Visiting the Kennedy Space Center in Florida

Kennedy Space Center! Lucky, I saw live a rocket that went into space

There are only a few places in the world where you can see how a rocket is sent into space. One is in French Guiana, another one is in Russia and a difficult one is China’s in Hainan Island in the South China Sea. Maybe there are one or two more, but I don’t know them anymore. The oldest, best known and most important one remains the Kennedy Space Center in Florida owned by NASA. A place that the Americans, in the purest capitalist spirit, have turned into an amusement park while keeping the infrastructure for really serious and important things such as the research of new technologies and the launching of rockets into space.

A brief history of NASA.

The American space program began in 1958, a year after the first satellite in human history was launched by the Soviets. Sputnik was an almost empty box that was launched into Earth’s orbit, but the idea itself terrified Americans, who decided that something had to be done. And thus appeared NASA, the one that managed to take the first man to the Moon and now in cooperation with Elon Musk wants to take the first man to Mars. There were countless programs carried out here, from the Apollo Program, the Skylab Space Station, the Space Shuttle Program to the current Artemis Program, which aims to build lunar bases and send people to Mars. Thousands of launches, successes, failures and a budget of approximately 20 billion dollars annually make NASA the most important space agency in the world. As Seneca said thousands of years ago… Ad astra per aspera!

Kennedy Space Center is located in Florida, in Cape Canaveral, a short distance from Orlando. It is about 80 km and this distance for US highways is extremely short. It doesn’t even take you an hour to get there. Obviously, you can also go to the park on your own, but the best option for a tourist is to buy a trip from those who organize them. There are countless agencies that sell such a trip, which includes both round-trip transportation and, of course, entrance to the park. The price of a one-day ticket, which gives you the right to access anywhere in the center, is $75 for an adult and $65 for a child. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex can be called an amusement park, but in fact it is the entire history of NASA made available to visitors. Much less crowded than Disney or Universal, it offers both unique exhibits and incredible experiences. And if you’re lucky (like us) you can see the launch of a space rocket live from the closest point accessible to a mere mortal. The entire history of NASA is here, starting from the rockets of the 1960s, exhibited outside, to the newest exhibits of the 21st century, which look a lot like the ships from Star Trek or the brother of the Rover already walking on Mars. And the experiences are from 3D ones to those where you experience virtual reality or receive an autograph from a former astronaut or talk with the astronauts on the International Space Station.

There are many attractions here. And each one is dedicated to a certain period or a certain moment. From the Hall of Fame, where all the astronauts are and obviously Neil Armstrong has a special place, to the huge halls where the spaceships are or the guided bus tour in the area where the rockets are built: the famous huge silo that we see in pictures. There is a tour of that area. It is a story in real time. You see artifacts related to the exploration of outer space, but you also have the opportunity to try thrills in various attractions. Takeoff simulator, a virtual trip to Venus or Mars, an IMAX cinema. These are just some of the attractions. At the entrance you receive a flyer with the times at which each event takes place and you can make a plan to catch as many of them as possible. It’s almost impossible to watch them all in one day and that’s why there are also tickets for two days for the enthusiasts.

Beyond the attractions where you have fun, you have the opportunity to see and understand the scope and importance of a space program that is over 70 years old and that had so many achievements in a short time. With some devices that now seem really rudimentary, they succeeded in things considered impossible. You can see what astronauts eat in space, what toilets they use, a history of space suits or maybe get an autograph from a former astronaut. Every place here, every moment is designed to make you understand the work that the NASA people do.

We went with the group from GrayLineOrlando who helped us with the transport to Kennedy Space. We left Orlando from the Big Wheel in Icon Park at 8 am and returned at 6 pm. This transportation costs $79 per person, but they also have tours for $157 that include entrance to the center. They also have Kennedy Space Center Vip Experience tours that cost 219 dollars and have a guide, Kennedy Space Center with 2 days entry. If you want to see the center at a slower pace, you can also go to IMAX for movies. We didn’t manage to see everything, that’s why I recommend if you have time to take this 2-day tour. The Chat with an astronaut and Kennedy Space Center Orlando tour also caught my attention, which costs $194 per person, but it’s worth it considering that you don’t meet an astronaut every day. When we went, she was one of the female astronauts, her name was Anna Fischer, but she was signing autographs and you could take pictures with her in the main store in the center. We didn’t have time to do more tours in Orlando, unfortunately, but they still had Wild Airboat Rides tours which lasted 5 hours or 7 hours depending on which option you choose. I liked the one with the Safari Park option. They also have various tours in Miami, with bus tours, cruises or Everglades airboat tours. They also have 12-hour trips to St. Augustine that include exploring the city with a Trolley Tour or Scenic Cruise, a visit to the Pirate Treasure Museum.

Established in 1993, GrayLineOrlando is one of the most reliable companies with quality tours, impeccable services, and value for money experience. All tours have well-trained professional guides who provide the best information along the way. We had a tour guide from Colombia who helped us with a lot of information about the Kennedy Space Center and helped us in our visit.

Thank you for the access to the Kennedy Space Center. We arrived at one of the places we wanted to see in Florida. It was a wonderful experience at the center that closed at 5 p.m. with the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket. It was a special moment that we were lucky enough to live and tell you about. I hope we have the opportunity to get there again to see another release. I recommend this experience to everyone who arrives in Florida, it is very interesting for both adults and children.