Kennedy Space Center

Our visit to KSC started on Tuesday, January 5, 1999. We saw to IMAX movies, a tour of KSC, and a tour of "The Cape". The 2 IMAX movies were "Mission to Mir" and "The Dream is Alive". Both were exciting with breath taking views of Mir and the space shuttle.

The KSC tour dropped you off at 3 different exhibits. The first exhibit stopped at a full size replica of the gantry on pads 39A and B. Although is was a very cold day, it was a blast walking up the 5 flights of stairs to the top and overlook pads 39A and B. The second exhibit was the Apollo/Saturn 5 exhibit. This was truly inspiring. You get to see to movies with simulations. The first one is the launch and flight of Apollo 8. The second is Apollo 11's landing on the moon.

The 3rd part of the KSC tour is the International Space Station exhibit. We decided to bag this exhibit because there was a very rare tour of the Cape going on at the same time. So we got on the bus and went off for a 3 hour tour of the old "Cape Canaveral Air Force Base" were the old Mercury missions were launched from. It was something to see the old gantries, rockets, and block houses where it all took place. We got to see the original mission control block building which was used for the Mercury missions.

Below is a picture of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Unfortunately we were unable to visit the VAB due to concerns over terrorism. It only takes a few assholes to screw up for the rest of us!

**The Tour**
Here is a sight that will blow away any space fan. The awesome Saturn 5 is 36 stories high. Located at the KSC Apollo/Saturn 5 exhibit hall. Here are 3 pictures showing the front (right), mid section (below), and rear (below and right). The mid section photo isn't quite the mid section. It is a shot taken between the first and second stages.

	Can't take that girl anywhere! Karen demonstrates her patriotism by unfolding old glory in front of the command module. Below (left) is a shot of the service module. Below (right) is the LEM.

This funny looking building is referred to as "The Block House". From this 1950s building, the launch of rockets were controlled. The rocket gantry is just outside about 100 feet away. The windows consist of 3 panes of glass. Each pane is 3 inches thick. Everything inside this building belongs in a museum. Launches were done by Boroughs computers using magnetic tape and vacuum tubes.