I (Mike) took a break today from being a full time dog walker and went to visit the Kennedy Space Center, about 60 miles north of where we are staying now. They have built some very nice and interesting visitor centers since I was there as a kid in the 1960's, but because of 9/11 security you can't get very close to actual working areas any more.
The smallest rocket, right in the middle to the picture above, is the kind used for the early Mercury flights. It seemed pretty small even compared to the rockets for the telecommunication satellites, and the Mercury capsule is not much bigger or more sophisticated than a big garbage can. Those first astronauts were either very brave or not too bright.
Apollo era space suit
Launch pad 39 used for Apollo and Space Shuttle launches The tour went by the two launch pads, 39A and B, originally built for the Saturn V rocket used for the Apollo program and now used for shuttle launches. The water tower in the picture is used to spray 30,000 gallons of water on the pad during launches, to reduce heat damage to the pad and dampen the noise. Still, they said anyone within a mile of a launch would be killed by the intense sound. They use sirens, firecrackers and helicopters to chase birds away from the site before launches. Good thing, because there are a lot of birds in the area. The north part of the federal land is an actual National Wildlife Refuge, and the working parts of the center have a lot of undisturbed habitat and lots of wildlife, including an estimated 5,000 alligators. The guide said the gators are considered unpaid security staff. We saw quite a variety of raptors and wading birds just from the bus on the tour, plus many big black vultures, which seem to be the Florida equivalent of crows.
Mike 2/06/2006
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