An hour’s drive from Orlando, we found ourselves at the Kennedy Space Center. We rushed into the IMAX film that was starting momentarily. It was all about the Space Station and was narrated by Tom Cruise. I found it to be very informative since I know very little about NASA. Then we hopped aboard a tour bus. First destinatio
n: Launch Pad 39 A and B. We missed seeing the shuttle crawler transporter take the shuttle Discovery to its destination on the pad by a few hours. It is set to launch on February 12th and will be delivering more components to the Space Station. We had a nice view of it from the observation platform. 
The Vehicle Assembly Building is just huge! It covers 8 acres and is 525 feet tall. The doors open to 464 feet and it took 6,000 gallons to paint the US flag on the side of it. The second stop on the tour was the Apollo/ Saturn Center. We watched an film that shows all that goes into the days and hours and minutes before each actual launch. Exiting the film, you are brought into a huge area that houses the Saturn V moon rocket that transported people to the moon and back. We also saw the lunar vehicle that was actually used on the moon. 
The final stop on the tour was the International Space Station center. It is the location were all the parts and supplies are prepared for transport to the Space Station. We got to pass through a real size replica of it and we most impressed by the bathroom facilities…. or the lack thereof. We also found it interesting the number of inventions that we commonly use today that were initially discovered for space travel. Diapers! CAT scans! Cordless power tools! 
Before departing, we went on their newest attraction: the Shuttle Launch Experience. It is meant to help you experience the sights, sounds, and feelings of a vertical launch into space. It was pretty awesome.
Back in Orlando, we met Dave, Jeni and family at House of Blues for a late dinner. It was great to catch up and visit with them.
2 comments:
January 16, 2009 at 7:43 PM
Jealous! Thats what I am!
We went to Orlando in June and were on our way to the Kennedy Space Center when we took a detour to take Tubbs to the Urgent Care in Coco Beach. Because we spent 3 days in the hospital in Melbourne we completely missed the chance to head back over. The day Tubbs left the hospital (June 14) we also missed the space shuttle landing by like 2 hours. Ugh!
January 16, 2009 at 8:46 PM
6,000 gallons of paint? Just for the flag? That's a lot of paint. And, the bathroom facilities (eww-diapers) remind me once again of why I am sometimes jealous of the male anatomy- I'm sure peeing is easier not only in the woods, but on the shuttle as well.
Post a Comment