All my life I've been an ardent fan of aviation and spaceflight. "Ardent fan?" Yeah, I know, "aviation nerd" or "space nerd" is definitely more appropriate. I give a pretty good background of my enthusiasm in a blog I wrote several years ago on this very subject that you can find by clicking here. Go ahead. The link will open in a new window, and you won't lose your place here. I'll wait. See what I mean? Lifelong.passion!
As a young lad, my father took me to the visitor's center at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) lonnnng before Space Center Houston (JSC's official visitors' center) was built. If I recall, it was just a room or two in one of the admin buildings. This would've been in the early to mid-70s, so I could be totally wrong here. If any of my readers have better information on this, I'd love to hear about it. Please leave me a comment in the comments section at the end of this blog. I've been to Space Center Houston several times, and it's one of the first places I think of when visitors come to town, looking for something unique.
Johnson Space Center controls space operations since Gemini IV. In fact, the first word from the moon was "Houston." Once a spacecraft clears the launching tower, control passes to JSC. Actually prepping and launching the vehicle, though, is done at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The KSC Visitor Complex is the Cape's version of Space Center Houston. We purchased our tickets online about a week before flying out to MCO.
Cindy and I woke up to our alarm set for 8:15 after a good night's sleep. The day, as predicted was cool and rainy, but that didn't dampen our enthusiasm for what was to come. We ran into two of our cruise group, Rob and Larry (yes, the same "Larry" of "Larry and Mary" from my previous blog) at breakfast and shared a table with them. Breakfast complete, I requested a ride from Uber and ten minutes later we were on our way to KSC.
Welcome to KSC
Nerd Nirvana?
For my new readers, and as a reminder to my faithful readers, I include many links, which will appear blue. Clicking on any link will open a new window, so you won't lose your place here. Clicking on a photo will open a new window with a larger format version of the photo.
Where to first?
Rocket Garden
Countdown clock
Nice to know...
Thanks to some very helpful people in a Facebook group I belong to, Space Hipsters, I knew to immediately obtain complimentary bus tickets for the Apollo/Saturn 5 complex actually on KSC property. There are only a limited amount of tickets available due to time constraints, so that's the first place Cindy and I went. Once again, timing was on our side and we were able to immediately board an awaiting bus. Cool! Thank you, Hipsters, y'all rock!
Along the way, our driver pointed out various points of interest, including a large eagle's nest that apparently has been in the same tree for almost 50 years. As we passed close to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), she related some fascinating facts about the gargantuan scale of this building. My earliest memories of watching anything NASA-related on TV often featured this building and now I actually got to see it up close. Wow!
An interesting detail about the visitor complex here, compared to Space Center Houston, is the amount of what I'll refer to as "pre-show" videos. Each attraction we visited seemed to use this method to create drama and anticipation for what would come next. Once we made our way into the Apollo/Saturn V building, we entered a room with large video screens, showing images of popular culture during Apollo 8's time.
I loved Planet of the Apes!
I could've written a different quote for the above image, like "Scotty, two to beam up," but Star Trek has gotten wayyyy more time than 2001: A Space Odyssey, at least in my humble opinion. This pre-show lasted about 5 minutes and the doors opened to what I consider one of my favorite displays at KSC. Yes, pretty much everything we encountered at the visitor complex was interesting, but this one definitely made the top of the list. We walked into a replica of the Apollo 8 firing room, and I was, no pun intended, blown away by the whole experience.
Replica of Apollo 8 firing room
I mentioned earlier in this blog how KSC designed its attractions to build suspense and drama, and this display did all of that in a grand way. Upon entry into the room, the lights and consoles were dimmed as shown above. Having worked on the technical side of theater productions as a hobby, I know full well just how important lighting is in creating an effective atmosphere. The "show" started with certain lights coming up and consoles starting to illuminate.
Whoa, this is gonna be cool!
About this time I figured I better start taking lots of photos before the next "event" happened so I wouldn't miss anything. While I didn't know exactly what was going to occur, I had a pretty good idea.....or so I thought. Notice in the photo above a yellow timer stopped at 00:00:03:00. That was a countdown timer stopped, or "holding," at T-3 minutes. Here are a few more photos I took, looking around the room.
Vehicle status board
TV camera platform
Data station status board
The next part of the "show" started when the countdown resumed. Video monitors started showing scenes taken from actual TV coverage of the launch, and speakers played audio tracks of the launch controllers. The vehicle status board illuminated the next set of changes as the countdown proceeded.
Launch sequence start
Tank pressurization in progress
As if there wasn't enough going on, things progressed quickly from there. At T-0, during "launch commit," a loud rumbling could be heard and felt in the room. It reminded me of watching movies like Earthquake and Midway in Sensurround. Low-frequency vibrations made me feel like I was actually there at the launch complex. A glow appeared in the windows above and behind us much like I guess the Apollo 8 made during its ascent from the tower. The launch sequence was over as quickly as it began, and was almost anti-climatic. Reflecting on this, KSC's part in the overall mission was essentially over, as "Houston" took over once the vehicle cleared the tower. Having just written what I did, I still want to revisit this and capture it all on video.
Another set of doors opened on the opposite side of the room and led us into a large room containing an entire Saturn V vehicle. You read that correctly. An.etire.Saturn.V. Just like the VAB, trying to grasp the scale of such a behemoth is difficult at best until you've actually been close to these things. Watching footage of a launch from several miles away and being up close to the actual vehicle offer two very different perspectives.
