The late Robert “Ozzie” Osband, self-proclaimed “Rocket Hobo” and “Father of the 3-2-1 Area Code” will be honored at a celebration in Downtown Titusville, Florida on March 21, 2024. The event begins at Space View Park and ends with a block party at the Titusville Welcome Center.

Co-Organized by the American Space Museum and the National Space Society, the celebration of Ozzie’s life and impact as an influencer in many organizations is “go for launch.” With support from the Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce, we hope to create an annual “3-2-1 Day” that will honor the space community as well as kick off the Spring Equinox and tourism in the region.

Agenda

3:21pm Gathering: The celebration of Ozzie’s life will begin with an informal gathering of friends at 3:21pm at Space View Park, where Ozzie’s lawn chair and famous green polo shirt will be placed for final respects. (The park is where he sold his ”Rocket Hobo” patches and touched thousands of people with launch updates, countdowns, and the occasional, “SCRUB!”)

4:00pm Live Broadcast: At 4pm, a special episode of the “Stay Curious” video podcast honoring Ozzie will be broadcast live on YouTube from Space View Park. Docents from the Museums of Brevard will have the remaining “Rocket Hobo” cloth patches available for donations made payable to the “American Space Museum“.

Move To Block Party at Welcome Center: Once mourners have paid their respects at the Park, they are invited to follow museum docents to the Titusville Welcome Center, where at 5pm Mayor Dan Diesel will read a proclamation in honor of Titusville’s most iconic character and inaugurate the best block party in the galaxy, Florida’s Space Coast homegrown holiday 3-2-1 Day “Tomorrow launches here!”

There will be food trucks and adult beverages for sale as well as exhibitors representing many of the causes for which Ozzie volunteered. There will be a performance by Interstellar Groove Machine, a local Space Coast band composed of aerospace employees.

How Ozzie brought the 3-2-1 Area Code to Brevard County

In 1998, Orlando was overloading the Space Coast “407” telephone area code. Ozzie researched that “321” was available, and thought it appropriate for the area where rocket launches end in 3-2-1. Other areas wanted it but Ozzie single-handedly campaigned a year through the proper government hurdles to install “321” on the Space Coast and leave “407” with Orlando. On Nov. 1, 1999, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush placed the first official “321” phone call from Tallahassee to Kennedy Space Center, with Ozzie sitting beside the deputy director receiving the call.

Testimonials

“We are excited to honor our wonderful friend Ozzie in this celebration,” said Karan Conklin, ASM executive director. “We are happy the National Space Society has helped our museum create a community event to honor Ozzie’s legacy on our Space Coast.”

“People like Robert Osband carry the torch for the Space Age in the community and help inspire all generations to explore outer space,” said Gabriel Rothblatt, a Director of the National Space Society and Space Coast resident. “This is a special celebration for an extraordinary man, and we welcome the community to join us.”

More About Ozzie

Ozzie Osband died Aug. 6, 2023 of natural causes at age 72. He was born in New York, and lived much of his life in the Titusville area. He had his own computer software company and was well known in the Amateur “ham” Radio community with call N4SCY. A 20-year volunteer for the museum, he was webmaster for the 20-plus Museums of Brevard and active in the Democratic Party. As an Army veteran, Ozzie was interred at the Cape Canaveral National Cemetery in Mims, Florida.

About the American Space Museum

The non-profit U.S. Space Walk of Fame Foundation works to preserve the history of the U.S. Space program through our American Space Museum exhibits and educational programs, a daily video podcast “Stay Curious” as well as the Space View Park Monuments dedicated to the space programs workers and astronauts. While honoring and recognizing all of America’s space programs and their workers, the foundation agrees with astronaut Alan Shepard, when on May 13, 1996, he said, “We need to remember the people who made it possible; so little is said of them.” The intent of the American Space Museum and US Space Walk of Fame is to honor and place emphasis on American space workers and others who made the space programs possible.

About the National Space Society

The National Space Society is best known for its wonderful quarterly magazine, “Ad Astra,” and is a non-profit organization that has been a grass-roots effort dedicated to the creating and sustaining a spacefaring civilization.

Contacts

Coordinators for the event are ASM’s community liaison, Mark Marquette, with the help of NSS’s Jennifer Muntz. They welcome input and support from Ozzy’s friends and the space community. Contact them at…

– Mark: marq@americanspacemuseum.org or (321) 264-0434
– Jennifer: jennifer.muntz@nss.org.

Locations

– 3:21pm — Space View Park: Address & Map HERE on Google Maps.
– Approx 4:00pm to 9:00pm — Titusville Welcome Center: SEE BELOW