Kennedy Space Center

As the only spot in the US from where humans have been propelled into space, the Kennedy Space Center not only meets the needs of America’s manned space program but also opens its doors to budding astronauts and non-space junkies. The young and old alike can get a genuine adventure of a lifetime with the visitor complex’s array of attractions for visitors.

Visitors at the Kennedy Space Center can experience being strapped into a cockpit and going on a high-fidelity ride. The Shuttle Launch Simulator creates the impression of a real lift-off. The Rocket Garden allows visitors to view an amazing collection of spacecraft and scale models, full-size Titan rockets, engine replicas, and even the 363-foot Apollo Saturn 1B rocket.

There are Shuttle Tours to make the entire experience much richer. The Astronaut Memorial and the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame have their wide variety of artifacts, displays and exhibits on the history and future of both human and robotic space flight.

The Kennedy Space Center visitor complex is reachable from Titusville just off Columbia Boulevard. A drive from Cocoa Beach and Orlando via the Bee Line Expressway is also one way of accessing the complex. The Kennedy Space Center is situated on the east side of the Intracoastal Waterway.

A Kennedy Space Center Day Trip enables visitors to take a simulated flight to the moon and back at the KSC. This option provides a full-day tour of the Apollo/Saturn V Center, where one can enjoy a leisurely walk underneath a huge Saturn V rocket. A tour of the NASA facility is included. Visitors can behold launch pads and rockets. The Astronaut Hall of Fame is another of this tour’s attractions. Of course, the Shuttle Launch Experience is part of the tour. An upgrade entitles the Kennedy Space Center guest to have lunch with an astronaut or to get a Space Pass. A special KSC Up-Close tour of the Vehicle Assembly Building completes the experience.

There are also tours that allow guests to go through an abbreviated KSC experience at affordable costs. Such tours incorporate nearly all the elements of pricier tours and still leave enough time for travel to and from the center.

Other attractions at the Kennedy Space Center include a bird’s eye view of the space shuttle launch pads on the LC 39 Observation Gantry.

Visitors can relive Neil Armstrong’s first moon walk or actually hear the thunderous rumble of a Saturn V rocket lift-off. IMAX movie screenings include the Leonardo DiCaprio-narrated feature Hubble 3D, or the fully simulated trip to the International Space Station called Space Station 3D.

There’s also the Astronaut Encounter Show, where visitors meet and greet real astronauts. Talk about shaking the non-gloved hand of an actual rocket man!

All in all, a trip to the Kennedy Space Center provides hours of discovery, full-simulation experience and exploration that will all leave you stating, “Houston, we have no problems!”

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