Saturn V
Apollo CSM
Cutaway model of Saturn V
Closeup of CM
Apollo 14 CM
This is Al Shepard's EVA suit that he wore when exploring the lunar surface on Apollo 14. Note the red stripes on the arms and legs. These stripes designated him as the mission commander. Cindy and I spent a little more time looking at all the displays and decided to catch the next bus back to the visitor complex so we would have time to look at the other attractions. Thankfully another bus was pulling up as we exited so we were able to head back without a delay.
On the way back to the main complex, we discussed where to go next, and decided on the Atlantis space shuttle exhibit. Since this was the actual orbiter, we thought it would have some fascinating items to view. And we were right! Walking up to the building, we saw an SRB/ET stack, sans orbiter.
screeeeech!
Wait, whaaaat? Dude, speak English!
Sorry, between my medical and science background, I tend to revert to acronyms when I start talking about a subject I'm passionate about. The "SRB/ET stack" is the solid rocket booster and external tank assembly that the orbiter is attached, or "mated" to. NASA does a nice job describing this right here. Just wait a bit, and you're gonna see tons of acronyms flying at ya.
True to form, there was a pre-show video of the origins of the space shuttle, depicting NASA engineers brainstorming various designs and configurations of this new spacecraft. At the beginning of this video, an actor portraying Max Faget releases this glider from a balcony, which glides to a landing at the feet of the assembled engineers. The actual glider depicted in the video is on display here, as seen below.
Max Faget's glider
Video complete, the doors opened and we entered another large room with the Space Shuttle Atlantis posed in all of her glory. The very same Atlantis that I remember watching as she docked with Mir on the NASA channel years ago.I'm glad Cindy was having as much fun as I was. This is definitely more my interest than hers, but nevertheless, she was enthralled throughout our visit like I was.
Space Shuttle Atlantis
Closeup of cockpit
Payload bay
Is this cool, or what?
Similar to Space Center Houston, there were plenty of simulators to occupy your time and test your skill. Want to land a space shuttle? There's a sim for it. Operate the remote manipulator system? There's a sim for that, too. What about one of those huge cranes in the VAB? Yep, you guessed it. That has a simulator, too.
Cindy in the VAB crane simulator
Both Cindy and I had a go at this sim (among others) but neither of us was successful in mating the orbiter to the SRB/ET stack in the time allotted. We had fun trying, though. We had to watch our time closely, as we had our pre-cruise meet and greet at 5, and about a 30-minute ride from the visitor complex back to the hotel. No worries yet, we still have some more playtime left.
Earlier I mentioned that the Apollo 8 firing room replica ranked at the top of my time at KSC. A very close second, though, was the "Shuttle Launch Experience." When I saw this, I knew I wanted to do it, but figured the line for this would be too long. Based on the description, I knew it would be both fun and interesting.
Surprise!
There was practically no line, so Cindy and I took advantage of this and got ready to experience a taste of a shuttle launch. Apparently, several shuttle astronauts collaborated on this project to make it as realistic as possible. Works for me! Granted, a small taste is kind of like sampling a bite of bourbon chicken at the food court. It's good, but leaves you wanting more. Given that there's no longer a shuttle program, this morsel would have to suffice. Let's do it!
Wow!
That was really cool! I could even feel the "twang" at SSME start. Yeah, I know, there's a lot of technical stuff I'm throwing out. Just click here for a good explanation of the initial launch sequence. I don't know why I was surprised, but there was quite a jolt at "SRB SEP," when the solid rocket boosters separated from the vehicle. When watching launches on TV, SRB SEP looks smooth, but then again it would be hard to see any kind of jolt at that altitude. What a ride! I totally want to do this again the next time we happen to make it to KSC.
Most of us have seen at least one shuttle launch on TV or had the good fortune to attend one in person. A search on YouTube will reveal many videos of a shuttle launch with both crew and controller communications. These are fascinating to hear while watching the launch sequence and make the video sooooo much more interesting. I took the liberty of doing just this and the results can be found by clicking riiiiiight......here.
Time was starting to run a little short, so we picked the "Heroes and Legends" exhibit to finish up our day at the visitor complex. Another "pre-show" video and our tour of this exhibit began. Many interesting displays to see and the replica of John Glenn's Friendship 7 mission control room topped the list in this building. Compared to the Gemini and Apollo control rooms, this one looked primitive. Well, I guess it was primitive, given the early stages of our space program.
Friendship 7 mission control room
As we completed our tour of "Heroes and Legends," I reflected on the amount of history we just encountered. How many times have I seen these very images on TV, movies, history books and even models? As a young child, I never imagined I would be able to get so close to a spacecraft, much less actually set foot on such hallowed ground. on the way to the parking lot to meet our Uber back to the hotel. From an overcast, rainy morning, the clouds now parted and patches of blue sky could be seen. What a wonderful day, and it was only half-over. We still had our cruise group meet and greet to kick off our cruise tomorrow.
Have you had a chance to tour either Space Center Houston or the KSC Visitor Complex? What about some of the other locations? I'd love to read about it in the comments section below.
If you enjoyed this bit of "living history," I have a few other blogs like this that you might find interesting. All happen to be museum ships from the US Navy. Their links are below.
Coming up next, I'll resume my series on our recent Carnival Mardi Gras cruise as part of the Big Sexy Flashback Voyage IV, including our Friday night meet and greet.
Until next time...
carpe cerevisi
