Awake: 6:21am Temp 55 sleep 6+23 mostly sunny overnight @ Cocoa, FL.
After breakfast, we leave @ 10:00am & motor back to the Kennedy Space Center visitors' complex. After going thru security, we board (1) of the fleet of (44) tour buses, (this (45) ft bus is full) & are transported to an area as close as any visitor can get to the two giant Shuttle Launch Pads, 39A and 39B.
We climb the stairs of the 60-foot-tall Launch Complex (LC) 39 Observation Gantry to get the best view & take a few photos. One could easily see the well-traveled crawlerway, where the gigantic Crawler-Transporter takes the Space Shuttle out to the launch pad. The crawlerway is a (100) ft wide double pathway; a seven foot bed of stones lies beneath a layer of asphalt & a rock surface.
In another building @ our 1st stop, we watched a movie from start (crawler-transporter moving the space shuttle @ ½ miles per hr) to finish of a typical launch of the space shuttle. Everything has to be carefully carried out in a most precise & complex manner.
Our next bus ride takes us to the Apollo/Saturn V Center; the Saturn Five rocket was a multistage liquid-fuel (expendable rocket) used by NASA's Apollo & Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. In total NASA launched thirteen Saturn V rockets with no loss of payload. It remains the largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever brought to operational status from a height, weight and payload standpoint.....& one of them has had a complete make-over & is now on display in the huge building we are about to enter. But 1st, we watch another movie of a count-down for the launching of a Saturn Five.
On January 10, 1962, NASA announced plans to build the C-5. The three-stage rocket would consist of five F-1 engines for the first stage, five J-2 engines for the second stage, and a single, additional J-2 engine for the third stage. The C-5 was designed for the higher payload capacity necessary for a lunar mission, and could carry up to 41,000 kg into lunar orbit.
Seeing this monstrous rocket in person was phenomenal to say the least; Kathy & I just stood there, mouths open & speechless. As we gain our composure back & walk along this mighty creation of yesteryear, (363 ft) long, (33 ft) diameter & weighing (6,699,000 lb) we read the many plaques posted here & there giving its statistics: number of flights, safety record, etc. Then we watched another good movie which re-creates an Apollo rocket launch with the Lunar Theater depicting the 1st moon landing.
Bus stop # 3 brought us to a warehouse where the Discovery's cargo is being organized & loaded for the next shuttle flight. We didn't know what we were seeing but the guys were using a heavy crane to maneuver the stuff around. In this building we also had the opportunity to see samples & pictures of previous cargo gone into space; here is the latest bulletin update on Discovery launch:
"WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The launch of the space shuttle Discovery, originally scheduled for Feb. 12, has been tentatively targeted for March 12, after repeated delays caused by critical valves, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said on Wednesday.
An exact target launch date will be determined as work progresses with the shuttle's three gaseous hydrogen flow control valves, NASA said in a statement.
At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians have started removing Discovery's three valves, two of which will undergo detailed inspection. About 4,000 images of each valve will be reviewed for evidence of cracks. Valves that have flown fewer times will be installed in Discovery.
Engineering teams will also complete analysis and testing to understand the consequences if a valve piece were to break off and strike pressurization lines between the shuttle and the external fuel tank. Hardware modifications may be made to the pressurization lines to add extra protection in the unlikely event debris is released.
Discovery's 14-day mission will deliver the International Space Station's fourth and final set of solar arrays, completing the orbiting laboratory's truss, or backbone. The shuttle also will carry a replacement distillation assembly for the station's new water recycling system.
According to the statement, NASA's Space Shuttle Program will hold a meeting on March 4 to review new data and assess ongoing work. Managers then will determine whether to move forward with a flight readiness review on March 6.
The agency has just a few days in March to get Discovery off the launch pad in time to avoid a schedule conflict with a Russian Soyuz capsule that is to fly to the station at the end of the month."
Editor: Chris
Back @ the Visitors Complex, we self tour the Shuttle Explorer; which is a full-scale replica of a Space Shuttle. The Explorer includes replicas of the interior spaces.
Next we visit the Astronaut Memorial area; then, from a distance, the Rocket Garden & then...K & get in line, listen carefully to instructions, strap in & get vertical & experience a realistic simulation of an actual space shuttle launch which includes: shaking, motion/vibrations, loud noise, visual & lighting effects.... & then the heavenly sights of outer space. Kathy was skeptical of doing this & several times suggested that the observation room would be sufficient; but afterward told me, "it was great!"
We finished our self touring in the visitors' complex by looking @ outer space pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing & experiencing the Kennedy Space Center & all its wonders. We highly recommend this look into the future anytime one gets close to the Space Coast of Florida.
Dinner: beef burgers with honey-mustard cream sauce over lettuce & tomato, 4 bean salad, & whole grain bread.
Melissa calls: we haven't heard from her in what seems to be a long time; she tells us she has needed more sleep with her pregnancy.... & we are holding back calling to respect that plan. Our talk time was ended when Nathan woke up. All seems to be going well at the Foote castle.
Later, we watch & listen to President Obama's speech on the economy. No movie tonight.
Lights out: 11:58pm
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