Attractions
Included in the base admission is tour-bus transportation to an observation platform at Launch Complex 39, which provides unobstructed views of both launch pads and the surrounding KSC property, and the Apollo/Saturn V Center. It also includes admission to the Astronaut Hall of Fame, 6 miles (9.7 km) to the west.
The Apollo/Saturn V Center, located 6 miles (9.7 km) north, is a large museum built around its centerpiece exhibit, a restored Saturn V launch vehicle, and features other space related exhibits, including an Apollo capsule. Two theaters allow the visitor to relive parts of the Apollo program. One simulates the environment inside an Apollo firing room during an Apollo launch, and another simulates the Apollo 11 Moon landing. The tour formerly included the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) where modules for the International Space Station were tested.
The Visitor Complex includes two facilities run by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation. The most visible of these is the Space Mirror Memorial, also known as the Astronaut Memorial, a huge black granite mirror through-engraved with the names of all astronauts who died in the line of duty. Elsewhere on the Visitor Complex grounds is the foundation's Center for Space Education, which includes a resource center for teachers, among other facilities; and the Kurt Debus Conference Center.
The Early Space Exploration houses several displays of artifacts, among them is the Gemini 9A spacecraft; as well as a recreation of the Mercury Control Center using consoles and furniture relocated from the original building at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. These were previously housed in the Debus Center building, which was on the National Register of Historic Places, but it was demolished in May 2010 due to concerns about asbestos and the estimated $5-million cost to renovate the building after 40 years of exposure to salt air.
The complex continues updating shows and attractions. The Shuttle Launch Experience, an attraction built around a motion control ride simulating a shuttle launch, opened in May 2007 and is hosted by then-astronaut, now NASA administrator, Charlie Bolden. In 2010, the Visitor Complex introduced a live show based on Star Trek (mostly the 2009 J.J. Abrams motion picture).
Read more about this topic: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
Famous quotes containing the word attractions:
“The world,—this shadow of the soul, or other me, lies wide around. Its attractions are the keys which unlock my thoughts and make me acquainted with myself. I run eagerly into this resounding tumult. I grasp the hands of those next to me, and take my place in the ring to suffer and to work, taught by an instinct, that so shall the dumb abyss be vocal with speech.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Fantasy love is much better than reality love. Never doing it is very exciting. The most exciting attractions are between two opposites that never meet.”
—Andy Warhol (1928–1987)