Kennedy Space Center

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, operated by Delaware North Companies at no taxpayer expense, is home to a number of museums, two IMAX theatres, and various bus tours allowing visitors a closer look at various restricted areas that would otherwise not be possible. Included in the base admission is tour-bus transportation into the restricted area to an observation gantry on the grounds of Launch Complex 39, and to the Apollo-Saturn V Center. The observation gantry provides unobstructed views of both launch pads and all of Kennedy Space Center property. The Apollo-Saturn V Center is a large museum built around its centerpiece exhibit, a restored Saturn V launch vehicle, and features other space related exhibits, including an Apollo capsule. Two theaters allow the visitor to relive parts of the Apollo program. One simulates the environment inside an Apollo-era firing room during an Apollo launch, and another simulates the Apollo 11 landing. The tour also includes a visit to a building where modules for the International Space Station are tested. Excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Space_Center.

Daddy always wanted to experience a Shuttle launch so Mommy got him tickets to the STS-120 launch.

Everyone is waving Hi!

Marla liked the astronaut statues on top of the roof.

We are finally here.

Marla says hi from NASA

We found a nice, shady place to sit under the solid rocket boosters.

Waiting for the launch.

Marla climbing on my shoulders so that she can see after we all stand up.

5..4..3..2..1..

0

We have liftoff
of STS-120

In just 3 min it was over.
We wish the crew of STS-120 a safe journey!

 Wow what an experence.
It was great to see,
feel, and hear it.

This is a shuttle replica.

The Flight Deck.

    
 

Inside the bay.

Robot Scouts

Our narrator.
Inside of this building, they lead you throught a series of rooms where you learned about space probes that explored places where man was not able to go. It was pretty funny.

This is how a room on Mars might look.

The Rocket Garden

The Rocketdyne F-1 engine

Marla climbs into the engine.

It's a comfy place to sit.

Mommy matches the gantry.
I wonder if she planned that.
 

The Play Structure

They have a really great play structure there.

Marla explained to us that you have to put your shoes in the cubby before you can go play.

    
   

Daddy goes in to have some fun, too.

He is trying to get over the rollers...

but Marla drags him out again.

Mad Mission to Mars 2025

Her name is Kelvin. Isn't that silly?

Learning about the planets.

She looks a bit worried.

This man's name was Kevin.

His job was to sleep.

Kelvin and Professor Pruvitt have landed on Mars!

 This show was very funny and they used several volunteers. Everyone enjoyed it.

Shuttle Launch Experience

This ride simulates a launch and the first few minutes of space flight.
   

Touring KSC

Our bus.

In line for the tour bus.

Marla is getting a little tired. So am I.

The Vehicle Assemble Building where the boosters, external tank and orbiter are attached to each other.

A crawler

This model moved and lit up as it showed some of what happens before and during a launch.

Launch pad 39a in the background.

The crawler that brings the shuttle to the launch pad. It only travels 1 mph.

 
The Saturn V popularly known as the Moon Rocket was a multistage liquid-fuel expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs. The largest production model of the Saturn family of rockets, the Saturn V was designed under the direction of Wernher von Braun at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, with Boeing, North American Aviation, Douglas Aircraft Company, and IBM as the lead contractors. It remains the most powerful launch vehicle ever brought to operational status, from a height, weight and payload standpoint. In all NASA launched thirteen Saturn V rockets between 1967 and 1973, with no loss of payload. The design payload was the manned Apollo spacecraft used by NASA for moon landings, and the Saturn V went on to launch the Skylab space station.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_V

Apollo/SaturnV Center

The equipment in the room is the actual equipment used for the Apollo launches.

They simulate an entire launch.

It was a very moving experence.

This is the real stuff!
Daddy is like a kid in a candy store.

There are only 3 Saturn V rockets on the whole planet.

A lunar lander.

The lunar rover...

and Marla the Ballerina.

 

A piece of the Moon.

Doing the moon walk.

Mark and a Saturn V

The Lunar Theater

Look! I'm on the Moon!

    

Exploration in the New Millenium

IMAX Movie

Waiting for the movie.

This is the movie that we saw.

We're ready for the movie.

  

The International Space Station Center

Inside of this building were replicas of the modules that are part of the International Space Center. They had living quarters, research areas and others.

Marla really liked the astronaut. She says that she wants to be one some day and go to outer space.

 

Marla was very interested in this display.

It had people inside. She was glad that they had little balls to play with.

In 1945 von Braun, a famous rocket engineer, came up with this design for an Earth-observation post from which we could go to the Moon and Mars.

In 1975 this picture was created during a NASA summer study program.

Above the Space Station modules.

Wooo!

Weeee!

Ohhhh!

Turn on the Gravity!

Some of the "plants" in this case are carnivorous. I thought that was interesting. Are they growing carnivorous plants in outer space?

Oh, no! Mark is outside! We have to get him back in!

Marla using the kiosk to learn more about the Space Station.

Across a walkway, you get to the building where they are working on the modules that will be going up.

You can see the symbols of the countries that are working on each part.
 

The Mooch Bird - found at tables near all the food vendors in KSC.

Marla says she's very, very tired and wants to go home to Coachie.