Space Exploration (Cape Canaveral)

Member Name: ray1952

Product:	Cape Canaveral
Date:	08/08/01 (112 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great day for all family, Guided tours, Clean and Well set out

Disadvantages: None

During April 2001 I had my first visit to Florida and it was a necessity that I went to this site, as I have always been interested in space travel.

The Apollo 11 mission of 1969 was a great experience to watch on tv, especially the lunar landing in The Sea Of Tranquility.

On purchasing the ticket you get a colour tour-guide magazine worth $5.95. Included with this guide you also receive colour cards of parts of the complex and a typed schedule of Alan Shepard's ride in a spaceship. You can also buy tour tickets. One takes you on a guided coach tour of Cape Canaveral:Then and Now. The other is the Space Shuttle tour.
I went on the Cape Tour, which was exhilirating.

The site is split up into various areas for you to visit. These include:

EXHIBITS- Early space exploration, rocket garden, children's play dome, robot scouts (for kids).

IMAX THEATRES - 2 presentations: "The Dream is Alive". This is about the Space Shuttle program.
"L-5: First City in Space". A fictional 3D look at a future space settlement.

DINING - There are 7 eating areas throughout the site, ranging from Pizzas to a full-service restaurant, thus catering for all needs.

SHOPS - There are 2 shops that sell all types of souvenirs.

To begin the tour we walked around the Rocket Garden. This features various types of rockets, ranging from the small ones to one of the largest, a V5.

On walking around the site we went inside a Space Shuttle which is larger than I expected. Further round the site there is an Astronaut Memorial wall. This is a space mirror monument commemorating astronauts lost in the name of space travel.

The best feature of the day for me was the guided tour of various restricted areas. The tour guides gave us well presented commentary on rocket pads and areas of interest, including a stop at a museum site of real rockets, a stop at the site of the 1st manned US rocket
launch.

The last part of this tour took us to a building which houses an Apollo 11 Rocket. Here is also a Lunar Module and an exhibit of Moon Rock, which I touched. I really enjoyed this, as the Apollo 11 is much bigger than it looked on tv.

To be able to go on the other tour you will need to spend a second day there.

This place is a photographers paradise, so take plenty of films.

Summary: