When we were at KSC, everyone was talking about these bus tours... They were free, so we decided to give it a shot, and it was WELL worth it! Little did we know what we were about to see. The very guts of NASA would be before our eyes!
At the launch, I was all excited because I could see the VAB (vehicle assembly building). I took all these tiny little pictures of it, thinking this would be my only opportunity, but I was wrong!
Launch pad B was a little farther away, but this was also where shuttles launched from.
Still, the two launch pads were right here. It was interesting to me that they stored the liquid hydrogen and oxygen so close to a giant rocket! But hey, they're the engineers right?
The VAB is where they get every shuttle or rocket ready for launch. Did you know it's the fourth largest building in the world by volume? It is the largest single story building in the entire world!
Measuring 526 feet tall, 716 feet long, and 518 feet wide, the VAB covers 8 acres and encloses a massive 129,428,000 cubic feet of space. It was built in 1976 to allow for vertical assembly of the Saturn V rocket. This building was GIGANTIC!!!
The stars on the flag each measure 6 feet across, the blue part is the size of a basketball court, and each stripe is as wide as a road lane! The VAB is where the shuttle and it's boosters are assembled, standing straight up in launch position, then positioned to be wheeled to the launch pad on the crawler.
The stars on the flag each measure 6 feet across, the blue part is the size of a basketball court, and each stripe is as wide as a road lane! The VAB is where the shuttle and it's boosters are assembled, standing straight up in launch position, then positioned to be wheeled to the launch pad on the crawler.Our first stop was at Launch Complex 39. LC-39 had a fantastic view of every launch pad NASA had. Basically it was this 4 story tower you could climb and look all around.
For each view, there was a sign of what you were looking at. 
Then I took a picture of the actual view. Click photos to enlarge.
For each view, there was a sign of what you were looking at. 
Then I took a picture of the actual view. Click photos to enlarge.
This is the launch pad that the shuttle took off from. I wish I'd have know how close you could be.
A few days before launch, they move away a stabilizing arm, in preparation for launch. People said at night it was breathtaking all lit up. It was VERY close to where we were standing on the viewing platform.
A few days before launch, they move away a stabilizing arm, in preparation for launch. People said at night it was breathtaking all lit up. It was VERY close to where we were standing on the viewing platform.Launch pad B was a little farther away, but this was also where shuttles launched from.
Still, the two launch pads were right here. It was interesting to me that they stored the liquid hydrogen and oxygen so close to a giant rocket! But hey, they're the engineers right?
This view was of the VAB and surrounding things. Including the MASSIVE crawler.
There was a Florida storm quickly moving in, in the distance. It rained a bit every day, but this storm turned out to be a torrential downpour!
I've never seen anything SO huge! It moved very, very, very, slow (1 mph loaded, and 2 mph unloaded), all the way to the launch pad. It's gets only 32 feet per gallon of diesel!
Did you know the crawlers were created out of Marion, OH? The crawlers were built to last, and has been used since 1966 to move mostly everything we ever launched, including the tall Saturn V through the very last launch of Atlantis.
It was seriously so crazy how they figured out!
Inside the complex, there was an interesting miniature display of a launch sequence. The shuttle was a very unique design, because it could be steered in space, and lands like a plane. However, it actually lands more like a glider, and can't really be controlled with any backfire to slow it on landing. This is why the shuttle comes in on an "S" shaped path, to slow down enough to be able to land and stop with a big parachute.
So, say the shuttle made an emergency landing in White Sands, NM instead of making it all the way to Kennedy. How would the shuttle get back to Florida? On top of a plane!!! (I actually never knew that, or wondered)
Wouldn't it be nuts if you saw this fly by?!?!
Here's the display of the shuttle and launch sequence. Since regular people can't get anywhere near the actual launch pad, this was interesting to see how everything happened.
Ready for launch!
One of the most interesting things about the shuttle to me, are the heat shield panels. It is mind boggling how we discovered the materials that could withstand the heat reentering the atmosphere!
This diagram shows the places on the shuttle that it gets the hottest. We loved our first stop on the bus tour!
The crawler was what the space shuttle was stood on to move it from the VAB to the launch pad. NASA has 2 crawlers, Hans and Franz (named after bodybuilders). Without anything loaded, the crawlers are already 3 stories tall! It is wide enough to take up an entire four lane freeway!
I've never seen anything SO huge! It moved very, very, very, slow (1 mph loaded, and 2 mph unloaded), all the way to the launch pad. It's gets only 32 feet per gallon of diesel!Did you know the crawlers were created out of Marion, OH? The crawlers were built to last, and has been used since 1966 to move mostly everything we ever launched, including the tall Saturn V through the very last launch of Atlantis.
The Army Corps of Engineers has specifically designed the gravel you see that the crawler rolls on. It's hard to concoct something that doesn't sink under 18 million pounds! The crawler laser guided self leveling feature that will adjust the platform to keep the shuttle upright as it travels up a 5% grade hill to the launch pad. It was pretty cool to see in person.
Inside the complex there was a giant shuttle main engine.
See the flames!?! J/K, I used my imagination!
Inside the complex there was a giant shuttle main engine.See the flames!?! J/K, I used my imagination!
There were more tubes, wires, and switches, that I would ever know what to do with! It's amazing how all these little parts blasts a shuttle into space!
It was seriously so crazy how they figured out!
Inside the complex, there was an interesting miniature display of a launch sequence. The shuttle was a very unique design, because it could be steered in space, and lands like a plane. However, it actually lands more like a glider, and can't really be controlled with any backfire to slow it on landing. This is why the shuttle comes in on an "S" shaped path, to slow down enough to be able to land and stop with a big parachute.
So, say the shuttle made an emergency landing in White Sands, NM instead of making it all the way to Kennedy. How would the shuttle get back to Florida? On top of a plane!!! (I actually never knew that, or wondered) 
Wouldn't it be nuts if you saw this fly by?!?!
Here's the display of the shuttle and launch sequence. Since regular people can't get anywhere near the actual launch pad, this was interesting to see how everything happened.
Ready for launch!
One of the most interesting things about the shuttle to me, are the heat shield panels. It is mind boggling how we discovered the materials that could withstand the heat reentering the atmosphere!
This diagram shows the places on the shuttle that it gets the hottest. We loved our first stop on the bus tour!
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