Kennedy Space Center

I have unearthed a new found love: space and space exploration. Before space was something that I was interested in but I could either take it or leave it.  I did want to go to the Kennedy Space Center, it was pretty high up on my bucket list but I wanted to go because it was such an iconic location and I didn't really know what it would involve once I got there.

 Then we finally made it:  we went to the Kennedy Space Center and it sparked a curiosity inside of me that I really had no idea what was there.  I put it fully down to the quality of the KSC and their exhibitions and it was fuelled further when we went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC (more on that later!).  

The Kennedy Space Center is at Cape Canaveral, which is about an hour or so away from Orlando and a super easy drive to get to.  Their visitor center is obviously away from the launch pads there but you can get pretty up close and personal through their tours.  

There are so many exhibits there that you would struggle to see all in one visit; we've been twice now and still haven't got round everything!  We first of all headed to the Apollo/Saturn V Center which is a short bus ride away from the main visitor complex.  You get to see a restored Saturn V rocket, other memorabilia from the Apollo program and even get to touch a piece of real life moon rock!  There is so much to take in there, you could easily spend a good couple of hours exploring and taking it all in. 

On the bus back to the main visitor complex, you can see the massive Vehicle Assembly Building where the rockets are put together.  Even on my second visit, I could barely comprehend the size of that building: it;s over 160m tall and each of the stars on the American flag outside is 6ft across.  Amazing!  It's in this building that the new Space Launch System will be built.

My favourite favourite favourite part of the KSC is the Atlantis exhibition.  I don't want to give any spoilers but the unveiling of the Space Shuttle Atlantis is so moving.  The exhibit is really first class: it still blows my mind to think that that actual shuttle, only a few feet in front of you, has been to space over thirty times.  The orbiter just seems so humble throughout the whole of the exhibit.  As well as a ton of information about the shuttle and the space shuttle program, there's a really touching tribute to the crews of the Challenger and Columbia whom were both lost.  We braved the Space Shuttle Launch Experience as well (tentatively... scarred from Mission: Space at Epcot) which is pretty much what it says on the tin.  I really could happily revisit this exhibition several times over.

On our second visit to the KSC, Dena surprised me with a "Now and Then" close-up tour where we visited the launch complex 5/6, where Alan Shepard became the first American launched into space, the Air Force Space and Missile Program, the Cape's lighthouse, where the Challenger's remains were laid to rest and so much more!  It was fascinating to hear about NASA's first space programs and everything that they have achieved up until the present and also a little bit more of what's going to come in the future.

We're hoping to make it back to the Cape for a rocket launch in the near future and that would really be a dream come true.  I'm currently swotting up on as much astronomy knowledge as I can possibly fit into my little brain and it really is so amazing how much is out there!  I wish I had paid more attention in physics!