NASA celebrates with 50 years of the Kennedy Space Center with behind the scenes tour
Originally published at The Preternatural Post. Please leave any comments there.
This is where it all happens. Firing Room 4 it the place where history, the now and the future all collide turning science fiction into science fact. From behind these consoles and monitors the engineers, scientists and directors of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA made the call to launch all 21 space shuttle missions and much more. And in 2012 visitors to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) can step inside this history-making room for the first time in 30 years.
Launch Control Center
The KSC Up-Close Launch Control Center (LCC) Tour is the second in the Kennedy Space Center’s special 50th Anniversary series of rare-access tours and it takes visitors right into the heart of NASA, into Firing Room 4. One might say the LCC has a four chambered heart with Firing Room 4 being only one of the four firing rooms from which all 152 launches of the space shuttle and Apollo missions were coordinated. Although the LCC has been depicted and even featured in numerous films, TV series and books, the KSC Up Close Launch Control Center tour is the first time the public has been able to walk in the footsteps of a NASA launch director who had the final decision about whether a mission was a “Go” or a “No go”.
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is offering a second rare behind-the-scenes tour for its 50th anniversary year, allowing visitors inside the Launch Control Center, where NASA directors and engineers supervised all of the 152 launches for the space shuttle and Apollo programs. (PRNewsFoto/Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex)
When visitors step inside Firing Room 4 at the Kennedy Space Center, they pass through the computer consoles where engineers monitored the computerized launch control system’s thousands of systems checks conducted every minute leading up to the launch. They will see the main launch countdown clock and many large video monitors on the walls. Visitors will also enter the “bubble room” with all its interior window through which the Kennedy Space Center management team viewed all the proceedings below.
The LCC tour will be led by a trained space expert who will give visitors an insider’s view of the space program from launch preparation to liftooff.This is a rare opportunity to see inside the Kennedy Space Center where the next generation of rocket launches for NASA and, potentially commercial space programs could begin taking place as early as 2013.
The Up-Close Launch Control Center tour opens 15 June and a limited number of daily tours will run through the end of 2012. The first of the behind the scenes tours celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy Space Center takes visitors inside the 525-foot tall Vehicle Assembly Building or VAB. This building, adjacent to the LCC is where the Apollo Saturn V rockets and Space shuttles were assembled. The cost of the LCC tour is $25 for adults and $19 for children between the ages of 3 and 11. Tax is not included nor is admission to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
Celebrating 50 years
A half of a century may not seem like a long time when you’re talking about space travel. Nonetheless, it marks a significant achievement in the annals of both technology and human history. From the earliest days of America’s storied space program, the Kennedy Space Center has captured the world’s attention and imagination as the epicenter of mankind’s greatest adventure. Its remarkable collection of rockets, launchpads, NASA aerospace technology and rocket launch viewing opportunities offer authenticity and access unlike any other Central Florida destination.
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex features many attractions and year-round interactive programs, including meeting real astronauts. The regular bus tour, which is included with admission, explores the 50 year history of the KSC as well as the history of the Apollo moon and space shuttle programs with panoramic views of launch pads and the VAB’s exterior. The tour also stops at the LC-38 Observation Gantry and the Apollo/Saturn V Center where visitors can see a fully restored 363-foot Saturn V moon rocket and relive the historic Apollo Missions that saw man land on the moon.
Other KSC attractions and activities include Shuttle Launch Experience, an incredible simulated journey of vertically launching into space and orbits Earth aboard the space shuttle as well as the Astronaut Training Experience® (ATX®), Rocket garden, two IMAX theaters, Astronaut Encounter, Lunch with an Astronaut, U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, Exploration Space, Explorers Wanted and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
A multimillion dollar exhibit featuring the space shuttle Atlantis is expected to open at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in July 2013. Although this exhibit is not yet open the LCC tour offers visitors plenty to see much of it unseen by the public since the 1970′s.
“This is another very rare opportunity that NASA has worked with us to provide - access to the Launch Control Center,” said Bill Moore, chief operating officer of Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. “it might be another 30 years before guests will receive a behind-the-scene opportunity like this again.”
This is where it all happens. And you won’t want to miss your chance to peek inside!
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