Touring the Kennedy Space Center

Just 45 minutes east of the tourist mecca of Orlando, lies Kennedy Space Center, home to our nation's space program. At the Kennedy Space Center you can see many of the spacecraft and rockets that have made space history, as well as tour some of the actual facilities which are used on a daily basis to put rockets into space.

Admission is $40.28 for an Adult ticket, and $29.68 for a child's ticket. While this is certainly pricy, if you are a space nut like me, you will find that it is money well spent. Besides the cost of admission keep in mind that the cost of food, and there are several options, can be really expensive. I would recommend eating a hearty breakfast, just getting a light lunch or snack at the space center, and eating a full meal once you get off property.

You will begin your tour of Kennedy Space Center at the visitor complex. This is a collection of buildings, which have several different functions. One of the highlights of the visit for me was touring rocket garden at the Visitor Center. This is a collection of early rockets that NASA used to start the space program. It's a great area, which you can tour at your own pace. Be warned that this part is outside, however, so if its raining on your visit day, you might not be able to enjoy it as much as you would on a sunny day.

The main visitor center is also home base to an Imax theatre and to the Shuttle lunch experience, a simulator ride that puts you in the middle of a shuttle launch. The visitor center also is where you will pick up the tour bus, which will take you to the real operational areas of the space center.

One of the newer additions to Kennedy Space Center is the Apollo Saturn V center. This is a sort of museum, which houses a full Saturn Rocket. As I am a big fan of the Saturn years in America's space program, I found the Rocket to be awe inspiring, and a real testament to everyone who worked on the program.

I didn't find the bus tour all that interesting, but then again I didn't go on any of the special tours, so perhaps some of the extended tours might have more to offer. I did find it a bit tedious to line up so often to catch the bus from stop to stop, but at least the wait line was covered and out of the sun.

All told, if you enjoy space, and have always wanted to see where history was made, then this is the place to visit. I have visited both the Johnson Space Center in Houston, and Kennedy, and I would have to say that I enjoyed Kennedy more. Whereas Johnson only really has mission control to offer, Kennedy has so much more. It is definitely worth a visit the next time you are in the area.