Kennedy Space Center

The space center was a blend of nostalgia and looking forward for us.  We both followed the space program as kids and young adults.  We both vividly remember where we were watching the first steps  on the moon and managed to watch most of the launches of Apollo and the shuttle.  We have visited the Houston space facility and it was also good but this is where the launches happen and the visitor's center was top-notch in every single way.  Nothing cheesy or fake.  Highlights were seeing the actual rockets that put capsules into space and the last shuttle, the Atlantis.  We watched IMAX films of where the space program has been and where it's headed.  We learned about the back story on many areas of the program and basically filled our brains with mental delights.  We look forward to more good things to come from NASA and their partners.  I apologize for the quality, or lack thereof, in the pictures.  My camera has not been right since it fell off the table after being bounced out of it's holder by a massive wake.  Also, some of them were on able to be taken from the tour bus window and I couldn't compensate for the glass.

Security at the main entrance was courteous but thorough.  All bags were checked.
One very impressive thing about the center was the affordability of everything.  It
is not a money making venture that gouges you on the price of everything from food to
souvenirs and the basic admission price includes way more than you could experience in a day.

Rocket Park grabs your attention as you enter the grounds.  These are
the real deal that put Mercury and Apollo craft into space.  

One side of the park is home to the Heroes of Space building.  We
didn't have time to tour it but we'll be back in the future if possible.  We also didn't get
to do the guided tour of the rockets.  Too many things in too little time.

This building houses the Going To Mars display.  The mural of
the International Space Station is a popular spot for group photos
and selfies.  The display inside was geared to the young minds that
will create the next generation of  space machines.  It was one
heck of a recruiting tool.

The entire NASA facility is in the middle of a wildlife refuge and this
building tells of some of the efforts to safeguard and maintain the
habitats for all the creatures living there.  Over 40 miles of beaches
are off limits to human activity in order to provide pristine, undisturbed
nesting grounds for 3 species of sea turtles.  We also saw a continuously
occupied eagle's nest that was over 50 years old.  On the bus trip
we  saw an Eagle swoop down and grab a rabbit that was crossing the road.

This a a replica of the booster and fuel tanks that put the space
shuttles beyond our atmosphere.  They stand in front of the building housing
the shuttle Atlantis.  The entire lead up to viewing the shuttle was nothing
but impressive and inspiring.  You see a series of videos telling you some of the background
on the shuttle program and it's history.  Each segment, leads you into another area
with another short presentation then, voila' the shuttle.

The front of the shuttle.  The picture doesn't do its size justice.  The crew
area is so small in comparison with the entire vessel.  It's purpose was
a gear hauler and it performed it's task well.  Shuttles ferried the pieces of
the ISS, deployed the Hubble Space Telescope and other satellites and repair
parts and spares for all of them as well.

The cargo bay was massive.

  This was the site of where most of the rockets and capsules were assembled, including the one
we saw from the boat.  This stretch of super-reinforced gravel paths allow the
moving of the rockets on special pads from this facility to the actual launch pad.

These doors are over 26 stories tall.  The facility has been redone to
work for the SpaceX rockets.  The lower building in the left is Mission control.

The rocket gantry.

The Launch Pad 39-A is the site of many of the launches for the past 50 years.

Around each launch pad is a series of lightening towers to protect the rockets.

One of the buildings in the center houses a replica of the Mission Control Room
used for the mission that put man on the moon. All the videos in the entire center
used footage from the time with interviews of the actual participants.

The path up to Launch Pad 39-A.  The entire trip from the assembly point
to the LP is over 8 hours.  The rocket mover only goes 1 mile and hour.
Too bad none of the picture I took of it were any good.  It was a monster
of a machine.  The complete width of the two gravel paths is as large as
an 8 lane stretch of interstate highway.

One side of the assembly facility.  The guide told us the flag dimensions.
One of the white stripes in the flag is large enough for the bus to drive down if
the flag was on the ground.

One of the displays shows a closeup of the moon as seen from a landing craft.

The stop on the bus tour housed several more displays on the history of
the Apollo Program and a Saturn Rocket.  Each Apollo Missions emblem
along with a synopsis of each mission was there as well.