We had just been back from our amazing trip to San Francisco & Monterey and just before our return journey back to India, we managed to squeeze another short two day trip in US – this time to the famous NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Florida along with short visits to Orlando Wetlands Park & Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
With two full days in our hand, we wanted to maximise our trip as much as possible hence we also visited Orlando Wetlands Park as well as the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. For ease of reading, we have split the blog in two different posts and you can read the other blog post at Orlando Wetlands Park & Merritt Island.
Coming back to NASA, we visited the famous Kennedy Space Center on the 2nd day of our trip. With the center opening as late as 0900 hrs, we visited the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge for couple of hours in morning, finally making it to the visitor center by 0930 hrs. Just as we entered, we were greeted with the famous NASA signage on right.
And to the left was the Heros & Legends Mission Zone. This is one of the latest addition and honestly we did not expect it to be as good as it turn out to be. The entire Dawn of Space age 4D simulation was really good along with the U.S. Hall of Fame where one can learn about living in space through variety of displays.
Next we decided to take the Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour. This is a must do and was recommended on every forum we checked, so there was no chance of missing it. It was a a 20 minute ride where the driver cum guide took us through the access restricted areas that featured various non-working and working spaceflight facilities. After the 20 minute ride, you arrive at Apollo/Saturn V Center – the highlight of the entire trip. The Apollo 8 and the Firing Room lets one relive the launch of the first crewed NASA mission to orbit the moon in 1968 aboard the massive Saturn V rocket at the Firing Room Theater. Especially the countdown for Apollo 8 facing the actual consoles is something very unique to be experienced. The Saturn V rocket also gives you a in-detailed information of the 3 staged system.
It was around 1230 hrs by the time we finished exploring this place and decided to have lunch here before heading back. The Bus dropped us right next to the Space Shuttle Atlantis. There is a lot to explore here and we spent almost 2 hours at this place, including the thrilling Shuttle Launch Experience!
We spent next couple of hours watching both the movies at the IMAX 3D Theater – A Beautiful Planet (My favourite) and the Journey to Space. Both the movies are must watch! Rest of an hour or so we explored the Journey to Mars, Space Mirror Astronaut Memorial as well as the amazing Rocket Garden.
Without a doubt this is a must do if you ever happen to visit US, especially if you are on the east coast. Better if you have 2 full days at hand as there is a lot more to explore and learn. One can find all the details about Kennedy Space Center on their website – https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com.
We stayed at Days Inn in Titusville which is around 30 minutes from the Kennedy Space Center. This was the cheapest option we could find as we booked pretty late, the hotel was good enough if you are just looking for something to stay overnight and spend rest of the exploring the place. There are good number of restaurants also closeby to the hotel which is an added advantage.
Signing off until next time, ciao 🙂
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– Rudraksha & Shraddha