Kennedy Space Center

I expected to spend only a few hours here but ended up spending the entire day.  To start, the complex had a kennel for Sigh Me.  She wasn't happy about it but the 85 degree day would have been too much for her in the RV.

I would like to be able to name all the buildings and rockets  that I took pictures of but I don't remember.  The one above is part of the assembly area.

The Kennedy Space Center sits in the middle of Cape Canaveral and is surrounded by the Merritt National Wildlife Refuge.

This is called the 'Rocket Garden'. I kept thinking that Jamie and Aunt Louise would have really enjoyed seeing this.

The size of the rockets is what strikes you as you walk around them.

Two astronauts sat inside this capsule for 14 days (!) as they circled the earth.  They were not even able to straighten out their legs.  I will think about that the next time I  complain about the RV being too small to live in.

This is actually a mock up of the shuttle.  The actual shuttles were inside some of the buildings. They were being decommissioned in preparation for their trips--one to Houston, one to LA and one to remain at Kennedy. They will be on display in a few months.

This is the part of the tour that moved me the most.  It is the actual computer command center for the Apollo program that led us to the moon.  A re-inactment stirred up all my patriotic emotions and made me very proud of my country. I like to believe our greatest achievements are in the advancement of science and knowledge and not in the promotion of war.  (Am I living in a fairytale world?)

This is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

 Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their Lunar Module(LM) on the Moon on July 20, 1969 and walked on its surface while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit in the command spacecraft, and all three landed safely on Earth on July 24. Five subsequent Apollo missions also landed astronauts on the Moon, the last in December 1972. In these six spaceflights, 12 men walked on the Moon. These are the only times humans have landed on another celestial body.^[3]

I wish I could describe how big this is.  The rocket, in all its stages, was laid out in this building from base to module and it was awesome!

How many miles to the gallon?

What an era to be born in!  Did Columbus feel the same pride?  What will bring the same feelings in the future?  And how long from now?

If you have never heard Carl Sagan's, "The Pale Blue Dot" then here it is from YouTube:

                            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M

It is wonderful and says it all.

This is a moon rock.  And I touched it!