For space nerds like myself, there are few places in the world more legendary than NASA’s Kennedy Space Center . Sitting on the east coast of Florida it has been the site of some of the most famous and important space launches in history. From the earliest days of the US space program, to Apollo 11, to the Space Shuttle, and now to many SpaceX and Blue Origin launches, its place in the history of space exploration is secured.
And wonderfully, you can visit. The aptly named Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is a full museum, with exhibits including a decommissioned Saturn V rocket, tons of memorabilia, and an actual Space Shuttle orbiter. On a recent road trip, I finally visited after wanting to for years.
Here’s what it’s like. Gateway to Space Given Florida’s pancake-esque geography, there’s not much to see on the approach to the center. Lots of straight roads and some swamps.
Once you enter the parking area, it’s hard to mistake where you are. The Rocket Garden has most of the rockets that carried men and satellites into space, including Redstone, Titan II, and a Saturn IB, which would tower over the others if it weren’t on its side. There are mockups of the Mercury and Gemini capsules you can sit in for photos, though keep in mind that being Florida, these are often wet.
There’s one for the Apollo capsule as well, but it was cordoned off during my visit. There are a few choices what to do next. The Gateway building has prototypes of several modern space .
