posted 07-05-2004 11:14 AM               

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It's a good question, if you think about it: "Where else can (you) go to get up close and personal with a ballistic missile?"

It's posed by someone who'se been around a lot of them lately — retired Maj. Gen. Charles Metcalf. He's the director of the U.S. Air Force Museum, where the newest gallery space is the place to do just what he's talking about.

The $3.2 million Missile and Space Gallery is nearing completion and is open for viewing as work continues. Stories and pictures explaining the relationship between missile and space technology line the walls of the gallery with stories about how the missile technology was developed and how it played a part in early space exploration.

"People tend to think of it as brand new," museum historian Doug Lantry said. "But space technology has been around for 50 years."

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