Author Topic: Visiting Kennedy Space Center! Please, need tips and advice!  (Read 8291 times)

Offline aceshigh

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Hello all!

13th May, I, my wife, my 3 year old daughter and a couple friend will travel to the US to visit Disney World, Miami, Orlando and all that stuff.

I mean, that's THEIR interest in the trip.

I got convinced of the trip by my wife when instead of DisneyWorld and US ultra cheap outlet malls, I remembered about Kennedy Space Center.

That's the reason why I will be spending tons of money on the trip (otherwise I would probably visit Rome).


Anyway, the plan is to drop my wife and the girls (mine is 3 yrd old, the other is 5, so I guess they won´t really appreciate much KSC) at some mall of Legoland and go to KSC.



What areas of KSC are open to the public besides the visitor center? I suppose the amazing Vehicle Assembly Building is offlimits to visitors? Or are there programmed visits?

Does being a foreigner restrict access to some place compared to US nationals? (I am not Syrian or North Korean, nor an ex-member of ISIS, in fact I am beardless and love pork)

Any chance I might catch a rocket launch from May 13th to 31st? What are the procedures to be able to watch a live launch?


Thanks!

Online gongora

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For launches you'll just have to keep an eye on the SpaceX schedule, they don't have any definite dates that far out.  It's likely they'll launch one or two GTO missions in May (which would be drone ship landings).

I went to KSC the day after the FH launch with my partner.  She's not that into space stuff but was a good sport about it.  We got there about 10:30? in the morning, left about 5:30, and didn't see everything at the Visitor's Center.  We did the Explore KSC bus tour which takes you near the VAB but you don't get to go in there.  If you spend a couple hours on a tour and do one or both of the IMAX movies that's a good chunk of the day.  The Atlantis and Saturn V buildings can both take a while.

Offline JohnR

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A "brief" KSC bus tour and ride to visit to the Saturn V Center, which is inside KSC, is included with admission. There are additional bus tours to other areas inside KSC and CCAFS that are available for purchase. The Early Space Tour on CCAFS does require a security check and early check in. Details on the tours available here -> https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/explore-attractions/all-attractions#AddonEnhancements
« Last Edit: 02/15/2018 07:40 pm by JohnR »

Offline Matt the Czar

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The Saturn V center is amazing.  When I went there, It took me several seconds to realize what i was looking at.  The last Saturn V hangs from the ceiling with cutaways for viewing.

Offline VAB67

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Cool 8) Been there multiple times, and forgot to visit the apollo center the first time, so make sure you visit it. The saturn V is simply amazing.

Offline IanThePineapple

Research a bit about the things there, It's amazing how historical some of the things at KSCVC and the SV center are, and they aren't even labelled.

For example, the first stage of the Saturn V there was the static fire stage, used for ground tests. Stages 2 and 3 were going to be for Apollo 19. The Saturn IB at the main complex was the Skylab rescue vehicle, and the CSM on the S-IB was on the SA500F rocket, which tested the VAB, mobile launchers and launch pad systems. And there's so much more than that!

Lots of unknown history there!

Offline NGCHunter

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What areas of KSC are open to the public besides the visitor center?
If you have time, I would recommend a visit to the Spacewalk of Fame, now known as the American Space Museum & Spacewalk of Fame, in Titusville:
http://spacewalkoffame.org/
They have a small museum with some nice exhibits, but the real treasure there are the volunteers.  Many are retired engineers from the space center with their own stories to tell, stories and information you won't find from most of the employees at the official visitor center (though that is certainly still worth the price of admission as well).  You can also find some very knowledgeable volunteers answering questions at both the Atlantis and Saturn V exhibits, often times they're retired engineers as well.  Still, I feel like you can get more of a quality one-on-one conversation at the Spacewalk of Fame museum.  Just my opinion, your mileage may vary.

Offline aceshigh

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Ok, from this thread https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=15134.140

apparently, these are, so far, the launches that may occur while I am in Florida, from 13 to 31 May
   May (NET) - USA     - Falcon 9 v1.2        - CC   SLC-40  - GPS III -1 - or September
   May (NET) - USA     - Falcon 9 v1.2        - CC   SLC-40  - Telkom 4
   May (NET) - USA     - Falcon 9 v1.2        - VAFB SLC-4E  - Iridium-NEXT (x10)



I just had a brief fight with my wife, as I announced I would spend TWO days at Cape Canaveral, if a launch was happening while we were there.

I said that exactly after she talked about how in a forum she goes to, about Orlando travel, other women were telling there was nothing to do at NASA.



To tell the truth, trying to see a launch WILL prove difficult, as those Disney parks as well as plenty of other attractions in the area require you to book months in advance. We have booked most parks already.

My hope is that a launch may occur in the same day she has reserved for shopping at some mall.

