Want to take a break from beaches and theme parks, visit Kennedy Space Center
There is so much more to do in Florida than just beaches and theme parks, and a visit to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is a great place to start. Located near both Daytona Beach and Orlando, it makes for an easy day trip from either location. After what seems like a decline in the popularity of space travel, NASA and the Kennedy Space Center is making a comeback. Thanks to companies like SpaceX, Boeing, and Blue Origin, NASA is looking into these private companies and many more to get U.S rockets flying again. If you have never visited Kennedy Space Center or haven’t in a long time, it is well worth a visit.
Plan Your Day
With so much to experience at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), it’s best to do a little homework before you arrive. With a little preplanning, you will have more time to enjoy all of the experiences instead of trying to figure it out once you get there.
Before you go, visit The Kennedy Space Center website. Here you will find all of the information you need, from ticket pricing/purchase, maps, and details on exhibits.
Tickets and Packages
You can purchase tickets on arrival at the visitor complex or online. I suggest purchasing online and in advance of your trip. This allows you to bypass the line when you arrive and ultimately gives you more time enjoying the attractions. Also, many of the add-on experiences sell out in advance, so booking early will ensure you get to see what you want.
A single day adult ticket is $57 and a child ticket is $47. Various discounts are available for local residents as well as active/retired military and seniors. Multiday and several different annual passes are also available.
Check the Kennedy Space Center website for details and purchasing.
Here’s what’s included with your daily admission:
- Space Shuttle Atlantis®
- Shuttle Launch Experience®
- Heroes and Legends featuring the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame® presented by Boeing®
- Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour including Apollo/Saturn V Center
- Journey to Mars: Explorers Wanted
- Astronaut Encounter
- IMAX® Theater 3D Films
- Rocket Launch Viewing (when available)
- Numerous Shows and Exhibits
Add-ons
These add-ons are extra activities that can be purchased in addition to your regular admission ticket. Some of these activities do have restrictions, so it is best to check the website for information before purchasing.
KSC Explorer Tour
Allows for closer access to restricted areas such as launch pads and Vehicle Assembly Building. This tour is an additional of $25 adult and $19 child. Allow 2 hours for the experience.
Cape Canaveral Early Space Tour
Go farther behind the scenes of KSC and get a closer look at the historic launch sites. This tour also includes a visit to the Air Force Space and Missile Museum. There is an additional cost of $25 adult and $19 child. Allow 3 hours for the experience.
Dine with an Astronaut
Enjoy a buffet lunch with a veteran NASA astronaut. During lunch, you will enjoy a presentation by the astronaut about what it is like to live in space. An open Q&A will follow. Cost is $29.99 for adult and $15.99 for children.
Astronaut Training Experience
Prepare for a mission to Mars by training with simulation technology just like the astronauts. This is a 5-hour experience and happens twice daily, at 8:30 and 4:40. The cost is $175. It is intended for ages 10 and up. There are some restrictions, so check the website for details.
Mars Base 1
Travel to Mars (sort of) for the day to discover what it would be like to live and work on Mars. Solve both science and engineering challenges such as harvesting plants or program robots. This activity begins at 9:30 and goes all day. The cost is $150 and is for ages 10 and up. There are some restrictions, so check the website for details.
Mars Exploration Simulator Training Stage
In this simulator activity, you land, drive and walk on the surface of Mars with the assistance of your Training Control crew.
Spacewalk Training Stage
As a team, you will work to perform simulated EVA (extravehicular activity) in a microgravity environment. This activity is 30 minutes and costs $30 in addition to your daily admission.
Cosmic Quest 1-Day Badge
Experience real NASA missions like launching a rocket, build a habitat on Mars and work with Robonaut-a real robot on the International Space Station. The cost is $19.99 in addition to your daily admission.
Mission Zones
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is divided into Mission Zones. This allows you to visit the attractions chronologically.
Heroes & Legends
Allow 1.5 Hours
Heroes & Legends
Hear the stories of exploring space through stories by NASA astronauts. Artifacts include the Redstone Rocket, the Sigma 7 capsule, and the Gemini 9 capsule.
Astronaut Hall of Fame
Located inside the Heroes and Legends building, the U.S Astronaut Hall of Fame was originally envisioned by the Mercury Seven astronauts as a place that both honors and remembers American astronauts. Astronauts are inducted by a special committee into the U.S Astronaut Hall of Fame and feature personal items from the astronauts.
Rocket Garden
Walk among these giants rockets for an up-close experience. The exhibit is a tribute to the engineers and scientist who helped to launch the U.S into space flight. Guided tours are available throughout the day and to provide the history of the early rockets for NASA’S Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs.
Helpful Hint: This a great place to capture wonderful photographs.
