Thursday, 15 May, 2025 / Edition 58

Years ago, I watched from the Amoco building in New Orleans as one of the Space Shuttles rode on the back of a 737. It was returning to Kennedy Space Center after a west coast landing. Today, the shuttles reside in museums, but they are still an awesome sight to see. Ready for a trip to Outer Space? 🚀

Sharon Lyon

Editor, GeoLifestyle

Kennedy Space Center

Dennis MacDonals/ Shutterstock.com

Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of ten NASA field centers. It’s a multi-user spaceport with roughly 100 private-sector partners and nearly 250 partnership agreements. Its mission is to provide continuous access to space through creativity and innovation from Earth’s premier spaceport.

Historic milestones:

• Between 1967 and 1973, the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launched the Apollo missions (Apollo 4 to 17), including Apollo 11, the first manned mission to land on the Moon.

• The Skylab space station and three Skylab crews launched between 1973 and 1975.

• During the Space Shuttle program (1981–2011), the KSC was the primary launch and occasional landing site for 135 Space Shuttle missions.

• Modules were processed at KSC for the International Space Station, and ISS payloads are still processed here today.

• Artemis I launched from KSC in 2022, traveling around the Moon. This mission was a precursor to future manned missions Artemis II and III.

Read more on the history of the KSC here.

Rocket launch: At 4:15 am on April 21, we witnessed the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft take off, saw the separation of the first stage, then watched the nebula-like glow created by the exhaust from the refiring of the first stage engines as it headed back to the launch site. The Dragon was delivering supplies to the ISS. Although we were farther north on the Florida coast for the launch, it was still a spectacular sight.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex highlights:

• Through the gate and on your left is the Heroes and Legends building, which includes the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame presented by Boeing.

• Walk across the Rocket Garden to Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex to see space exploration innovations from NASA and its commercial partners. You can also play the interactive games (I did a terrible job as an ‘astronaut’ trying to dock at the International Space Station).

• See the Mars rovers at Journey to Mars. The Mars rovers have launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, not directly from Kennedy Space Center, though Kennedy plays a key role in spacecraft processing and launch support.

• Walk beneath the Space Shuttle Atlantis which flew to space 33 times and traveled 126 million miles. Interact with the exhibits and simulators to see what it’s like to live and work in space.

• You can take a Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour behind the scenes to the Apollo/Saturn V Center and the Vehicle Assembly Building. An additional tour will introduce you to an astronaut.

Trip tips:

• You can purchase tickets ahead of time or buy them at the fully automated kiosks at the gate (they do not accept cash).

• Lunch was delicious and fresh at the Orbit Café, where ordering is fully automated and cashless.

• While I wouldn’t recommend taking very young children to KSC, the visitor center does offer Planet Play, an indoor interactive area where children explore the planets in our solar system.

Sponsored

Power Your Exploration with TRITON 2024.2

Access more data, streamline planning, and analyze faster with real-time tools, ArcGIS integration, and modernized workflows.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

Chansak Joe/ Shutterstock.com

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is in Chantilly, Virginia near Washington Dulles International Airport. The center is an annex of the National Air and Space Museum, so admission is free. The museum displays hundreds of historically significant aircraft and spacecraft and thousands of artifacts in two large hangars.

Trip tips: Browse through the wide-open hangars to see the:

• Space Shuttle Discovery, which flew 39 missions over 26 years

  • The large size of the Space Shuttle Discovery can only be fully appreciated when you walk alongside it.

• First-generation Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) suspended above Discovery

• Friendship 7 space capsule, flown by John Glenn on the first American orbital flight

• Gemini 4 space capsule, used during the first American spacewalk

  • The small size of the Gemini IV space capsule will make you wonder how two astronauts (James McDivitt and Edward White) spent four days inside.

• Spirit of Columbus, the aircraft flown in 1964 by Jerrie Mock, the first woman to fly solo around the world 

• Enola Gay, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan

• Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, a high-speed reconnaissance aircraft

• Air France Concorde, a supersonic passenger airliner

• Boeing Stratoliner, the first pressurized commercial airliner

You can also:

• Climb the Donald D. Engen Observation Tower for panoramic views of Dulles Airport operations.

• View a space-themed film in the Airbus IMAX Theater.

• See museum specialists restore air- and spacecraft in the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar.

Headed somewhere geologically interesting this summer? If you are, and you might be interested in contributing to GeoLifestyle, please let me know! Email editorial@aapg.org.

👍 If you enjoyed this edition of GeoLifestyle, consider supporting AAPG's brand of newsletters by forwarding to a friend or colleague and signing up for our other newsletters here.

➡️ Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up for GeoLifestyle here.

✉️ To get in touch with Sharon, send an email to editorial@aapg.org.