★ ERIC Atkins ★

(This entry is a little old.  I was wait for a few more pictures to get to me.  You can check out my Flickr account to see the pics from the trip).

On Sunday March 9th I flew with a friend (and two new friends) to Orlando on Allegiant Air’s nonstop flight from Huntsville.  On Monday morning we drove 45-minutes to Kennedy Space Center.  There we got our badges that allowed us to explore much of Kennedy without question or escort.  And explore we did.  I must have drove over 100 miles on the base exploring historic launch pads, relics of the 60’s, and new launch sites.

When we got through security we went to meet our sponsors.  The astronauts were actually in the same building (Operations and Checkout Building) as we were, only we were awake; they were not.  They didn’t awake until about 5PM that day.  One gentleman in the office of our sponsor was kind enough to take a break and drive us around the base as we looked at the landmarks and sites.  After a 90-minute private tour where we saw modules that were going to the Space Station in the Space Station Processing Facility and some old launch sites (see my pics), we headed to the Vehicle Assembly Building met up with an official from Marshall Space Flight Center for another guided tour.

The VAB is one of the largest buildings in the world.  It was originally built to assemble the Saturn V rocket.  Now it is where the Space Shuttles, External Tank, and Solid Rocket Boosters and stacked together and placed on the Mobile Launch Platform.  Once assembled inside the building, a crawler rolls underneath the Mobile Launch Platform and carries the assembly away to one of the two Shuttle launch pads.

We got to tour all levels of the VAB.  We stood on the Mobile Launch Platform, saw the SRBs, and went to the top of the building and looked down on the uncompleted assembly of STS-124 (which will carry one of those space station modules). 

We also toured the Orbiter Processing Facility.  There I walked underneath OV-103; the Discovery.  It was an awesome event.  The only way I could have gotten closer to the Orbiter was if I could get inside; which could only happen after the Orbiters are retired and put in a space museum. 

I toured a few other buildings and places including the Shuttle Landing Facility, the Transporter Crawlway, a Crawler, and the famous Press Site that you see on the evening news.  I also saw about a dozen alligators laying on the sides of the roads.  They just lay there.  Beside the road.

After that tour we drove around the base toward the Cape side to see the Merritt Island launch sites.  There we saw historic launch pads where Shepherd and Glenn first went into space and orbit.  I saw new launch facilities like SpaceX and some operated by the Air Force.  I saw a Delta II rocket with a 6-pack booster sitting on the pad.  I stood on just about every launch pad that’s not in use any more. 


(the Merritt Island launch facilities that I toured)

The greatest site to see was the Space Shuttle on Launch Pad 39A from about 1km on the beach side.  It was majestic and borderline surreal and spiritual. 

We stayed about 1km away from 39A until we were kindly asked to leave the area by NASA’s SWAT team.   So we did.

We headed back to the VAB and eat some pizza in the cafeteria.  We waited a couple of hours until the launch at 2:28AM.  We watched the launch from in front of the Launch Control Center which is where the engineers actually fire the sucker. 

The launch was glorious.  A night launch is the best kind of launch to watch.  Sadly, there are no more night launches scheduled in the shuttle program. 

Be sure to check out the over 300 pictures uploaded to my flickr account. 

Here’s a photo tour of some of the places we went:


(Inside the Space Station Processing Facility.  This is where future payloads are readied.)


(A look at an Air Force rocket on this pad.  Look in the middle bottom of the pad to see the Delta II rocket with a 6-pack of boosters.)


(Entrance to the Friendship 7 launch site.  Unfortunately, the rest of the launch sites are over grown and run down.  All the launch sites are off the beaten path.)


(Launch site of the world’s first man in orbit.)


(Site of the Apollo 1 tragedy)


(Gus Grissom’s wife most likely placed this wreath at this spot.  She visited this site often.)


(Looking up through the launch platform.)


(Outside the Orbiter Processing Facility for OV-103)


(Inside the Orbiter Processing Facility about to see Discovery.)


(Just a few steps and I was underneath one of the most amazing achievements in mankind.)


(Each tile is specially made for that unique spot.  No two tiles are alike.)


(Close up shot of the tiles.  I held some.  They are very light-weight)


(Landing gear)


(Looking up at the nose of Discovery)


(Nose of Discovery)


(The famous Press Site)


(A beach a Merritt Island just a few miles from the Space Shuttles’ launch pads.  The beach was peaceful and deserted.)


(US Air Force notice)


(The beach was gorgeous)


(A launch pad just down the way)


(Report tagged sharks!)


(About 1km from the launch pad.  That’s Endeavour on the pad).


(The Vehicle Assembly Building - one of the world’s largest buildings.  The blue part of the flag is as big as a basketball court.)


(Inside the VAB)


(A look at a Mobile Launch Platform.  STS-124 is on top of it.  A crawler will roll underneath the MLP, pick it up, and move it to LC-39A.)


(I’m standing on the same launch platform that will be at LC-39A.  You are looking at the two Solid Rocket Boosters for STS-124.)


(Standing on the MLP with STS-124 behind me.)


(From the top of the VAB looking down at STS-124.  Very exclusive to get this high in the VAB.)


(A look at an SRB)


(The Launch Control Center)


(The Crawlway is on the left.  It’s made of pea gravel.  The path leads from the VAB to the Launch Complex 39.)


(STS-123 on the pad and a few hours from launch.)


(Space Shuttle Landing Facility.  The shuttle lands here.)


(Astronaut parking only.)


(T-38 training jets.  I saw one of these flying over KSC just before and after launch.  It even put on the afterburners once.  An astronaut flies the T-38 over KSC to report on weather and to do a test landing in case the Shuttle needs to return to Kennedy after launch.  After STS-123 took off, the T-38 did another test landing just in case.)


(We saw alligators along the roads in the ditches and swamps.)


(They were soaking up the sun.)


(An extra crawler parked and waiting on a load.)


(Space Shuttle Engine Processing Facility)


(This is where the engines get overhauled after flight.)


(STS-123 crew on this bus.  BTW: I inadvertently escorted NASA Administrator Michael Griffin from an Air Force runway to Kennedy to view the flight.  He landed just as we were leaving Merritt Island.  The police escort was right behind me as I drove us back to the LCC.)


(The VAB at night)


(The view from in front of the LCC)










(It’s day time?)

Tags: sts-123, kennedy space center, nasa