Kennedy Space Center

Just a few miles south of Titusville, on Merritt Island, lies the complex known as the Kennedy Space Center. Formerly, and loosely, called Cape Canaveral due to being near Canaveral National Seashore, and lying just across the Banana River from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, KSC is the center of Visitor interest in the country's space program. Awhile back we visited the Houston Space Center, where launches were controlled after liftoff. Today we saw the very spot where launches for Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and the Shuttle programs took place.

Our first activity was to board a bus tor a tour of the launch complex. This area is restricted access of course, but aboard the bus we were allowed to get close to many of the famous structures, like the VAB, the Vehicle Assembly Building. Those vertical gray strips are vertically opening doors to allow completed, or "stacked" vehicles to exit. The various pieces and parts arrive by barge, rail, and truck, and are stacked by cranes that can lift up to 350 tons. The building is 520 feet high, and has tracks to it that the enormous vehicles and their transports travel on to go to the launch pads.

The crawlerways that the crawlers travel on at the pace of 1/2 mile per hour are made of an Alabama crushed stone that will not spark as the vehicle passes across it, and important consideration considering that if the rocket were to explode, it would incinerate everything within a 3 1/2 mile radius!

Tracks are visible from the last vehicle transport.

The moveable platform weighs something like 9 million pounds, and supports the rocket during launch as well as moving it into position. We complain about Nessie getting 10 1/2 miles per gallon of fuel, but this platform get a huge 32 feet per gallon!

This is Launch Complex 39A, where Apollos launches were conducted, and was modified for Shuttle launches. Now, SpaceX has a twenty year lease and has modified it again for use with Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches scheduled to occur later this year. the enormous crawlers travel up a gentle slope to the launch pad, where gantry cranes support the rocket during launch prep.

Thes blast doors were removed after the last launch for refurbishment. Made from specially designed concrete and heat resistant steel, they show heavy wear from the fiery furnace they have been in!

The tour bus stopped about midway through the ride at the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Along with housing one of only three remaining Saturn V rockets, an amazing visual presentation details the successes and failures of the early space programs from Mercury on through Apollo, with particular emphasis on Apollo 11, where Neil Armstrong took "one small step". Interestingly, up to that point the Saturn V had not been tested as a complete rocket, so there were a lot of crossed fingers in Mission Control! MCC has been left exactly as it was in 1969 and is a central part of the presentation.

With one of the Saturn V rockets on display in Houston, and this one in Florida (the third has been "parted out" with sections on display at the National Air and Space museum, among others) there currently are no rockets with the capability of propelling humans beyond low earth orbit. The numbers for the Saturn V are astounding, and it remains the largest and most powerful rocket built to date.

Numerous displays gave us a close look at many of the things we have only heard about. Donna is seriously considering having NASA design her a new dune buggy like the Rover!

Alan Shepard was the first American in space, and also the Commander of the Apollo 14 mission to the moon. His suit is on display, complete with moon dust!

Returning to the Visitors Center, we headed into the Atlantis Building. This is devoted to the Shuttle Atlantis, which is on display in the exact condition she was in after returning to Earth after the last Shuttle mission.

With the Atlantis Building in the background, Donna checked out the Bianco Berrocal granite sphere, which weights 10, 215 pounds and is perfectly supported by a sheet of water flowing at only 29 pounds per square inch! With a bit of effort to overcome inertia, the ball can be moved in any direction!

A memorial to John F. Kennedy's famous "to the Moon and Beyond" speech is located near the exit/entrance to KSC.

And of course, the required logo photo!

This is a stop well worth the effort if you're in the area. Well presented, with interesting and attractive exhibits, combined with extremely well tended grounds, makes for an enjoyable visit.

Our only complaint is with a segment of the visiting population (insert sweeping generalization here) who seemed to be mostly from outside the United States and apparently haven't been introduced to the concept of courtesy. Leaving trash strewn about, pushing and shoving, and talking loudly, the actions of these people detracted from the experience.

We brought our bruised arms, stepped-on-toes, and ringing ears home for a nice, comfortable evening. The humidity is low, the temps are in the mid-eighties, and Life is Good!