General Thomas P. Stafford was born in 1930 and raised in Weatherford, OK. His mother came to Oklahoma in a covered wagon and lived to see her only child fly to the moon. General Stafford was selected by NASA in the second group of astronauts in 1962. He would fly 4 historic space missions (Gemini 6, Gemini 9, Apollo 10, and Apollo-Soyuz), three of them as Mission Commander. For his efforts as Joint Commander of the U.S. and Soviet Apollo-Soyuz mission, Stafford received a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. Stafford is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the Oklahoma Aviator of the Century Award.

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The Stafford Air & Space Museum was built in 1993. The idea of a display started in the late 1970’s as a 6 ft. case with a few of General Stafford’s items featured in the original lobby of the Weatherford airport. In 1993, the first 2 rooms of the museum were built.  Six expansions and 63,000 sq. ft. later, the last addition was completed in 2020.