Friday, December 31, 2010

Kennedy Space Center

Wednesday, while the girls went shopping, the guys toured the Kennedy Space Center, 90 minutes' drive away. I have visited the central Florida area at least 20 times before, but this was my first visit to the KSC. It was outstanding: part museum, part science, part history, part nostalgia (for us oldsters), part working-launch site. It is the one and only Florida attraction I have unqualifiedly enjoyed.  Alas, its future will include rather more of the past...
Grand entry















From the very historic Gantry 39, looking back to the colossal Vehicle Assembly 
Building, and, in the foreground, one of the huge portable launchpad "crawlers,"
manufactured in Marion, Ohio, where I briefly taught at the OSU campus there; 
Go Bucks! Beat Hogs!



















Crawler track, forking between launch sites A and B















Seriously, this has got to be one of mankind's most historic 
places




















Apollo launch control















Lunar lander















Apollo Saturn V, "disassembled"















Apollo XIII  ("Houston, we have a problem") crew module; imagine, Tom Hanks 
sat right there...
















Jeremy and Will before a Space Shuttle we toured















In the "Rocket Garden" (no specimen of the hapless Vanguard)















"Fully-assembled" Saturn

2 comments:

Tawana said...

We took our kids there when they were younger. It is indeed a great pace to visit...however, I must disagree with your football cheer. Around here, we are rooting for the Hogs!

Mark said...

Tawana,

We sort of figured that, also that maybe we'd be watching the game "together." We'll be thinking of you and Wes anyhow, and hoping to see you maybe in February.