Kennedy Space Center & NASA

No visit to Space Coast beaches is complete without a look at the area’s namesake: the Kennedy Space Center.

For fifty years, American heroes have looked to the heavens from our shores and embarked on the most magical of adventures. Home of astronauts and astrophysicists, the Space Coast has a special place in the hearts of all patriots and dreamers.  

Seem a bit strange to enjoy launch simulations and space exhibits fifty miles inland at the mega-parks? It does to us too.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex (www.kennedyspacecenter.com) at NASA’s launch headquarters is the real deal. With enough magical science to keep even the most cynical young at heart, the space center offers chances to tour launch areas, meet amazing American heroes, stroll through a magnificent garden of rockets, or viewing a live rocket or shuttle launch.
Start with a tour of the NASA facilities on one of the many guided tour buses that offer great views and historical context around the launch pads and the Vehicle Assembly Building, which is so large it is visible for many miles. Explore the awe inspiring Apollo/Saturn V Center which includes a massive Saturn rocket, a tribute to the Apollo Astronauts and the machines that got to the moon and back home.
At the Visitor Complex there are IMAX movies, theatrical productions, and the chance to meet a real space traveler in an Astronaut Encounter. As if the full size Shuttle replica and one of the original Gemini capsules weren’t enough, the Shuttle Launch Experience at the Visitor Complex offers the stomach clenching excitement that astronauts feel as the shuttles lift them off the Earth and into the stars in a state-of-the-art space flight simulator designed by the experts who engineered the real deal.
In one of the best juxtapositions of all time, the outdoor museum of ten-story high rockets in the Rocket Garden are the perfect companion to the pristine natural surroundings protected by the men who made the mammoth machines. (Real space buffs will also want to check into the Lunch with an Astronaut program.)
The Visitor Center is not the only place to learn more about the space program, however.

Nearby the Visitor Center, the Astronaut Hall of Fame (www.kennedyspacecenter.com) houses a huge collection of astronaut memorabilia and multiple interactive experiences like the G-Force Trainer.
Stop for a look at the Astronaut Space Mirror Memorial, a huge black granite monument to the 24 astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of space exploration.

In addition to the many excellent beach viewing locations across the county, those scheduling a trip to coincide with a shuttle or rocket launch can also check out the launch views from Space View Park (www.titusville.com) on the Indian River in Titusville near the U.S. Space Walk of Fame, a riverwalk connecting four major parks and a popular launch viewing area, the park includes educational and interpretive exhibits, sculptures, art and statues.

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