Behind the Gates
Allow 2.5 Hours
Bus Tour
Go behind the gates of NASA into restricted areas that are closed to the public except on the bus tour. You will see historic launch pads such as Launch Complex 39 (site for most Apollo and all Space Shuttle launches) drive by the Vehicle Assembly Building, and possibly see the crawler-transporter that is used to move rockets on the property. Actually, this thing is so big, I don’t think you could miss it. This is a 40-minute tour. At the completion of the bus tour, you will be dropped off at the Apollo/Saturn V Center.
Apollo/Saturn V Center
In the Firing Room Theater, you sit across from the actual consoles used to launch the Saturn V rocket that sent the crew of Apollo 8 to the moon in 1968. The theater allows you to see, hear and feel the countdown.
Saturn V Rocket
Stand beneath the largest rocket to fly into space. Measuring in at 363 feet, it is 60 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. This rocket has 3 stages, which you can see in detail.
Lunar Theater
In a combination of NASA footage, mission control recordings, and 3D elements, you can relive the historical landing of Apollo 11 on the moon.
Treasures Gallery
Smithsonian affiliated exhibit features items such as medals and training gear of astronauts. Exhibits include Alan Shepard’s spacesuit, still covered with moon dust and the Apollo 14 crew capsule.
Other things to see include the Astrovan (van used to take astronauts from crew headquarters to the launch pad), Moon Rover used by Apollo 15 to travel across the moon’s surface, Moon rock from the Apollo 17 mission, and a piece of the launch pad support system that astronauts walked across to reach the Saturn V rocket.
Don’t forget to step outside to the viewing area. Here you can see across the water to the launch pads in the distance.
Once you have finished exploring the Apollo/Saturn V building, load back on one of the tour buses for a quick trip back to the Visitor Center where you will be dropped off outside the Shuttle experience.
Shuttle: A Ship Like no Other
Allow 2.5 Hours
Exterior Entrance
The entrance alone is remarkable. To enter the building, you walk under a full-scale space shuttle rocket launcher complete with two solid rocket boosters and orange external tank.
Atlantis
Sitting in the middle of the building at 43.21 degrees, just like it did while in space, the Space Shuttle Atlantis demands the center of attention. Atlantis and others Shuttles launched like a rocket but landed like a glider. The Shuttle program took astronauts and equipment to space for over 30 years carrying equipment needed in space for both the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station.
Simulator
These simulators allow you to try your hand at docking a shuttle with the International Space Station or you can try landing a shuttle at Kennedy Space Center.
Hubble Space Telescope Theater
This shows how astronauts worked to repair the telescope over 5 separate missions. An exact replica of the telescope hangs between 2 stories inside the building.
Shuttle Launch Experience
This simulator experience replicates the 8.5-minute ascent into orbit.
Forever Remembered
This memorial is dedicated to the 14 astronauts who lost their lives during the Challenger and Columbia flights. Personal items from each astronaut are on display as well as recovered items from each shuttle, including Challenger’s left fuselage and Columbia’s cockpit windows.
NASA – NOW AND NEXT
Allow 2.5 Hours
NASA Now
See some of the latest spacecraft that is being used now and future NASA launches:
- Scale model of NASA Space Launch System (SLS)
- Boeing CST-100 Starliner Crew Vehicle Pressure Vessel
- SpaceX Dragon Cargo Vehicle from COTS-2 Mission
- Moon Express MTV-1 (Moon Express Test Vehicle) working prototype
IMAX Theaters
Journey to Space: Look into NASA’s space explorations, past, present and future.
Beautiful Planet: Breathtaking views of planet Earth taken from space. Real footage filmed by astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
Mars Rover Vehicle Navigator (MRVN)
See the latest concept vehicle for use on Mars. Designed to move astronauts across the red planet as well as providing a high-tech mobile laboratory.
With so much to see and do during your visit to Kennedy Space Center, it might be difficult to do everything in one day. On the day we visited, we arrived just after it opened and stayed until closing time and we still didn’t get to see everything. We did not do any of the add-on experiences, just the things that were included in your daily admission. Still, we managed to see most everything and thoroughly enjoyed it.
If you haven’t taken the time to visit Kennedy Space Center in a while or maybe you have never been, it is worth your time. It’s great for families as you can enjoy it at a leisurely pace without feeling overwhelmed. It is convenient to Orlando and Daytona so it makes for an easy day trip from either area.
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2 Comments
Debbie J
Such a wealth of information! I particularly found the information about the add on’s helpful for planning purposes. I haven’t been to the Space Center in 10 years or more. I will definitely refer to your post while planning a trip back. This would be a wonderful trip to take with the grandkids this summer!
admin
Thanks, Debbie for your comments. I had not been to Kennedy in probably 20 years when my kids were little. I think they have done a great job offering things to do for both adults and kids. If you go with your grandkids, check out the overnight stay where you sleep under the space shuttle Atlantis. Here is the link for more information https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/camps-and-education/overnight-adventures.