Archive for March 8th, 2010

Hello and Welcome to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral! The gateway to space exploration for the past 50 years! This place rocks! Okay, okay, let me start at the beginning. We, meaning my Aunt, Uncle, Mom, Dad, and Moi went to the Kennedy Space Center today! Jake stayed home, but I have to let you know that if you are passing thru and you have your pooch with you, there is a Kennel building right next to the ticket booth compliments of the Space Center. The kennel and parking is free and I hope you have more than a few free hours because the tour we took was great!
We got there at 9am when they open and the first tour starts at 10:20am. We had plenty of time to walk around areas of the gift shop and other areas that showed mini clips of planets and space shuttles, videos of what the space center has done in the past and what they are working on now! At the gift shop I bought a t-shirt and we worked our way to the bus terminal to start our tour. The tour took us as close to the 39A launch pad as possible that all of the past shuttles have been launched from. The shuttle fleet consists of Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. Discovery is set up on the launch pad now and sitting pretty waiting for it’s lift off date of April 5th. It was amazing to see! From 1981 to today, more than 123 shuttle flights have taken place.
We drove past security and communication buildings and watched a video on the bus.
We stopped at a building that played a video of a couple of the first flights and we got to see the giant structures that make up the world’s largest launch facility that put people on the moon and to the International Space Station. And, yes, we visited the building and saw the technicians and engineers that are building new sections to add to the International Space Station. From 1988 to present, more than 26 Space Shuttle Missions have been complete. Fifteen nations are now participating in the International Space Station program: the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The International Space Station is on orbit 220 miles above earth and circles the globe every 90 minutes!
I’ll give you one more cool fact: At lift off, the large orange-colored external tank holds over 500,000 gallons of cryogenic fuel – liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. The Shuttle’s three main engines consume this fuel in about eight and a half minutes. Isn’t that so cool!!
On the NASA premises you will come across a “Moon Rock Cafe” that offer plenty of choices for lunch! You can really take your time and enjoy Kennedy Space Center at your own pace. You hop on and off the bus on your own time at your own pace!
This facility has an IMAX 3-D theater), an Astronaut Hall of Fame, the Shuttle Launch Experience with the 1/6 gravity chair to get you into the moment, and if you call in advance you can have lunch with an Astronaut! Many, many programs that you can take advantage of including the ATX training which includes operating a full-scale shuttle mock-up!
I know I’m jumping all around with the information, but we spend the whole day here and saw alot! And the wild life on NASA grounds are protected, I saw 5 alligators, 2 eagles, and 1 armadillo! So, bottom line; put the Kennedy Space Center on your list of tours to visit as you explore Florida!
Tonight we are watching TV and tomorrow we are picking up the new plastic fender for the RV because it came in today. So a trip to Camping World is in store tomorrow and we will be bringing Jake along with us!! Have a great night!! I had such a good time today!!