BP-1101 “Boilerplate” Capsule | Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum

Many of us remember the excitement of the Apollo missions that landed a dozen Americans on the Moon more than 50 years ago. The Apollo Command Module was the only part of the massive, skyscraper-sized Saturn V rocket that returned to Earth at the end of each flight. You can recognize an enlarged version of the Command Module’s cone shape in today’s Lockheed Martin Orion spacecraft and the Boeing Starliner.

This artifact looks very much like an actual Apollo Command Module, but it never carried astronauts into space. It is a boilerplate—a simplified metal model created to test specific aspects of the real spacecraft, such as water landings, launch abort escape rockets, or recovery systems. It duplicates the size, weight, shape, and center of gravity of the actual vehicle.

This particular boilerplate is BP-1101A. NASA used it for flotation tests in the Gulf of Mexico in July, 1965. After some modifications, NASA used it again for additional ocean testing in 1966 and 1967. In most photos of Apollo spacecraft floating in the ocean you can see large round balloons near the top. They pull the spacecraft right-side-up if it capsizes, and they were tested on this very boilerplate.

On loan from the National Air and Space Museum.

Capsule specifications:
Diameter: 12 ft 10 in (3.9 m)
Height: 8 ft 10 in (2.7 m)
Weight: Varied, approximately 10,000 lbs (4,536 kg)

Lowry - Denver

Air & Space Museum

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Saturday Feb 21

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Air & Space Museum

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Saturday, Feb 21, 2026 | 9:00AM to 10:00AM

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Air & Space Museum

Cockpit Demo Day

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Featured Aircraft in February*:

FB-111A Aardvark
O-2A Skymaster (wheelchair accessible)
RotorWay Scorpion II Helicopter (wheelchair accessible)
Star Wars T-65 X-Wing
F-105D Thunderchief

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Exploration of Flight (Centennial Airport)

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Let’s go stargazing! All are invited to look up and explore the night sky on our tarmac at Wings Over the Rockies’ Astronomy Night. At this event, you will learn about the importance of Colorado’s dark skies and gain new insights into the North Star.

Activities are for all ages and include standing out on our flight ramp with the Denver Astronomical Society, using telescopes and astrophotography equipment, learning from Dark Sky Colorado about ways to protect our night skies and why it matters for future stargazers, hands-on constellation activities, and more!

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