Kennedy Space Center Cape Canaveral February 2019
The John F Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center) is one of ten National Aeronautics and Space Administration field centers. Since December 1968, Kennedy Space Center has been NASA's primary launch center of human spaceflight. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. It is on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS).
In the all new Astronaut Training Experience (ATX) Center, we have the chance to train like the next generation of space explorers who will travel to Mars, and be transported to the red planet to live and work for the day. During ATX, we navigate the Mars terrain and experience the sensation of conducting a spacewalk in a microgravity environment. Amateur astronauts take turns reading and relaying instructions and sets of data from both sides. In mission control, visitors step into roles including flight director and spacecraft systems officer. Inside the capsule, people try their hand at jobs such as flight engineer, commander and MTV transit pilot. If there's a breakdown in communication, the mission could fail. Across the room, the arms of a truss assembly stretch out above chairs that resemble the kind of zero gravity chair your uncle might have on his back porch. While strapped into the chairs, we wear a helmet with a camera and microphone to talk with a partner at a computer. Working together, we communicate to fix broken wires and modules on the space station arms. Overall, this is a fantastic experience and highly recommended. Also make sure you don't miss the bus tour, it is a very informative guide, and got you close to the launch pads and we were able to get out of the bus and take photos.