Offline wolfpack

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Will be there with the kids this Thursday (3/22/18). Anything exciting going on that I should look for? So far just planning the VC and bus tour.

Online gongora

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Ok, from this thread https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=15134.140

apparently, these are, so far, the launches that may occur while I am in Florida, from 13 to 31 May
   May (NET) - USA     - Falcon 9 v1.2        - CC   SLC-40  - GPS III -1 - or September
   May (NET) - USA     - Falcon 9 v1.2        - CC   SLC-40  - Telkom 4
   May (NET) - USA     - Falcon 9 v1.2        - VAFB SLC-4E  - Iridium-NEXT (x10)

GPS-III isn't launching in May.  Iridium is launching from California.  There could be a SpaceX flight to GTO in that timeframe but I don't know which satellite it would be (Telkom 4, TelStar 18 Vantage, Es'hail 2, ?), the manifest gets a little vague after SES-12.

Offline aceshigh

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Going there tomorrow morning. Actually today, as it is already past midnight.

Offline MATTBLAK

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I highly recommend the historic launchpad tour. The Saturn V Center and the 'Atlantis' display at the Kennedy space Center visitors center is totally worth it. https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/explore-attractions/shuttle-a-ship-like-no-other

If you are into classic 'Warbird' aircraft, the Valiant Air Command museum is definitely worth your time:  https://www.valiantaircommand.com/

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Offline Oersted

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Going there tomorrow morning. Actually today, as it is already past midnight.

Tell us about your trip there, please :-)

Offline aceshigh

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Posting from it right now.

I shed some tears when I first saw the VAB at distance. Again when seeing the shuttle tank and engines when arriving.
But when I entered the Saturn V building... It was magical. Like a spiritual experience. I literally had to step away to a corner so people wouldn't see this wuss crying.
« Last Edit: 05/23/2018 10:58 pm by gongora »

Offline vandersons

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Thanks for this thread everyone! Myself and the family (missus and a 6yo rocket fan) will be in the general Cape area from the 20th June till the 5th of July. Really hope CRS-15 doesn't slip (much). Looking forward to it already.

Offline Brovane

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Thanks everyone for the tips.

I am going to be in Orlando next week for the Cisco Live conference.  I am going to take Thursday and drive to KSC with another co-worker to get our space geek on. 
"Look at that! If anybody ever said, "you'll be sitting in a spacecraft naked with a 134-pound backpack on your knees charging it", I'd have said "Aw, get serious". - John Young - Apollo-16

Offline Semmel

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Ill be in Titusville from June 16th to June 23 and will go to the visitor center, maybe multiple times. Probably will not catch Telesat 19 as there is no information coming but if anyone wants to chat, I will be happy to meet up. :)

Online catdlr

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Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour


Space Videos
Published on Jun 21, 2018

(This was originally streamed Live October 2017) Tour of the Kennedy Space Center Florida.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is the visitor center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It features exhibits and displays, historic spacecraft and memorabilia, shows, two IMAX theaters, and a range of bus tours of the spaceport. "Space shuttle Atlantis" is home to the real Space ShuttleAtlantis orbiter and the Shuttle Launch Experience, a simulated ride into space.



Tony De La Rosa, ...I'm no Feline Dealer!! I move mountains.  but I'm better known for "I think it's highly sexual." Japanese to English Translation.

Offline Semmel

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Last week, I have been at the KSC visitor center and I have seen/done almost anything that was not too expensive. Here is a little guide for anyone who is interested in going but doest really know what to expect. I structure it into 3 categories. What there is to do, you can find on the web page and I give a little review of everything below. I didnt do the astronaut training and I didnt do the lunch with an astronaut.

There are two main areas to the visitor center: The main campus, the Saturn V building. Between these two, a shuttle bus goes and there are 3 types of tours you can do to get from the main campus to the Saturn V building.

1. Normal bus tour (40 min), doesn't stop but goes by some NASA buildings, launch pads 39A, 39B and the VAB. You come very close to 39A and B. You drive right past the SpaceX integration building and get a good look around. Also, you get as close to the VAB as it is possible.

2. Extended bus tour (2 hours). Its the same bus tour as the normal one, but it stops at various places, lets you out and allows you to take pictures. The locations are (at least on my tour): one of the press sites that can be used to view launches, one of the tracking camera locations between 39A and 39B and the VAB. Take a telephoto lens on this tour.

3. Historic tour (3 hours). This tour goes through the airforce base and it visits the Mercury launch pads, the Gemini launch pads, Launch pad 34 (Apollo 1 and 7). There are museums at the Mercury and Gemini launch pads, build into the old control bunkers. These are fantastic, they preserved most of the old control computers and they even stuck a redstone rocket onto the LC5, one of the Mercury Redstone pads. In the control bunker, you can push the button that launched Alan Shepard. There is also a small museum which contains a model of Goddards first contraption, the engine of a V2, and a Gemini capsule, re-purposed with instruments for the airforce. The first spacecraft that flew twice, once with people and once with spy cameras. So THIS was the first reusable spacecraft! Also, there are some very old satellites on display.


