I woke up pretty early, it was quite a busy rest area, even at this hour. I had a sink shower before I head off. I was happy I’d woken early, it would mean I’d get to the Kennedy Space Centre just after it opened so I could have the whole day there. I stopped for breakfast at the first waterside spot I found, somewhere near Titusville and even though it was a bit too windy to sit outside, I was happy sitting in my comfy chair looking out at the water as I ate.
I actually got to the space center around 9:30am, but wasn’t too worried. In Europe, I made sure I gave myself a whole day for some museums and in every case I found I didn’t need the whole time. I was here because of Jon, a very good friend of mine who loves everything about space and who I’m sure would work for NASA or Space X in a heartbeat if they happened to be in Brisbane. I’d originally balked at the $50 entrance fee, but knew that I wouldn’t regret it. When I drove in and found they were charging $10 for parking, I was downright insulted. There was no need, especially with the amount already being paid! I frowned as I handed over my $10, thinking that for that price I should get to stay overnight as well.
I packed lunch then headed on in. Instead of standing in the 100-strong queue for tickets, I went to the deserted self-serve ticket stations and within one minute had a ticket, I’m not sure what everyone else was doing. At the information center, I was given a brochure and an outline of the day’s scheduled activities. This place had a lot going on! I didn’t pay extra money for the additional experiences they had on offer like a tour of launch control and some other stuff, figuring that all the included stuff was plenty to keep me occupied for the day.
I started in the Rocket Garden for a fifteen minute guided tour. The rockets looked brilliant standing tall close to each other the tethers hardly visible in the bright sun. Our guide explained when, where and why each rocket was used and how successful the mission. He enjoyed using fancy acronyms, the best of which was used to describe the type of rockets in front of us. They were all PEU’s, which means Pointy End Up; and everyone thinks space travel is super-technical. More of the finer details were lost on me, but they sure looked brilliant. I rushed away early from the tour to catch the “Mission Debrief” presentation, which actually wasn’t that amazing, it was basically an overview of the complex, its launch pads and what you could do there, which I already knew from my brochure.
I stayed in the theatre I was in for a few minutes to see the “Astronaut Encounter” and ate morning tea while I waited. When the astronaut came on stage, he immediately engaged his audience. Now semi-retired, he told us about his life, growing up in Colorado with a love of climbing and a bit lost after high school. After some advice from a guy he worked with, he went back to school and studied mathematics, then started on his road to becoming an astronaut. It was an exceptional story and he has done some amazing things, including two trips to the International Space Station (ISS) and walking outside of it. Wow.
Onwards, I left the theatre and joined a queue for a bus out to the launch pads, vehicle assembly building (VAB) and the Apollo museum. Our driver was a great guide, and talked nonstop while the in-bus DVDs weren’t playing. The whole area is pretty big with everything spread out (for good reason). We went right by a few launch pads, including the one leased by Space X which has been used for all their launches, saw the “crawlers” which are the huge machines that transport rockets to the launchpads at a turtle’s pace and the VAB is absolutely insane. It is such a massive building with four huge doors (biggest in the world), it would be a sight to see a rocket or shuttle come out of there.
Our guide explained that each launch pad is surrounded by alligator-proof fencing. Initially I thought he was joking, but I think he was being serious! Lots of wildlife on the peninsula apparently. He proved this when he stopped mid-sentence and slammed on the brakes, pointing out a gator in a gully right next to the road. All the Chinese tourists on the bus went wild holding up their iPhones. I was pretty excited too, my first gator sighting!
The Apollo museum was like many of the other installations in the complex, it used a few movies to get you started with the backstory and they were really well done. Once those were finished, we were directed into the hangar where a huge Saturn 5 rocket is the centerpiece, arranged horizontally with all of its stages separated. This thing is massive. I read the signs as I walked along the huge piece of machinery, astounded to find out that NASA outsourced the whole thing and each stage went to a different company. I’ve no idea how they fit it all together, it must have been an organisational nightmare!
The exhibitions were great, especially the one dedicated to the three astronauts who lost their lives for Apollo, it made me shed a tear. The movie that told the story of the moon landing was exceptional, I am envious of people like Mum and Dad who got to be a part of such a historical event that brought people out into the streets to watch what televisions were available, a vastly different experience to what we would have today.
After a bit of queuing, I took a bus back to the main complex and strategized how I would fit the rest of the complex in with the remaining hours of the afternoon. I’d eaten lunch on the bus to ensure no time was wasted! Off the bus, I went into the Atlantis building, which was all about NASA’s shuttle program. Another really great story-telling experience, I got to find out so much more about something I knew only a little about. The way they present the actual Atlantis shuttle, hung at an aggressive angle, is brilliant. Though nervous about the time I had left to explore, I went for a ride on the shuttle launch simulator. Thinking it would all be a bit wah-wah, it was pretty good! They sat everyone down in a capsule and with really good visual aids, you are turned facing up and the capsule shakes the shit out of you as you launch into the sky and out of the earth’s atmosphere. I wish I’d taken a video of my face, with my cheeks shaking violently around, it felt ridiculous, I’m sure it looked ridiculous as well.
That was really the last exhibit to see, so I spent the rest of my time watching the movies playing in a few different theatres. I saw images from the Hubble telescope and learnt of NASA’s plans to launch a new telescope to see even further back in time. The closer was a film called “A Beautiful Planet” which was stunning. It had beautiful photography and told the story of life on the ISS and the possibilities of travelling to Mars and the research being done to make it happen in the 2030s.
The sun was setting and I left thoroughly grateful that I’d come. Thank you Jon! Although it was a huge ad for NASA, I understand the $50 admission fee now, they have put a lot of money into every exhibit and it was well worth it. Not the parking though.
On my way out, I called a nearby Cracker Barrel and asked if it would be ok to camp in their carpark. Not a problem according to the manager! I needed a guaranteed camp after the last couple of nights so I was happy about that. Just as I pulled up, Jon called me so we talked for ages about my day while I ate dinner.