The Space Coast - Florida - page 700

displaying the real Apollo 14 Command Module and the 363ft Saturn V moon rocket. This
6.5-million-pound marvel of engineering boosted into space on November 9, 1967.
Tours depart every 15 minutes from 10am to 2:30pm. Look for the coach buses and long
lines to the right when you enter the Visitor Complex.
Space Shuttle Atlantis
Blasted by rocket fuel and streaked with space dust, space shuttle Atlantis, the final or-
biter among NASA's fleet, is the latest and most impressive exhibit in the complex. Sus-
pended in a specially designed, $100-million space, it hangs just a few feet out of reach
nose down, payload doors open, as if its still orbiting the earth. It's a creative and dramatic
display, preceded by a chest-swelling film that tells the story of the shuttle program from
its inception in the 1960s to Atlantis ' final mission in 2011. Around the shuttle interactive
consoles invite visitors to try to land it or dock it to the International Space Station, touch-
screens offer details of missions and crews, and there's a full-size replica of the Hubble
Space Telescope and a not-very-scary 'shuttle launch experience'. Docents, many of
whom worked on the shuttle program, are stationed around the exhibits to answer ques-
tions and tell tall space tales.
Add-on Experiences
Extended tours offer the opportunity to visit the Air Force Space & Missile Museum ,
the site of the first successful satellite launch in 1958, and Firing Room 4 , from where all
the shuttle launches were controlled. Great for kids, Lunch with an Astronaut offers a
chance to hang out with a real astronaut, while the Astronaut Training Experience
(ATX) is an action-oriented taste of training exercises and a team-based simulated mis-
sion. Families with kids aged seven to 14 need to sign up for the tamer ATX Family.
US Astronaut Hall of Fame MUSEUM
( 321-449-4444; www.kennedyspacecenter.com ; NASA Parkway, Merritt Island; admission incl ticket
to Kennedy Space Center; noon-5pm; )
Six miles from the Kennedy Visitor Complex, this eye-candy museum features interactive
exhibits and motion simulators dedicated to celebrating US astronauts. It is particularly
fun for children, but families will need two days to cover attractions in both the Visitor
Complex and the Hall of Fame. Tickets are valid for seven days.