A Florida Farewell at Kennedy Space Center
August 2007
A Day at NASA's Kennedy Space Center
On our last day in Florida, we visited Kennedy Space Center. We did the special guided bus tour to see the whole complex and saw the massive Vehicle Assembly Building (where they assemble rockets for space missions), saw the enormous Crawler Transporter (used for bringing the assembled rockets to the launching platform), got an up-close look at the two launching platforms of the space shuttles, and the Shuttle landing facility.
We learned that sound waves produced during the rocket’s liftoff are reduced by spraying water on the platform to protect the rocket and its payload from damage caused by acoustic energy; otherwise, the entire complex would be destroyed. At liftoff, emergency personnel are a few miles away, staying in a bunker to protect themselves against the launch itself.
After the bus tour, we visited the Apollo/Saturn V Center, where we saw the enormous Saturn V rocket that took the first man to the moon. After the bus tour, we visited the Apollo/Saturn V Center, where we saw the enormous Saturn V rocket that took the first astronauts to the moon. After the bus tour, we visited the Apollo/Saturn V Center, where we saw the enormous Saturn V rocket that took the first astronauts to the moon. It’s still a marvel how they managed to launch this massive rocket into space and return the astronauts safely.
