11 Fascinating Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About The U.S. Space & Rocket Center In Alabama

Many tourist attractions are located throughout Alabama, but none of them compare to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, located in Huntsville. The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is Alabama's top paid tourist attraction and receives tourists from all over the world.  I'm sure you're already familiar with those facts, but let's take a look at 11 additional facts that just may surprise you.

1. The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.

2. The one and only Space Camp is located here.

3. The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is sometimes billed as "Earth's largest space museum."

4. On average, more than half a million visitors tour this space museum each year.

5. The idea for the U.S. Space & Rocket Center was first proposed by Dr. Wernher von Braun - a space architect credited with inventing the Saturn V rocket.

6. This incredible space museum includes more than 1,500 rocketry and space artifacts.

7. The Army's Redstone Arsenal donated the land the U.S Space & Rocket Center sits on.

8. Since opening in 1970, an estimated 16 million people have toured the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

9. America's first space monkey, Miss Baker, is buried at this top tourist attraction.

10. The main feature of the Davidson Center for Space Exploration is the SA-500D Saturn V.

11. This space museum's large rocket and space hardware collection is valued in the tens of millions of dollars.

Did any of these facts about the U.S. Space & Rocket Center surprise you? Have you ever visited this top tourist attraction? If so, we'd love to hear all about your experience.