Great Loop Blog | Good News

Day #260 - Cocoa Village, FL

This morning we rented a car and drove to Kennedy Space Center.  It was about a twenty minute drive to Merritt Island and very impressive place.

The day was spent walking around the Space Center and taking the guided bus tour that stopped at several locations.  The entire compound comprises 140,000 acres and much of it is a natural wildlife sanctuary.  There are over 500 species of birds, animals and critters.  We even saw a 700 pound bald eagle nest and more alligators than we have seen on the entire trip.

Vultures were plentiful and we were hoping they weren’t looking for weary travelers.

We saw an IMAX movie on the space station and went on a simulator that was amazing.  You had to place everything from your pockets into a locker so that nothing loose flew around.  It truly made you feel like you were strapped in a rocket, sights, sounds, smells and all.  Glad to be back on earth.

Next they took you on a two hour bus tour of the entire facility.  We passed the Vehicle Assembly Building where they house the shuttles when they are waiting for their next launch.  To get some perspective of the size of this facility, the flag painted on the outside of the building is so large that they recently repainted it and it took 550 gallons of paint.

Two space shuttles are on neighboring launch pads for the last time before the shuttle program ends next year.  Space shuttle Endeavour rolled out early Friday to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center.  After the Hubble mission, Endeavour will be moved to the other launch pad in preparation for launch in June on a mission to the international space station.  About 1.6 miles away, space shuttle Atlantis stood on Launch Pad 39A. Atlantis is scheduled to launch next month on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.  Endeavour will be on standby during the mission in case a rescue mission is needed for Atlantis’ crew members.

The 4.2-mile trip from the Vehicle Assembly Building aboard a massive crawler-transporter (photo above) took seven hours.  Sorry we missed seeing that sight.

Another area at the center is called their Memorial Garden.  There is a large granite wall that looks somewhat like the Viet Nam Memorial Wall and this beautiful plaque in memory of all of the astronauts who have lost their lives in the endeavor of space exploration.

It was a very interesting day and we thoroughly enjoyed it.