Kennedy Space Center (part 2)

KSC is really an historic place: in the 60’s and 70’s NASA launched all Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions from here. And as a teenager, I used to sit in front of the TV and watch every Space Shuttle launch that would air. NASA has decided to retire their Space Shuttle fleet and they opened up a beautiful new Space Shuttle expo at the Cape.

I can not begin to describe how excited I was to meet Space Shuttle Atlantis. But let me say this: I did not say a word for 45 minutes… I just grinned. A big fat grin from ear to ear.

And I’m sure KSC’s role in history has not been played out yet. Their massive VAB building still stands and it’s being prepared for future missions to the moon and to Mars. As are the launch complexes 39, 40 and 41. They will be used by SpaceX, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and NASA’s own SLS. NASA’s Orion 1 was out on the launch pad when we visited last November. It was successfully launched later in the year and will keep NASA flying well into the 21st century.

No visit to KSC is complete without paying tribute to those astronauts that got killed while doing their job. I always go to the monument that honors the crews of Apollo 1, Space Shuttle Challenger and Space Shuttle Columbia to salute the brave men and women that perished in the line of duty.