Overview
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This orange cushion covered the bottom of one periscope in the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Launch Complex 19 blockhouse. Its function was for safety, to prevent injury from accidental impact with the hard metal periscopes which projected down from the blockhouse roof.
The cushion is mounted on a simulated periscope base. Periscopes were mounted through the top of each blockhouse on ICBM row (CCSFS launch complexes 11-16, 19 and 20) to allow live viewing of events outside the blockhouse. Launch Complex 19 was the site of all Project Gemini flights.
Gemini flight data is engraved on a brass plaque attached to the wooden base. Although they have faded over time, Gemini astronaut signatures can still be seen on the cushion.