There are quite a few places to see.


Rocket garden: It contains a bunch of original rockets and one original sized mock-up. I am not going to tell you which one is the mock-up, try to find out which one it is without reading the signs or listening to the tour. Yes, there is a tour every hour which takes about 15 minutes. Rockets are: Redstone, Juno, Atlas, Titan, Delta, Saturn 5 1B (currently in the process of being refurbished before it rots to pieces). Some other pieces are shown: Mock-ups of Mercury, Gemini and Appollo capsules to sit in as well as an F1 engine.


Cape Canaveral History: A small tour about the non-rocket related past of the cape and its native inhabitants, past and present.


Heros&Legends: A building, devoted to the NASA astronauts. Before entering the building, you get to sit through a video show. Lets just say, it is technically nice performed but it is not such a terrible loss if you miss it. Its noticable that they tried to copy the success of Atlantis and Saturn V (see below) but in the end it came out as too needy. The presentation in the building it self is nice and has probably lots of meaning to the astronauts presented there. But it was rather repetitive. If you are short on time, this building is the least painful to miss.


Astronaut centre: For 150$ extra, you can take a day long training as astronaut. I did not do this and cannot comment.


Journey to Mars: Explorers Wanted:
A building, dedicated to the exploration of Mars. A bit pumped on the action side, maybe more attractive to kids. But some very good pieces in there: A model of Sojourner, Spirit/Opportunity and Curiocity right next to each other. They sit somehow tugged away in a corner, please dont miss it!


Small cinema/stage (forgot its name), located next to the ice cream bar:
A small stage that shows some nice movies all day long. Easy to miss building, opposite to the ISS picture with the nations flags. The one good show is a ~40 min talk of a former astronaut. You can ask questions afterwards. The other shows are movies, which are interesting if you have time to spare but otherwise not bad to miss.


iMAX:
I have seen one movie and its worth it. Not worth your time viewing the movie if you have only one day but otherwise very impressive. Its in 3d and the one I saw was a report from some recent crews going to the ISS. Experiencing the launch and doc, entering of the ISS was something very memorable. But the good part about the iMAX is hiddin in the back, past the snacks bar. A Vector rocket hanging from the ceiling, an original Orion capsule, an original pressure cell of the Starliner as well as a Dragon 1, including scorch marks on its outside from its re-entry. An absolute must see. Unfortunately, they are placed against the wall and you cant walk around the capsules. Otherwise a fantastic area, easy to miss. You shouldnt miss it. The area also holds some small advertisory SLS models (they really have to rub it it in at every opportunity).


Space Shuttle Atlantis:
The entire building is a must see area. You enter the building, going beneath a mock-up of the Space Shuttle external trank with its solid boosters. The scale of this thing is impressive! When entering, you go through a series of 2 shows. The first is kind of informative. The second show is more for the emotions with good visuals (keep a steady stand and dont fall over!). My advice: stand centrally around one third from the front screen for maximum effect. Once the show is over, you.. well, I will not spoil it.. lets just say I grew goose pimples, had to grin from ear to ear and had water in my eyes. And I was not the only one. Easily the best show on KSC VC, even though the Saturn V entrance show was a hell of a show as well (see below).
The building is dominated by the Atlantis. Take your time, dont rush it. And if you dont do anything else in that building, Atlantis alone takes an hour to go by. There are often retired engineers that worked on the shuttle in front if it, happy to talk to anyone who wants to talk with them. I had one of the best conversations with an engineer there. The more technically advanced your understanding and deep your questions, the more they enjoy your presence. But they are happy to answer any question really.
The remaining building has lots and lots to see. An original sized Hubble Space Telescope, an SSME on display, a lot of information. Lots of simulators (docking, shuttle arm, shuttle landing), some parts of the ISS, a slide for kids mimicking the re-entry process, and sometimes an astronaut giving autograms (only stand in line for this if you have time, there are way cooler things to do). Also a very well made side-walk on Challenger and Columbia. If you have time, take it slow through this. Lots of things to see.
One more must-do here, the simulated space shuttle launch. Lock away your back-packs (there are lockers provided) and go through it. They dont allow small kids and loose items like back packs but.. its by far not as violent as they make you believe it is. Its really nice though!


