Kennedy Space Center

This weekend was Salute to Brevard Residents Weekend. It was get into Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for free day. And better yet, the deal allowed us to bring guests, so we invited Aunt Cathy and Uncle Dave.

We got off to a bit of a late start, as usual. And wouldn’t you know, the car was nearly out of gas. By 8:30, we were on the highway. Cathy called and reported that they were on their way, too, and it sounded like they’d arrive first. When we arrived, we called her. Apparently there was a wrong turn taken and they were still out on the interstate, a few exits south of where they should have been. It appeared we’d have some time to kill.

While we waited, Susan took care of “purchasing” the tickets. Meanwhile, Andrew and I shopped at the little kiosk outside the main gate. There were many toys to tempt the little ones, and Andrew found something he wanted. It was only $4, so we asked mommy for some cash. She pulled out her purse and Andrew bought a small Saturn V rocket with a bent over nose.

Cathy & David arrived and we entered the Space Center. Our first stop was the IMAX theater, where we saw a 3D presentation about the Hubble Space Telescope. It was an amazing story. The telescope was crippled with a distorted mirror, but was fixed by a applying a “contact lens” by Shuttle astronauts. Later, it had better cameras installed. I think we all left the theater astounded by the images, the size of the universe, and the ability of NASA to keep the telescope working so well for so long.

Next up was the bus tour. Our first stop was the 3-story tower near the crawler road, one mile from Launchpad 39-A. Dave and Susan bought souvenir drinks shaped like the space shuttle, and I immediately spilled ours all over the table. Good thing the refills were free.

Next stop was the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Along the way, we passed the Vehicle Assembly Building, which is in the top 4 largest buildings, by volume, in the world.

Once inside the center, we watched a short video about the Apollo program, then moved into an exact replica of the control room as it was the day of the Apollo 9 mission. There, we experienced the final 2 minutes of the launch countdown. When the count reached zero, the building literally shock and glowed from the simulated liftoff three miles away.

The Saturn V rocket display was incredible. The rocket is over 350 feet tall. It is hard to get a feel for how tall that it if it is vertical. In this case, the rocket is situated horizontally in a huge building. It just goes on and on and on.

The center also features a short film about the first lunar landing. The exhibit featured a bit of a surprise, so I won’t spoil it here. You’ll just have to come see it for yourself.

We skipped the International Space Center bus stop and returned to KSC. It was getting a little late and we were getting hungry, but we had to try out the Exploration Space attraction. Susan and I tried it on our last visit in 2008, but Dave & Cathy volunteered to take Andrew to the play area, so they missed out. This year, Andrew is tall enough, so we all got to go for a ride.

Finally, Andrew went to the play area with Dave & Cathy, while Susan and I walked through the Rocket Garden. The main attraction there is the Saturn I rocket, which looks like a Saturn V with a few missing stages in the middle.

Susan, being the responsible one that she is, thought ahead about dinner. She brought some coupons that she printed from restaurant.com. Unfortunately, she discovered that the coupon for the restaurant where we were planning to eat was blacked out on weekends. Luckily she had more than one. We ended up at a small family place with a few patrons. The food was pretty good, and by the time we left, the place was completely full. So, even though our first choice didn't work out, we still made a good choice.