KENNEDY SPACE CENTER

This is Disney Land for Rockets. Spent the day there this last week and a whole day is what it takes. got to see all the places and things I only saw on TV during the APOLLO and STS Launches. Everything from Sputnik to the ATLANTIS SHUTTLE including the Redstone , Gemini , Saturn 1B and SATURN V which leaves you in awe to see.
This place is totally fricken cool!!!!! Get there if you can.

Went to see it back when I lived in Orlando in about 2007. The Saturn V suspended from the hangar ceiling is awe-inspiring.

lcorinth said:

Went to see it back when I lived in Orlando in about 2007. The Saturn V suspended from the hangar ceiling is awe-inspiring.

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I totally agree. And to see the advancement from the Redstone to the Atlantis is amazing. The electronics in the Redstone capsule reminded me of those kits from Radio Shack where you build your own circuit boards then to seeing the Saturn V and the actual Space Shuttle ATLANTIS up close and the technology is crazy cool.

Wow! Very cool. This is on the ol' bucket list. I saw a space shuttle launch once, but with all the people coming in for the launch, it was a bad time to visit KSC. I need to get back there sometime!

Color me green (with envy)!

I was there twice as a kid during the Apollo days. I would REALLY like to go back.

Don't miss doing the "Lunch with an Astronaut" when visiting KSC. You should get your tickets online before visiting or when you first arrive because they sell out.

-- Roger

I was there Sunday. Loved it. The $50 admission is a bit much if you ask me.

I was also hoping to see some model rockets in the gift stores. Nope.

Man, I could just imagine how many batteries and memory cards I'd need for my camera. My TB at Flickr would be in jeopardy of being used up.

My wife and I were there in September. I highly recommend the tours as well.

Been there a few times. Last time was a long few years ago. We were there for the Shuttle launch, but got scrubbed T-5 minutes (weather)

And we did the Marshall Space centre a couple of years ago. that's a neat place! (And stopping in at the JD distillery a few hours later doesn't hurt!)

Last time I was there I was looking at the Saturn V in the building and saw the Instrument Ring that is suspended lower than the rest of the rocket sections. Comparing the edges it's clear that the ring is about 70% the diameter of the section it's supposed to mate to. I brought this up to the volunteer working the building that answers questions, and he didn't know anything about it and always thought it was an actual Instrument Ring.

We decided that it was a mock-up that probably wasn't intended to be displayed next to actual Saturn V sections.

This is my favorite KSC picture. It's from the Redstone firing room that you get to see on the Air Force tour if they still do that. I love the red arrow pointing to the firing command button.

billspad said:

This is my favorite KSC picture. It's from the Redstone firing room that you get to see on the Air Force tour if they still do that. I love the red arrow pointing to the firing command button.




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And every console has an ashtray built in.

-- Roger

billspad said:

This is my favorite KSC picture. It's from the Redstone firing room that you get to see on the Air Force tour if they still do that. I love the red arrow pointing to the firing command button.




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Remember to hold down the safety key and check the continuity light before pressing this button.

ThirstyBarbarian said:

Remember to hold down the safety key and check the continuity light before pressing this button.

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And if it doesn't go, wait five minutes and check the ignitor.

Mike

Why the robot ? I don't know but it brought back memories. Maybe because the show (do you remember the name?)was popular while we were trying for the moon. And a couple pics from the Astronaut hall of Fame

I was at KSC for 4 days last week for the SpaceX Pad Abort Launch. I had lots of free time and spent 3 days at KSC, a day at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Museum (which you can also see as part of the KSC Cape Canaveral Then and Now tour), and the Astronaut Hall of Fame in Titusville (3 hours is plenty).

If you only have one day, do KSC with the Saturn V tour (included in admission). I did the Launch Control Center tour which was neat, but if you can only do one other tour definitely do the Cape Canaveral tour. I had done that tour before but this time I had a press pass so I was able to go back out on my own and spend all the time I wanted. I spent about 4 hours in the launch control centers, museum, and mostly in the rocket garden (where everything is just rotting to pieces) and at the Redstone pads.

At KSC, they have Atlantis (the intro to walking into the display was stupendous, the best display ever of any space artifact, ever), the Apollo 14 CM (average display), and Gemini 9 (horrific display, not even a sign saying it was Gemini 9). At the Astronaut Hall of Fame they have Schirra's Sigma 7 (worst lighting ever, just bizarre) and Gus Grissom's Mercury Suit (helmet is not the original and the suit is starting to discolor, also incredibly poorly lit). Sigma 7 is very cool, though because a number of exterior panels have been removed (for reasons unclear) which allows you to see some of the thruster innards. But so poorly lit I had to use my cellphone light to really see things.