Saturn V building:
Again, you enter this building through a series of presentations. Starting with some nice information piece and then you are led into an auditorium, which resembles the old control building next to the VAB but it contains the original control consoles used for Apollo. Quite a goose-pimple moment again when you realize, all these are originals. They present the launch of Apollo 8, the one that went around the moon. Very nice show and sets you into the mood what comes next. You exit the auditorium and enter the Saturn V building, just below its engines. The Saturn V is placed some 3m (~10 feet) above the floor. It was again an eye watering moment for me to see it. Its not a mock-up. Its one of the 3 remaining Saturn V that were build but never flew. The size of that thing and the scale to humans is.. uncanny. You cant put it into pictures. It doesnt give the feeling justice what you get when you are there. Its massive! You can walk under the Saturn V from back to front, each stage is separated from the others to show the engines of each stage. Very very impressive.
Above the diner, they hang a lunar lander from the ceiling. Again an original. It is from Apollo 15, but never flew because they decided to add a moon car to it, and they had to redesign the lander to accommodate it. So they had one lunar lander left over, which is there now. It hangs from the ceiling because the legs cant take Earth gravity, it would crumble under its own weight. At the front end of the Saturn V, there is a small area dedicated to the Apollo 1 astronauts, which died in the ground testing fire. It finishes with the original gentry to the white room and a capsule mock-up. You can actually walk on the gentry that all Apollo 8-17 astronauts walked.
The main hall has a small corner with a piece of a moon rock that can be touched. There is another small theater that shows the Apollo 11 landing. Also a small museum showing a collection of space suits and space suit designs that were not used as well as some originals and the original Apollo 14 capsule. I spend several hours in that building in total.


Travel advice:
Whether or not you follow my advice is up to you of course, but this is the best I can give you based on my visit.

A 1-day visit: I would go as early as possible, enter 9:00am. Then go right through the first tour of the rocket garden. That sets you in the right mood. Take the standard bus tour as soon as possible to the Saturn V building. Spend some hours there, take your time, let it sink in, eat lunch there. When you come back, do so that you can see the Astronaut presentation (check the time table after the rocket garden). If you havnt done before the bus tour, visit the back of the iMAX. Dont watch a movie, go straight to the capsules. After that, go to the Atlantis building and spend the remaining time there. Take the shuttle launch simulation as one of the last things before you leave, close to 6pm, when KSC closes (they dont throw you out too fast). Reason is, you dont have to stand in line for it! You will miss many things but with this, you get most of it done without overwhelming yourself.

A 2-day visit (buy the multi-day ticket (75$) or 'atlantis pass' (86$)):
This is for people who dont want to rush it and are interested in Space above average. You might be able to see everything if you plan carefully and do everything in more or less a hurry, but I advice against that strategy. Do things slowly, take your time. Let the impressions sink in.
You have enough time to do the Saturn V one day and the Atlantis the other. You can see some movies, I would advice one of the iMAX. The astronaut talk is really interesting, I would do it too. See the Saturn V the first day and dont go there the second day. Plan accordingly to stay as long as you feel it to be interesting with Apollo. I would advise to spend the 25$ extra for the extended bus tour. Its worth it. There are two extended tours per day, take the early one because it gives you more time at Apollo.
Whether or not you go see Atlantis the first day is up to you. I did it but I didnt have the time to stay as long as I wanted. Maybe its better to see Atlantis the second day. You can do all the simulators, do them early so you dont have to wait for other people to finish. For the landing simulation, use the simulator clockwise next to the one for wheel chairs, the joy stick is more responsive then on the other consoles.

A 3-day (or more) visits (buy the 'atlantis pass' (86$)):
This is for space enthusiasts. And since you are here in this forum.. really, this is for you. Follow the 2-day visit advice but do also the history bus tour in addition to the extended bus tour. Its complementary to the extended or standard bus tours and it does give you a completely new view on the historic launch pads. Have your passport ready, you have to register with an airforce officer at the information building outside the KSC entrance (make sure he doesn't mix up your last name with your country of origin).
The 3 day visit gives you enough time to talk to veterans. Do it. There are usually some in the Saturn V building (I unfortunately wasn't lucky to find any there) and in front of Atlantis. Spend a few hours with them, ask for their stories and let them explain about what work they did. Its mighty interesting. You have enough time to do everything else. Go through the movies and the other things. Buy an Atlantis pass, which costs 11$ more than a multi-day pass but gives you free parking (10$ otherwise) and lets you buy food and merchandise for less. Its worth the money.
When you go to Atlantis, bring a mobile phone with the schematics of the SSME. Try to follow the fuel and oxidizer lines in the presented engine. Its a maze!


For all passes, book online. Especially the extended and history bus tours have the tendency to be booked out when you arrive. And you get your first parking ticket for free if you book the 'atlantis pass' online.

Offline Kansan52

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OFF TOPIC ALERT!

Did either of the Redstones have an original launch ring? The reason I ask is that the one here does and trying to locate others.

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