After six days of Disneyworld, it as time for a change before hitting Universal Studios theme parks and doing it all over again.... :-)
This was my day in Orlando - last time Sharon and I came to the area, she did four days at Disneyworld and I attended a conference and only got to do stuff with the conference, so I didn't have any time to see the things that interest big boys like rockets, astronauts, space capsules and my heros. I don't remember the first moon landing (I was one at the time) but I do remember some of the later ones and how my family would gather around the black and white TV (yes kids, TVs didn't have colour in the olden days) and watch the landings and the live crosses to the Kennedy Space Center for the launch of the next exciting mission to the moon. Well, I finally got to visit Kennedy Space Center (KSC)and see all those things that filled my boyhood dreams for real.
The first area we visited was the explorers wanted exhibit - a terrific hands on display encouraging visitors to follow their dreams and join with NASA to explore space, the moon, Mars and generally stuff 'out there'.
I proved my worth at the lunar lander simulator as well as the docking simulator. :-) Oh and Max and Jemima did pretty well too....
If you remember back to the Legoland posts, in the Lego miniature world, there was the KSC Rocket Garden - well this is the real thing, showing off all the earlier rockets used to advance NASA's knowledge of space travel toward the ultimate aim of getting a man on the moon. They even have the Saturn 1 rocket there, just as they did at Legoland!
and the Lego version
Max and Jemima in a Gemini capsule - very tight. When I say in it, my head would have touched the hatch and that's without me wearing a space suit!
The Mercury control room - contrast this with the Apollo control room photo a little later...
The kids in charge of a Lunar rover
There are a lot of Alligators in the surrounding river and ponds that are scattered all across KSC - they're protected just as the Crocs are at home except for a select group of licensed hunters.
Below: The astronaut memorial - black granite tilted to reflect the sky.
This Space Shuttle 'Explorer' is not really a Space Shuttle - it's a full size replica that was built specifically for display at the Kennedy Space Center. It has been moved out to near the Vehicle Assembly Building for some restoration work before it is shipped off to Huston Space Center for display there. The real Space Shuttle 'Atlantis' will be going into a new display that is under construction at KSC now - due to open in 2013.
And the Lego version (of this specific Shuttle - note the boxed door section on the forward right of the fuselage)
I didn't get a photo of it, but on the drive to KSC, you go past the Astronaut Hall of Fame and there is yet another shuttle replica out the front of that - the 'Inspiration'. The Inspiration replica shuttle was actually built in Newcastle, NSW so it has a small connection to Oz.
Speaking of connections, this is the Kennedy control room for the Apollo missions - note the IBM jackets hanging on the back of some of the seats! I amd Andrew Larmour and I am proud to be an IBMer!
The massive F-1 rocket engines of the Saturn V stage one.
Massive rocket and stage two engines
One of the real Lunar Rovers - this one never made it to the moon (all the ones that made that trip are still there)
Note the tyres - no rubber here - too heavy and probably wouldn't hold up to a vacuum environment anyway.
The Apollo 14 Command Module - way cool!
Space suits - showing the variations of designs
Apollo command module
They also had a great AV presentation that I recorded...
Vehicle Assembly Building -the largest single story building in the world
The Mercury capsule on top of a Redstone Rocket - at the time the US didn't have a workable rocket to put the capsule on top of, so they used a Redstone Missile - the only thing they had with enough thrust to get John Glenn up into a space on a ballistic trajectory. Later Mercury orbital missions used an Atlas rocket (you can see it in the background centre of the Rocket Garden photo above) to get those brave men into orbit.
This was my day in Orlando - last time Sharon and I came to the area, she did four days at Disneyworld and I attended a conference and only got to do stuff with the conference, so I didn't have any time to see the things that interest big boys like rockets, astronauts, space capsules and my heros. I don't remember the first moon landing (I was one at the time) but I do remember some of the later ones and how my family would gather around the black and white TV (yes kids, TVs didn't have colour in the olden days) and watch the landings and the live crosses to the Kennedy Space Center for the launch of the next exciting mission to the moon. Well, I finally got to visit Kennedy Space Center (KSC)and see all those things that filled my boyhood dreams for real.
The first area we visited was the explorers wanted exhibit - a terrific hands on display encouraging visitors to follow their dreams and join with NASA to explore space, the moon, Mars and generally stuff 'out there'.
I proved my worth at the lunar lander simulator as well as the docking simulator. :-) Oh and Max and Jemima did pretty well too....
Max and Jemima in a Gemini capsule - very tight. When I say in it, my head would have touched the hatch and that's without me wearing a space suit!
The Mercury control room - contrast this with the Apollo control room photo a little later...
The kids in charge of a Lunar rover
Below: The astronaut memorial - black granite tilted to reflect the sky.
Speaking of connections, this is the Kennedy control room for the Apollo missions - note the IBM jackets hanging on the back of some of the seats! I amd Andrew Larmour and I am proud to be an IBMer!
They also had a great AV presentation that I recorded...
Vehicle Assembly Building -the largest single story building in the world
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