I had originally decided against going to Kennedy Space Center but once we got here we changed our minds.
So today we rented a car and drove out to Kennedy. A lot has changed in the 15 years since we were there last. Space Shuttle Atlantis was the first thing we went to see. They take you into a room and you stand there and watch a movie about a shuttle launch. It looks like you are in the shuttle during the movie and it’s kind of cool to watch. At the end of the movie the wall directly in front of you lifts and you see the nose of the Shuttle Atlantis sitting right there. They got the dramatic effect down perfectly. It’s quite the site to see when that wall lifts up.
Space Shuttle Atlantis
heat shield tiles by engines
They have certainly tried to turn the place into another Universal theme park. They created a ride for a shuttle launch simulation. Of course we took a ride. It was pretty cool. They put you in a room of seats and buckle you in. When the ride starts they tilt you back until you are almost on your back. Dwayne thinks we were at about 45 degrees instead of a full 90 degrees. Then it starts shaking like it would for a lift off. They even have the seats move a little so if you were actually taking on g forces you would know what it felt like. Very cool ride, unfortunately we were not able to take any pictures.
We took out bus tour and they took us out past the Vehicle Assembly Building and past the old launch pad that was used for all the shuttle launches. They also took us out and showed us the new mobile launch pad they are making. Our tour dropped us at the Apollo/Saturn building. Then returned us to the main visitor facility.
Vehicle Assembly Building
Old Launch pad used for all shuttle launches
Old blast plate from shuttle launch pad