Kennedy Space Center
Space Shuttle Atlantis Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
Located on Florida’s Space Coast, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is your gateway to Launch Complex 39, where NASA prepares and launches the Space Shuttle.
Pick up a schedule of the days shows and exhibits and spend your day on a self guided tour of the Visitor Complex. Visit the Rocket Garden, see the Robot Scouts, ride the new Shuttle Launch Experience, where you’ll strap in for the sights, sounds and excitement of a space shuttle launch.
Float beside space-walking astronauts and experience the powerful story of the Hubble Space Telescope during the new IMAX®® film Hubble 3D which offers an inspiring and unique look into the Hubble Space Telescope’s legacy and highlights its profound impact on the way we view the universe and ourselves.
Hubble Telescope
LC 39 Observation Gantry
The 60 foot tall Launch Complex (LC) 39 Observation Gantry provides a breathtaking 360-degree view of the two giant Shuttle Launch Pads, 39A and 39B. In addition to the bird’s-eye view of our launch pad structures, the panorama also includes the Launch Control Center, the well-traveled crawlerway and the massive Vehicle Assembly Building. KSC tours of the LC 39 Observation Gantry also include behind-the-scenes briefings on what it takes to launch and land every NASA Space Shuttle.
Rocket Garden
Travel back in time and history in the NASA Rocket Garden. Dramatic lighting brings historic NASA rockets back to life with an adventurous and patriotic scheme, highlighting each fuselage with brilliant white uplighting, bathing the site with techno-blue accents and heating the engines with flickering red-orange light.
Here you can experience the very same Redstone, Atlas and Titan rockets that first put NASA astronauts in space, or climb aboard Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules – and get an idea of the cramped quarters America's astronaut pioneers endured. Free tours of the NASA Rocket Garden are given at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily. Astronaut Hall of Fame
Imagine looking at Earth from space, witnessing a season of hurricanes moving across the Atlantic, watching commercial air traffic movements all across the planet, and examining changes in sea currents and temperatures across the globe. Science On a Sphere provides a three dimensional representation of a view of the Earth and planets as if they were viewed from space. This engaging new exhibit at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame allows you to examine the planets and moons of our solar system and learn how space technology can aid in meteorological sciences such as hurricane prediction and global weather trends.
Come live the human side of space complete with the sights, sounds and experiences of the famous astronauts who first ventured into the frontiers of space. Experience exhibits dedicated to our nation's astronauts, including the world's largest collection of personal memorabilia and realistic astronaut training simulators.
Explore a rare collection of astronaut artifacts and see remarkable displays, exhibits and tributes dedicated to the heroes. From Wally Schirra's Sigma 7 Mercury spacecraft to stunning glass etchings that line the Hall of Heroes, the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame celebrates the accomplishments of astronauts everywhere.
International Space Station
Now it's your turn to climb aboard the International Space Station. The International Space Station is "the dream that seemed impossible" – the most ambitious space program since the Apollo moon landings. This fascinating attraction gives you an up-close glimpse inside the actual facility where NASA prepares the real components of the International Space Station – the largest, most complex structure ever to be placed into orbit. In an elevated observation room, you’ll see the actual processing bay where each Space Station component is checked out, processed and readied for its trip into orbit. After the observation room, you can enter a full-scale mock-up of the Habitation Module and see how Space Station crew members live, sleep and work.
Space Shuttle Plaza
In the Space Shuttle Plaza, guests are met with a jaw-dropping, full-sized NASA Space Shuttle replica – Explorer. Here you can experience how astronauts live and work aboard real Space Shuttles. Sharing the plaza with Explorer are the other components needed to launch NASA Space Shuttles -- A huge external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters. Next to the Space Shuttle Explorer is the Launch Status Center, where visitors receive live briefings on NASA launch and space flight activity. Astronaut Memorial
The Space Mirror Memorial, designated as a national memorial by Congress and President George Bush, was dedicated in 1991. The Astronaut Memorial honors the 24 U.S. astronauts who gave their lives for space exploration. The names of the fallen astronauts from the Space Shuttle Columbia, the Space Shuttle Challenger and Apollo 1, as well as the astronauts from training and commercial airplane accidents are emblazoned on the monument’s 42 ½ foot high by 50 foot wide black granite surface. The “Space Mirror” tracks the movement of the sun throughout the day using reflected sunlight to brilliantly illuminate the names cut through the monument’s surface.
