The next time you’re in Orlando, take a break from the lines and crowds of the theme parks and head out to the coast to check out the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for the day (or two)!
I recently went to the Kennedy Space Center to catch a rocket launch. SpaceX was launching the Falcon-9 to deliver supplies to the astronauts on the International Space Station. I arrived to the viewing site with 9 minutes to spare! A live feed was announcing the countdown as me and 4,000 others at the site first saw the rocket launch, then heard it (there’s a bit of a delay in sound), then felt the vibrations from the powerful rocket. It was extraordinary!
Two minutes and 14 seconds into the launch, we were supposed to see a separation. Instead, we witnessed the rocket explode. It was quite a sight. Thankfully, it was unmanned and there are still supplies for a few months onboard the International Space Station.
This experience alone was well worth going to the space center, but even if it’s not launch day there are plenty of reasons to check out KSC, especially with a student group!
Top 10 (Other) Reasons to Visit the Kennedy Space Center:
1. Experience what it’s like to rocket into space on the launch simulator.
2. Discover early space exploration through the lens of the 1960s.
3. View off-limit areas through the up-close KSC bus tour to see launch pads and more.
4. Pay tribute to fallen astronauts at the Astronauts’ Memorial.
5. Explore the Astronaut Hall of Fame.
6. Meet, take photos with, and even have lunch with current and former astronauts.
7. Have your mind blown by the sheer size and magnitude of Space Shuttle Atlantis and the Saturn V.
8. Stroll through the rocket garden to see rockets of all shapes and sizes.
9. Watch two awesome IMAX movies that truly take you on a journey through space.
10. Eat at Orbit Café- the food’s great!
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”
– President JFK