would be the perfect booster to launch their Gemini manned spacecraft. Tom Stafford rode two of these rockets into space aboard his Gemini 6 and 9 missions in 1965 and 1966. The Titan II is Stafford's favorite rocket; he calls it the "Race Car of the Rockets". This is one of the few actual Titan II missiles still in existence. This specific rocket spent most of its life inside an underground, hardened missile silo in Kansas tipped with a huge nuclear warhead. (Flight-Ready Artifact)