After a late start we headed down the coast to the Kennedy Space Center. We didn’t get to see everything, but we can go back for free sometime in the next 7 days if we want to. That means Monday or Tuesday for us.
While at the Kennedy Space Center I did the Shuttle Launch Experience. It’s a lot like the good rides at Disney or Universal Studios. It’s very well done and it’s supposed to give you as close as possible the feeling of being in a shuttle launch.
The space shuttle program is winding down now with about a dozen missions left. The next mission is set for October 14th. Right now there are two shuttles on the launch pad, which is unusual. Normally they only have one out at a time. The second one is being used as a back-up in case there is a problem with the first one, Atlantis, which is supposed to go up and service the Hubble telescops for the 5th and final time. Barring no problem, the second shuttle, Endeavour, will then be used to go to the International Space Station November.
Note: Back in March we watched the launch of Endeavour. (with pictures and video I took)
Bonus Info:
NASA’s dirty secret – Moon Dust
The Apollo Moon missions of 1969-1972 all share a dirty secret. “The major issue the Apollo astronauts pointed out was dust, dust, dust,” says Professor Larry Taylor, Director of the Planetary Geosciences Institute at the University of Tennessee. Fine as flour and rough as sandpaper, Moon dust caused ‘lunar hay fever,’ problems with space suits, and dust storms in the crew cabin upon returning to space.
Read more on the moon dust problem.
I always wanted to see the shuttle up close