Rocket Park upright rockets

Huntsville, Alabama, United States

Roadside giants

✓

Current

Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

A 363-foot replica of the Saturn V moon rocket was built upright at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the 30th anniversary of Apollo 11 in 1999. CBS News reported in 1999 that it would be a hollow steel structure; collectSPACE called it in 2019 the only vertical Saturn V display.

Private to your Passport.

PLAN YOUR VISIT

No recommended arrival yet

We have not checked a recommended place to arrive or stop here yet.

This takes you to the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.

Rocket Park upright rockets

This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.

Site-level location · 34.7157° N, 86.5544° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

The Saturn V standing at Huntsville is a replica, and collectSPACE reported in 2019 that it is the only vertical display of the moon rocket. The same report said three real Saturn V rockets survive as artifacts, all exhibited on their sides. The real Saturn V was developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

The replica went up to mark the 30th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing in 1999. CBS News reported in June 1999 that builders had about a month to finish before the centre's celebrations began on 18 July. The 363-foot, 36-story model was to be hollow: steel panels painted to resemble a rocket, bolted to a steel frame, with five engines and 84 anchor bolts holding it down, and none of the fuel tanks, wiring or engines of the real thing. A construction executive told CBS the hardest task was copying the tubing around the engines: "It may not be exact, but the average layperson won't know the difference." CBS gave the cost as $22 million for the whole project, including a planned gantry.

After 20 years outdoors the paint was peeling and missing, and in 2019 the centre launched a campaign to raise $1.3 million to clean, reseal and repaint the replica, with a 300-ton crane lined up to support the contractors. A Roadtrippers writer in 2024 noticed the rocket from the highway while driving along I-565. Space.com reported in July 2024 that the replica stands outside the Davidson Center, which houses one of the three real Saturn V rockets, close to the restored Rocket Row of historic rockets that the centre lists among its outdoor exhibits.

Add a photo

PRACTICAL

Plan your stop

WHAT TO EXPECT

Space.com reported in July 2024 that the replica stands outdoors beside the Davidson Center at the museum, which houses a real Saturn V on its side. The centre lists Rocket Park, with its restored rockets and an SLS core stage section, among the attractions included with admission.

ACCESS

U.S. Space & Rocket Center, One Tranquility Base, Huntsville, Alabama. It is a museum campus with admission; Roadtrippers in 2024 described the rocket as visible from I-565 near Huntsville.

COMMUNITY