Kennedy Space Center
Our last day
in Florida - After a quick breakfast at our hotel we drove east to the
Kennedy Space
Center! I really never pay any attention to the Space Program, and
I was happy to learn more about what happens at NASA. We purchased "Maximum
Access Badges" ($24) which would allow us access to "restricted areas". Later I learned this "special access" is only available to the hundreds of
thousands of others who purchase the Maximum Access Badge - which is every
visitor as that is the ONLY ticket available. We figured to spend a few
hours "discovering" NASA, but we spent the entire day - and left after
sunset!
Our tour consisted of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Visitor Complex and
three "restricted" areas: Launch Center 39, the Apollo Center and the
International Space Station Center. I will begin with the...
Kennedy Space Center: It is HUGE. First we saw a film, "Quest for Life",
about the search for life forms on other planets. We are looking.
Nothing is being found. Yet. We toured through the Rocket Garden, "planted"
with rockets no longer used in the space program.
John Glenn’s Mercury Rocket
DT stands at the bottom of the Mercury
We walked around the outside of the Visitor Center to the
Astronaut Memorial, a strange space mirror monument to astronauts who lost
their lives in the name of space exploration. It looks like a huge solar
collector (which I suspect it actually may be) and is eerie as it has many
"blank" squares, like NASA expects to fill-up the spaces with names in the
future. Around the path, we found many critters in the swamp:
Alligator
Just resting
Crane
Also in the KSC is the Shuttle Explorer. It has
been cut-away so visitors can step inside and see the small area where the
crew live and work and the HUGE area for the cargo. I realized the purpose
for the Space Shuttle was to carry stuff into outer space! (Hey, I TOLD you
I never pay attention to rocket stuff!) The Space Shuttles will
deliver the International Space Station, piece by piece!
Explorer cargo bay
And, even as large as the Space Shuttle looks, it really
isn't very big - it can ride piggy-back on a 747. The photo above shows a
"mock" satellite inside the cargo bay - similar to a satellite once
retrieved from its orbit, repaired, and then returned to space by a Shuttle
crew. An astronaut said they were "glorified" construction workers. While in
space, the Shuttle can orbit with the cargo hold door open! We also watched
the IMAX movie about the dream of space exploration - most of the footage
shot aboard the Shuttle. It made for a dizzying result, and (when my eyes
were open) the scenery was glorious and I also really enjoyed watching the
astronauts brushing their teeth, eating and sleeping during weightlessness.
Imagine living with up to seven people in the area of two average bathrooms!
Then we boarded our top-secret bus to the "restricted"...
Launch Center 39: LC-39 was really the only rip-off of the
day. You are driven a mile from the actual launch pad and are not able to
even to see the shuttle which was actually on the launch pad! Bummer. In the
photo below, the orange tip is the booster rocket, and the Shuttle
Atlantis is positioned in LC-39, nose pointed to the heavens,
completely wrapped in the grey scaffolding, unseen. Actually, NASA was
all abuzz with activity as there was to be a launch of the Space Shuttle
Atlantis on Friday. However, last night we heard on the news that there
was some trouble with wiring and it would now leave on February 6. The hub-bub
was because the shuttle had to be moved BACK to the Vehicle Assembly
Building (VAB) - a one-day chore.
Atlantis on LC39
The Vehicle Assembly Building
Atlantis is carried, completely upright, 3 miles
back to the Vehicle Assembly Building on a Crawler
Transport - a huge and heavy caterpillar-like truck. Each cleat in the
crawler's track weighs a ton, it travels ONE MILE per hour and gets "36 feet
to the gallon" using diesel fuel. The Vehicle Assembly Building is the
second largest building in the world (the largest being the Boeing Building
at Boeing Field in Seattle). The VAB can hold 4 Statue of Liberty's, and
sits on eight acres! The darker colored stripes down the sides are actually
doors - similar to garage doors. The Shuttles slip inside the building
sideways, nose up - carried in on the Crawler! The low building just to the
left of the VAB is the Launch Control Center Building. After these views we
hopped back aboard the Top Secret Bus and visited the...
Apollo Center: I remember, sitting in my Grandparent's den,
watching the first walk on the moon. When I realize how close Neil Armstrong
came to crashing the Eagle modular, it made me shiver! There was some sort
of math error and the Eagle was traveling too fast, after it left the Apollo
rocket, on its way to land on the moon. Armstrong had less than 30 seconds
to decide whether to land somewhere or abort the mission. If he landed where
the surface was too rocky, he would not be able to take-off again. Ever. He
found a spot, at the last second, and the rest is history.
Dave and I were both shocked at how HUGE the Apollo rocket is/was. An
actual rocket is now on display at the Apollo Center! It is longer than two
747's. Its size was 96% for fuel, the remainder of the space was for the
crew. The fueled rocket on the launch pad contained the explosive power of
an atomic bomb. Apollo had enough electrical wiring for 50 suburban homes.
Apollo rockets
DT at the nose of the Apollo rocket
We had lunch at the "Moon Rock" cafe. They advertise it is
the only restaurant in the world where you can dine next to a moon rock. I
think they are missing the "ship"... how about it is the only restaurant in
the world where you can dine next to The Apollo??? From the photo above, you
can see the scope of the size of the rocket - it fills the gigantic center.
My Favorite Astronaut
Me, with the real thing!
In the Apollo Center, they have fun displays of a typical
1960's American living room, with a TV to play the lunar landing and photos
from all around the world of people watching the landing and first walk on
the moon. Also a nice collection of popular culture "space stuff" - lunch
boxes, patches, toys and astronaut trading cards. (We were disappointed to
not find Tang or Space Sticks - favorites from our childhoods. A huge gap in
the Apollo collection.) We watched a movie about the first space walk - it
was very inspirational of course. The film included clips of Neil Armstrong
and other astronauts who had walked on the moon. One astronaut put it this
way: "Don't say 'impossible'. Go to the dictionary and remove the word. I
lived on the moon for THREE DAYS! If I can do that, then nothing is
impossible. Dream." After this uplifting message, we boarded the bus to yet
another "Restricted Area" the interesting...
International Space Station Center: Here, everything that
will be carried up to the International Space Station by the Shuttle
missions is assembled, created, packaged and readied for transport. Of
course, since it is an "international" space station, scientists from around
the world are working together on the project. We were able to walk through
replicas of the International Space Station to see how the
scientist-astronauts live and work. We saw their beds, showers, toilets,
gardens and laboratories. It was really fascinating. Goldie seems roomier
all the time!
This stuff is heading into space
And then, folks, it was getting dark and we headed back on
the bus to the KSC Visitor Complex to make a quick run through the gift shop
before making the 45-minute drive back to our hotel at Disney World. We had
dinner at TGI Fridays - we were too tired to get dressed to go out anywhere
else, picked up a few last minute gifts in Downtown Disney and are now ready
for bed.
NOTE: We flew home the next morning. A great vacation!