A Day At Kennedy Space Center

For many years Debi, the adventurer and certified bungee jumper that she is, has been fascinated with space travel. At one point a few years back she almost enrolled in the one week Adult Space Camp program that NASA ran at the time. But... she didn't. So being this close to the Kennedy Space Center, a visit there was a must do side trip. That was arranged for Sunday, March 31st.

After a half hour taxi ride from the Titusville Marina, we arrived at the KSC Visitor Complex.

Because we had a little time before our scheduled bus tour of other sites we strolled around the grounds. Here we checked out the Rocket Garden...

 where they have original and replicas of the rockets that took Alan Shepard into space, the first sputnik rocket, and a number of the others of the early space program. They are displayed in the upright launch position so it looks like they just grew right out of the ground.

Nearby was the actual original catwalk that the early astronauts walked across as they were being loaded into their space capsules.

There was an actual formerly used capsule there to crawl into to get a feel for how tight the quarters were for the occupants. You can not be claustrophobic and be an astronaut too.

We then boarded our bus...

 to take us on a tour of of the other facilities that those of us who have watched the launches, are familiar with. These included the Vehicle Assembly Building.

We could see it for miles as we were boating up the Florida coast. To stand next to it and then tour portions of the inside was quite an awesome experience.

They had mock up models in place to show some of the stepwise assembly process.

Other steps were depicted with large drawings and photographs.

The next stop was the Launch Control Center with nearby buildings for the press and television people.

It was just what we imagined it to be but seemed much smaller in size than expected. There was a simulated launch being conducted with the traditional countdown as we watched the screens.

Next was a quick drive by of the Shuttle Landing Facility. The runway is about 3 miles long. A photograph from space shows that it is fairly easy to locate if the weather is clear.

LC 39 A and LC 39 B are two of the launch pads used for the firing of the space rockets to carry the space vehicles. From a distance they look like big erector sets all set up and ready for a kid to play space games.

The tower to the right is filled with water that is used to cool the launch area at liftoff.

Nearby there are several viewing platforms. It looks like this turtle was a little late for the last one. Well, he is a turtle after all.

One of the most impressive displays is the Apollo/Saturn V rocket building. OMG! The size of that rocket is immense and that does not begin to describe it.

The rocket was displayed in a horizontal position. There was an explanation for the function for each section. Very impressive to say the least.

Need a lift???                                                                    

After a quick lunch which was as advertised... from the moon and tasted like rocks...

 we returned to the main KSC campus for the rest of our tour. The first stop included two 3-D IMAX movies complete with appropriate eye wear.

The movies were "Hubble 3-D" and "Space Station 3-D". Both were fantastic. It was fun to watch some of the kids reach out to try to touch a 3-D star that was floating their way. [Sorry... can't photograph that one!]

The last part of the tour for us was the Shuttle Launch Experience.

This took you through a simulated launch process and put you in mocked up capsule strapped into a seat. Of course they tipped you back a bit and put a few G-forces on you as you lifted off and then did the reverse when
you did your re-entry. As with all of the other launches that day, there were no mishaps and everyone landed safely.

The day at KSC was very inspiring. Here is the Admiral once again attempting to move heaven and earth. She has become very good at it! I know that she enjoyed the day a lot though.

A day at the KSC would not be complete without the obligatory stop at the gift shop. While this shirt did not come home with us, the occasional need for separate space on our little watercraft goes without saying. Hey... so far, so good!

Nautical Word For The Day: [from seatalk.info]

Jigger:

1. The smallest mast and sail located farthest aft. The mizzen.

From Great Loop Jargon:

2. That little piece of glassware that a bartender uses to measure a specific amount of liquor for a cocktail. This is often followed by a few extra "glug-glugs" from the bottle so as to make sure that enough is dispensed.

PS. We are still trying to catch up on the blog. When you are retired, time has a way of slipping away. As of today we are actually at Jekyl Island, GA. Someday we and the blog will coincide again.