What is It - Florida has many exciting attractions and beaches for families to enjoy. One of the most interesting and important ones is the Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Complex housed on a large island in Titusville. The space center is a working space flight facility with tours and exhibitions that link NASA’s historic accomplishments in space with its plans for future moon, Mars, and privately sponsored space operations.

We visited the Kennedy Space Center twice recently and went through the entire complex including the modern visitors center. The museum part of the complex is organized into chronological mission zones. The first exhibitions are about the early jet pilots, unmanned rockets and astronauts that led America into space. The movies, rocket models and capsules on display there do an excellent job of conveying the broader context of the space race that took place between the United States and the Soviet Union, and the quest for technological and military superiority represented by that contest. In addition to the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules on display, there is a full-size Saturn V moon rocket hanging from the roof. Movies of the successful moon missions and early Mars landings that followed further show the sense of wonderment that prior generations had about space exploration.

SPACE SHUTTLES

Another part of the complex focuses on the 135 missions of the space shuttles over 30 years which carried eight astronauts and scientific payloads like the Hubble telescope up to the International Space Station and other space locations. The tragedies of the Challenger and Columbia missions are also tastefully memorialized. There is a special hall in which the entire Space Shuttle Atlantis is on display, along with a cockpit where you can steer and command the shuttle. While the shuttle program has now ended, the role played by these spacecrafts in keeping NASA’s missions alive was critical to future space exploration.

The outdoor portion of the visit includes a bus ride throughout the marshland and roads of the Space Center where you see some of the huge launch towers that were used for the moon and space shuttle missions. There is also an explanation and display of how NASA can move huge rockets and their payloads weighing as much as 12 million pounds from assembly hangers to the towers using a 131-foot-wide crawler platform and a special track.

ROCKET LAUNCH CENTER

One notable change that has taken place at the Space Center is that the commercial company SpaceX leases a tower and control room from the government from which SpaceX personnel have launched rockets and payloads into space. SpaceX has also successfully deployed the first reusable rocket that has been launched, recovered by a barge, and then used again. Other companies like Blue Origin and Boeing also have facilities at the Space Center. They may eventually participate with NASA in future missions to the moon and Mars and are competing with other companies to build the spacecraft and rockets.

Once you have seen these reminders of past glories, viewed some exhibits about the plans for a manned mission to Mars, and driven the Space Shuttle, the new hall dedicated to Heroes and Legends of space is a good place to end your visit. In addition to showing films and memorabilia from America’s early astronauts, the Hall displays some interesting information about many other people without household names from various nations who have made important contributions to the exploration of space.

Interesting Facts – SpaceX launched two American astronauts into space aboard its Falcon 9 rocket in May 2020 where they rendezvoused successfully with the International Space Station and disembarked for an extended stay there.  The Crew Dragon mission marked the first time in nine years that the U.S. was able to use domestic facilities for a manned space flight. 

How to Get There - The Space Center is conveniently located on the east coast of Florida about halfway between Miami and Jacksonville and is a 90-minute drive from Orlando. It is also close to the cruise terminal at Port Canaveral and is a frequent shore excursion for ships stopping or embarking at the port.

When to Go – The Space Center enjoys good weather all year long and most of the exhibits are indoors so the occasional thunderstorms in the area do not impact the experience.