Exploration Space: Explorers Wanted
Step into the center of space travel and become part of the future of exciting possibilities at Exploration Space: Explorers Wanted. Visitors will be immersed into an environment of discovery and exploration beyond our home planet. Live theater, interactive experiences and large scale multimedia presentations display what the future of space travel may look like, emphasizing that space exploration is not just about the hardware, but about the people behind the technology that make it all possible.
The main show, Explorers Wanted, runs twice an hour, transforming the exhibit into a live theater environment. New destinations for space travel are introduced as space pioneers of tomorrow are invited to embark on new missions and embrace the challenges of future space exploration.
Dine with an Astronaut
One of the most popular programs at Kennedy Space Center, is a banquet style lunch with a speaking appearance by a real astronaut hero. This program includes a Q & A session and photo time as well as an autographed souvenir.
Overnight Adventure
Get ready for a night of exploration when you camp out at the Apollo Saturn V. Come face to face with a NASA astronaut, experience larger than life “Magnificent Desolation, an IMAX film featuring rarely seen NASA footage with live-action renditions of the lunar landscape to propel audiences nearly a quarter-million miles above the Earth's surface, and solve the “Great Rocket Scavenger Hunt” all led by our Overnight Adventure instructor team. This program includes dinner, a midnight snack and breakfast the next morning.
Student Astronaut Training Experience (ATX)
Immerse yourself in the world of today’s astronauts and NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration. During their astronaut training experience, students will undergo an authentic day of hands-on mission simulations and space exploration activities designed to prepare them for the rigors of spaceflight. Participate in a space exploration briefing, a classroom training module, motion- based simulations and full-scale Space Shuttle mission simulation. Guided Tours (these tours sell out quickly; reservations are highly recommended)
Discover KSC - Today and Tomorrow
Where is the Space Shuttle assembled and launched? How does it land? Where do astronaut crews prepare and train? These are a few of the questions we’ll answer on this intriguing guided KSC tour through NASA’s Space Shuttle program. During this exciting NASA tour you’ll visit Kennedy Space Center’s industrial area to see NASA KSC's headquarters, and get the closest possible view of the Space Shuttle launch pads. Plus, you’ll visit KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility, see the massive Vehicle Assembly Building, and catch a glimpse of NASA’’s gigantic Crawler Transporters.
Cape Canaveral: Then & Now
Journey back in time to the original NASA Cape Canaveral launch sites of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. Paving the way for today’s space exploration, these programs spawned a number of exciting “firsts” and discoveries.
You’ll relive the launch of America’s first satellite at the Air Force Space & Missile Museum. Other highlights of this exciting Kennedy Space Center Cape Canaveral tour include the launch complex where Alan Shepard lifted off on America’s first human spaceflight, as well as Apollo Launch Pad 34, the site of the tragic Apollo 1 fire. The NASA Cape Canaveral: Then & Now guided tour concludes at the Apollo/Saturn V Center.
Please note: Photo I.D. is required for guests ages 12 and older. You must check in at Guest Relations at least 30 minutes prior to your tour. Kennedy Space Center Student Worksheet
1. In what year was NASA established? ______
2. In the beginning, NASA used only military personnel for its astronaut training program.
Now other professions are also included. Name 3 of them. ______
______
3. The first launch from Cape Canaveral was in 19__ __.
4. What is the piece of equipment used to move the shuttle to the launch pad?
______
5. How long does it take to transport the shuttle to its launch pad? ______
6. Name 3 functions that satellites perform while orbiting the earth. ______
______
7. Man first set foot on the moon in 19 __ __.
8. How many Americans have walked on the moon? ______
9. The space program spawned many innovations that we now use in everyday life. Name 3
of them. ______
10. What enables the shuttle to lift off and break the gravitational pull of the earth and enter
outer space? ______
11. As the shuttle re-enters earth’s atmosphere, special tiles prevent it from burning up and
disintegrating. What are these tiles made of? ______
12. What kinds of foods do the astronauts eat in space?______
13. For a period of time, Cape Canaveral’s name was changed to______.
14. Kennedy Space Center is located in the ______wildlife refuge.
15. Why do you suppose space research is so important?
______
______Kennedy Space Center Student Worksheet Answers
1. 1958
2. Scientists, doctors, teachers, mechanics
3. 1950
4. Crawler transport
5. 6 hours
6. Telephone, monitors weather conditions, military reconnaissance
7. 1969
8. 12
9. Tires, sunglasses hydraulics, clothing, food preservation, exercise equipment
10. Solid rocket boosters
11. Silicate dioxide
12. Dehydrated, canned, some fresh
13. Cape Kennedy
14. Merritt Island
15. (Thought question)