The Kennedy Space Center! This was the day that I (John) was looking forward to most and the only agenda I had for the trip. I've been an astronomy geek since I was Greyson's age and have always wanted to go to the KSC. It was everything I had hoped for and more. The only bad thing all day was the fact that it was SUPER hot and humid!!
Shuttle Atlantis Boosters and Tank Rocket Forest
The kids had a great time in the Rocket Forest. They climbed into Mercury and Gemini capsules and I got the show them the Mercury and Redstone rockets. My father Dean worked on the safety crew for both of those project while in the EOD in the Air Force. He saw all of the Redstone and all but one of the Mercury launches from the closest view point on the entire base.
This is the NASA mascot
This is a T-38 Talon jet. Each astronaut pilot was assigned one for personal training and use.
This is the memorial for all of the Astronauts that have died in service to NASA
It's hard to put into perspective how large the booster/tank assembly is......it's really big!!
The Atlantis exhibit is one of the best theatrical reveals I have ever seen. You come into a small theater and watch a short film about the last shuttle flight and Atlantis' journey to KSC. Then at the end the screen open suddenly and you are face to face with THE Atlantis. It was very impressive and kids and parents alike run cheering to get closer to her. Have seen almost every launch on TV I was amazed at the size of her. It is a massive aircraft and you can see the punishment she has taken flying to space and back. The way the have her hung is truly amazing and allows you to see every angle. It was super cool and a highlight of the trip for me. In the hall they have a shuttle cockpit and all sorts of hands on science stuff for the kids. The kids liked the actual practice escape slide you could go down......over and over and over again.
A replica a the Hubble Space Telescope
Space suit and EVA module
The kids loved the cockpit and made up an entire space mission and spectacular near crash while playing inside.
This was a mini space station set up the kids had a blast playing in.
Escape!!!
This is the building where the mate the spacecraft to the booster section
This was really cool as well. It is the actual control room from the Apollo program.
We took a bus to the Saturn V exhibit which I have wanted to see since I was 5. It was astonishing. Julie and I talked about how it was similar to seeing the Giant Sequoia trees. You can try to explain to someone the scale of it but you can't explain it. Seeing the size and complexity of that machine left me in a state of awe. I couldn't imagine being an astronaut and riding up the elevator to strap into that thing. That is bravery on a very rare level.
Newspaper front pages from all of the worlds major papers the day of the moon landing. The lined the walls for hundreds of feet.
Replica of the lunar lander.
The command capsule
I just hope the kids and Julie had half as much fun as I did!!
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