The John F. Kennedy Space Center on the east coast of Florida is NASA’s primary launch center for human spaceflight. As a Florida tourist attraction, it has quite a lot to offer. There is the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex – with original rockets and space shuttles, virtual experiences, movies and the thrill of eating “astronaut ice cream”. And then there is a bus tour to the actual launch pads!
Kennedy Space Center (Florida) – In Another Minute (357)
Last week, I joined my French cousin Annick, her husband Sébastien and children Cleo and Liam on the last few days of their Florida road trip. The Kennedy Space Center was on their agenda between St. Augustine, Daytona and Cocoa Beach. Of course, I had to check it out with them. I hadn’t been there since I was an exchange student in Orlando in 1989. Actually, I’m not even sure if there already had been such an impressive Visitor Complex. All I remember is the freeze-dried astronaut ice cream. Mmmm…
We got there the day after the rocket launch of the SpaceX CRS-10, which was the first launch from Kennedy Space Center since 2011. The Falcon 9 rocket is bringing supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). It had been delayed a few times. So there was hope we’d time our visit perfectly to see the launch. But instead we got to see its launch pad, which was already getting disassembled. Seeing the real deal of all the huge equipment and the whole work area was definitely the highlight of the visit. So if you plan a trip to the Kennedy Space Center, make sure you allow time for the bus tour to the vast NASA and SpaceX operational facilities.
Also: I saw a random robot rolling down the path!!!
While touring the Visitor Complex, I actually skipped all the movies and presentations. I didn’t think they’d translate for this video. Also, I was more excited about seeing the Atlantis Space Shuttle, the rockets and other real space hardware.
If you’re into space travel and what happens to human space transport vehicles after their work is done, check out these two Moving Postcard videos:
The song in this video is “Pegasus 13” by my Gainesville friend Jason Matherne of Goonygoogoo Productions. Thank you so much for all your music, Jason!
I’ll be posting photos from the Kennedy Space Center throughout this week to the In Another Minute 2017 Flickr album, on Google+ and Facebook, and there will probably be a dedicated photo post on my blog.