Overall, the KSC museums are truly incredible.

One real mystery at KSC was the item pictured below. It is labeled "MR-1 Jet Vane" and claims it was recovered from Alan Shepard's Redstone #3 "Freedom 7." Now, Shepard's flight was not MR-1 and, as far as I know, the booster from MR-3 was never recovered. So where did that Redstone Jet Vane come from?

(1st pic is my own, 2nd is from heroic relics site)

TV show "Lost in Space"! 1965-1968

I went to the Space Center for the first time a few weeks ago.

I have to say I was VERY impressed with the way that Atlantis was placed on display in it's building. Nothing short of magnificent. If you have not been there since it was added, I highly recommend going again just to see it.

The Atlantis display, the rocket garden and the bus tour alone were worth the significant admission fee of 50 bucks.

I would rather pay more and see the exhibits and artifacts well designed, well executed and well taken care of than pay less and have a lower quality experience.

crazyed said:

Why the robot ? I don't know but it brought back memories. Maybe because the show (do you remember the name?)was popular while we were trying for the moon. And a couple pics from the Astronaut hall of Fame

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Lost in Space, never missed an episode.

Don't forget to say hi to a gator while in Titusville.

Gus said:

One real mystery at KSC was the item pictured below. It is labeled "MR-1 Jet Vane" and claims it was recovered from Alan Shepard's Redstone #3 "Freedom 7." Now, Shepard's flight was not MR-1 and, as far as I know, the booster from MR-3 was never recovered. So where did that Redstone Jet Vane come from?

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Good catch! I wondered about that myself. How in the world were they able to recover it? The Early Space Flight museum is a bit lacking. I think there are more early space artifacts at the Astronaut Hall of Fame than there.

I was also disappointed with the (lack of) Gemini 9/9A display, but I wonder if it's because NASA considers 9 a bad luck vehicle. The original crew, See and Bassett, died about 100 feet from that capsule in their plane crash, and as 9A, Stafford and Cernan had a seemingly endless list of setbacks on their mission. A lot of history they don't want to highlight.

Speaking of lack of information, when you go to the Air Force museum at Canaveral, they have Gemini 2 on display with big round hole in the heat shield. While the tour guide will tell you that the Air Force reused G2 (the first capsule to go into space twice) for their own purposes, he doesn't tell you that it was a prototype for the Manned Observation Laboratory, and the hole in the heat shield was a hatch to access the lab. Maybe if I'd been there on another day and had a different tour guide it might have been mentioned. That's why you need to be informed on your space history before you go.

Heading back to KSC now. I'll be there in about 20 minutes and I'm super excited. I'll be spending half the day with the shuttle and the other half with the Saturn V.

Last visit i also did a tour of the VAB and launch pad 49A but that didn't leave enough time for the shuttle and Saturn V.

So excited!

Okay, I have to do this. Not a huge fan of Disney, but now I have a reason to go to Florida. Wonder if we could swing by Huntsville and take in the museum there, too?

If you haven;t been back in a while, the new Heroes and Legends exhibit is very cool. Also, they added a tribute to the Columbia and Challenger astronauts in the Atlantis exhibit (on the first floor just before the end). It is very hard to walk through (especially if you were alive for both incidents), but I think they did a very nice job in remembering the crews from the two missions. Just keep some tissues handy.

The family and I will be visiting there in mid December. I can't wait to see the mighty Saturn V and Mercury Redstone up close and personal.

Bat-mite said:

Okay, I have to do this. Not a huge fan of Disney, but now I have a reason to go to Florida. Wonder if we could swing by Huntsville and take in the museum there, too?

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If you do swing by Rocket City, give it a shot! (and shout out to HARA while you're there).

There are a few neat things at the USSRC. 1:1 standing Saturn V mockup, What would have been the Apollo 18 Sat V, Apollo 16 capsule, Scale mercury capsule you can try and fit into, That Mercury Redstone that hopped 6" and then shut down, monkeys, Pieces of skylab, 1:1 walk in Skylab (Pieces of if it have been restored from their use in the original training program), a Gemini Trainer, Alan bean's favorite moon rock....etc.

I was there when I was 6 in 1982. I don't remember much other than the Space Shuttle toys I brought home. Definitely going back at some point soon with my son. He's 9 now so I think he's at a great age to see the space program's history in person.

The visit was amazing as well as the Hall of Fame, Challenger and Columbia tributes, and they had the hatch door from Apollo I on display.

I have a very cool video of that hatch that I will post when I can. I can't do it from my phone and I won't be home until Sunday.