Kennedy Space Center

We awake to a beautiful sunrise over the Space Coast

Today we rented a car and spent the day at the Kennedy Space Center out on Cape Canaveral. What an inspiring place, demonstrating our countries ambitions and accomplishments in the race to conquer space. Rockets and vehicles are on display, from the first Mercury-Atlas up to  CURIOSITY, the Mars rover which we saw launched last week. The exhibit on the moon landing with the full size Saturn rocket, the Apollo Command Module, moon rocks and the Lunar Landing Module was very interesting! 

We learned that in the 1960' when President Kennedy put forth the vision to land a man on the moon and return him safely, we as a country allocated 7% of our national budget to NASA. Sadly today, we have cut the funding to NASA and it is severely underfunded and recently they have laid off thousands brilliant employees as the USA is exploring the privatization of our space program. Currently the SHUTTLE program has ended and it will not be until 2016 that we have a vehicle capable of sending men and women up to the service the International Space Station. We currently pay the Russian Space program $68 million dollars per astronaut to launch us into space! Next year the fee goes up to $85 million dollars per astronaut. Everyone needs to tour this Kennedy Space Center to fully appreciate our amazing accomplishments in space. 

Arrival at KSC with the rocket garden under the USA flag

Eric, Patricia, Radeen and Hayden with the VAB in the background
Thank you Bob W. IP380 Judith III, for this fun photo

The VAB, Vehicle Assembly Building. 63 stories tall
used to assemble the rockets
This building has not been open to the public since 1976

Looking up into the VAB, the Saturn Rocket moon launch
was assembled in this building as well as all Shuttles. Look at the crane

One of the cranes used in VAB to lift the Shuttle and fuel tanks

Eric, Bob and Hayden in front of Shuttle Endeavor

Pad 39a, this is THE PLACE where the moon launch happened
as well as most of the Shuttle launches.

Radeen and Hayden overlooking Pad 39A and the diagrams

Saturn rocket engines!

Saturn Rocket, stage one. Still the largest, most powerful rocket ever built

Apollo space capsule

Retired Shuttle now being built into a new exhibit building

MARS CURIOSITY rover, just launched. This will take 8 months to reach Mars
Powered by plutonium and electric motors! About the size of a Jeep!

What a fantastic tour, what a great day. Thank you Bob W. IP380 owner of Judith III and knowledgeable space scientist, for enhancing our day at KSC. It was wonderful! Next stop....Palm Shores  anchorage, then VERO BEACH....