Kennedy Space Centre, Orlando

KSC home of NASA and the Space Shuttle can be found on my Cape Canaveral page.

I have just put this on here because a lot of people associate it with Orlando and I just wanted to point them in the right direction..

As part of the Apollo/Saturn V Center exhibit you will come accross the space suit that was worn by the astronauts. Standing beside the suit is a very informative guide who will answer any questions that you may have in relation to any part of the centre.

The most common question....How do they go to the toilet?

The answer....A type of space nappy!!!!

NOW YOU KNOW!

While touring the Apollo/Saturn V Center you will come accross the entire Saturn rocket laid out in front of you. I was amazed at how large the was and just how small and cramped the command module is.

As part of your entry you should purchase the "acess all areas pass." This will allow you to board the busses that ferry you around the restricted areas of the Kennedy Space Centre.
The Apollo/Saturn V Center was built as a tribute to the Apollo Astronauts and the machines that got them there. The simulated take off room is the most amazing thing I have experienced and when it is over, you are allowed into the Apollo/Saturn V Center which features all you ever wanted to know about the Apollo program and landing on the moon.
This experience will blow your mind!

The shuttle launch pad, officially known as Launch Complex (LC) 39 Pads A and B are the last steps in the process of preparing a shuttle mission into space. The pads have supported NASA in many of its vehicles: Apollo/Saturn V, Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz and the Space Shuttle.
The tower stands 347 from ground level to the tip of the lighting mast, which itself is 80 feet tall and grounds the Pad from potential weather hazards. An important floor on the structure is the 195th, which is the point where the astronauts enter the orbiter. At the far end of the level is the Emergency Egress System which is a rapid escape system for any crew on that floor during an emergency. On the same level, the Orbiter Access Arm allows astronauts and support crew to enter the shuttle while it is on the pad. Other arms on the structure feed fuel into the External Tank and helps vent excess gas.

The Solid Booster Rockets are also located outside of the main gates.
The two SRBs provide the main thrust to lift the space shuttle off the pad and up to an altitude of about 150,000 feet, or 24 nautical miles.
Each booster has a thrust of approximately 3,300,000 pounds at launch. They are ignited after the three space shuttle main engines' thrust level is verified. The two SRBs provide 71.4 percent of the thrust at lift- off and during first-stage ascent.

Located outside the main gate of the Kennedy Space Centre is the Space Shuttle Explorer. Beside the Explorer is the Launch Status Center, where visitors receive live briefings on NASA launch and space flight activity. Guides provide excellent information about the Space Shuttle program during the day.

Daily briefings at 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.

Engineered to handle the awesome power of Saturn liftoffs, a 525-foot high structure was built to assemble the mammoth boosters. This structure, now tagged the Vehicle Assembly Building, towered above the Florida landscape. It was capable of erecting four of the monstrous Saturn V boosters simultaneously. To move a fully stacked Saturn V to its launch pad, a giant diesel-powered crawler transporter would lumber across a specially-built roadway. A Launch Control Center served as the brains of the Moonport, directing mission support, fuel loading, and launch of the powerful Saturn launch vehicles.

The Kennedy Space Center is situated on Florida's central Atlantic coast, carved out of savanna and marsh in the early 1960s. Determined as ideal for launchings and landings, Kennedy's "space coast" real estate evolved from a sandy strip 34 miles long and five to 10 miles wide on Florida's east cost, midway between Jacksonville and Miami.
This is an excellent "MUST DO" for all visitors to Orlando, even if you are not a "space nut." The insite into this technology and the shear determination of mankind will "Blow you away"

A visit to Orlando would not be complete without a visit to Kennedy Space Center that serves as NASA's headquarters for launches. It is not often that a common person gets access to tour launch pads and KSC provides that option for a space buff's dream come true. This is one place where someone can pretend to be an astronaut and live out a dream.

Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at Cape Canaveral, is only about a 45 minute drive east of Orlando. With the atlantic ocean on one side, Cape Canaveral is almost like an island waiting to be gobbled up the vast ocean. When the rains and winds get heavier, KSC closes down and visitors are immediately advised to leave the area for more inward locations like Orlando.