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| Photographer Unknown |
The Kennedy Space Center is located about 60 miles south of Daytona Beach; and a lot has changed since our last visit, including security, which is noticeably at a much higher level. We have learned from past experiences that to beat the crowds, arrive early; so we were at the gates when the Park opened.
The New Heroes And Legends featuring the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame is projected to open in 2016 and a number of other exhibits are currently being remodeled.
Rocket Garden has not changed over the years, but the Park has expanded some of the capsule and engine exhibits. They now have the actual launch pad bridge that Neil Armstrong walked across on his trip to the moon, which is connected to an Apollo capsule so that you can view the capsule's interior. In addition to the Mercury and Gemini capsules, there is also a mock-up of the Orion capsule that will take astronauts to Mars.
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| Mercury Capsule |
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| Gemini Capsule |
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| Apollo Capsule |
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| Mock-up of Orion Capsule |
The new Astronaut Memorial is located by one of the T-38 Talon Jets that the Astronauts used to commute from Florida to Texas.
The 3D IMAX Theater is a great place to rest after you have been on your feet all day. Currently, two different movies are showing - one on the Hubble telescope and one on space travel. Both are both great! "Science on a Sphere" is located on the east side of the IMAX building and the "Astronaut Encounter" has temporarily been moved to the west side of the building while their encounter area is being remodeled. At the "Astronaut Encounter," after his presentation we were able to meet Astronaut Jim Reilly (he was on three different shuttle missions). And, "The World's Largest Space [Gift] Shop," where you can stop and make a donation, is located across from the IMAX building.
The price of your admission ticket also includes a bus tour to Cape Canaveral, which includes a drive-by of the Vehicle Assembly Building, Launch Control Center, a Crawler Transporter, the gravel road used to transport rockets from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the Launch Pad), and the new SpaceX facility.
The only time you are allowed off of the bus at Cape Canaveral is at the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Once off the bus you sit in a room with the original control center equipment that was used to land a man on the moon and then listen to a presentation with original recordings of the first moon-landing flight and Neil Armstrong's first words from the moon. I don't remember the exact words, but the presentation made reference to the old equipment used for the moon landing and that your modern cell phone has more computing capability than all of the equipment and technology they had at the time.
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| Photographer Unknown |
However, the highlight of the stop is the Saturn V Rocket that is partially disassembled so that you can see each of the three rocket stages, plus the Service and Command Modules. Also on display is a LEM, an Apollo Capsule that returned from space, a Lunar Rover, and actual moon rocks (one that you can touch),
The largest crowds in the Park are found at the new Atlantis space shuttle exhibit, so you need to go early in the morning when the Park first opens, or late in the afternoon just before the Park closes. It is recommended that you allow two hours to view the Atlantis exhibits, but it is possible to spend a lot longer if you want to see everything. In addition to the Atlantis, there is a full size mock-up of the Hubble Telescope, Astronauts working in space, simulators that you can use to test your astronaut skills, and many other space related items. At the end of the day, as you leave the Park, you leave with a great feeling of pride in what NASA and the United States have accomplished in space over the years.
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| Bottom of Atlantis |
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| Hubble Telescope Mock-up |
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| Hubble Telescope Mock-up |
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