Planning a trip to the Kennedy Space Center?
See where the Apollo missions, the Space Shuttle, and the Gemini program launched into space! The Kennedy Space Center is an hour long drive from Orlando; located on Merritt Island on Florida's aptly named, Space Coast. The entire complex encompasses over 200 square miles and is a vital wild life sanctuary. (While on the Behind the Gates Bus tour, you drive by the KSC's resident bald eagles. Bald Eagles and Space! There's nothing more American than that!)
The park is split up into "Mission Zones". General Admission includes "Heroes and Legends": the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, Mission Control, Rocket Garden, and an Astronaut Encounter; "Race to the Moon": Saturn V Rocket, Apollo 8 and the Firing Room, Apollo Treasures Gallery, Lunar Theater, Exploring the Moon; "NASA Now + Next": The Journey to Mars: Explorers Wanted exhibit, and the IMAX theater, with two films, and NASA Now exhibit; "Behind the Gates": Bus Tour and it will bring you to the Exploring the Moon Mission Zone (this is the only way to access this mission zone); and "Shuttle: A Ship Like No Other": The Space Shuttle Atlantis, Hubble Space Telescope Theater, Forever Remembered Memorial, Shuttle Launch Experience, and Astronaut Training Simulators.
Personally, I enjoyed all the simulators. Being in the Firing Room and hearing the rocket take off and feeling the vibrations in the room was one of the coolest experiences. It's hard to appreciate the size of the rockets until actually seeing them.
If possible, I recommend planning your trip around the Rocket Launch schedule. Through the link, you can find out who the Astronaut of the Day is, the Rocket Launch Schedule, and any upcoming events. I spent one full day here and felt like that was sufficient enough to gain the entire experience.
XXBDGT
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