Kennedy Space Center: Views, news from revived gantry

[Disney4me]

There’s a new stop along the popular tour at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, and it presents views that showcase Florida’s nature and modern technology.

The Gantry at LC-39 is now available to the public at the Brevard County attraction, part of its Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour. The area includes a four-story structure topped by an interactive rocket design experience and showcases a test-fire simulation to folks on the ground. It’s designed to present fun, hands-on activities alongside education, said Therrin Protze, chief operating officer of the visitor complex.

“We’re learning about the dwell time and what captures kids,” he said.

One attention-grabber is the rocket seen in the gantry and a big-screen countdown steered by Sol, referred to as artificial intelligence. Once we get hit 3-2-1-zero, the unit swings and lets off steam upon observers below. It’s meant to be a fiery simulation, but, fear not, it’s certainly more foggy than fearfully hot.

Those engine components are real pieces from an Apollo-era J-2 rocket engine.

Up on the top level (accessed by stairways or elevator) is an enclosed, air-conditioned area that gets into engineering aspects and the hands-on building of virtual space vehicles.

“You get to build a rocket, and you get to learn what it takes for different types of missions, which engines to pick, how much fuel to pick and the payload capacity you need in order to make that launch successful,” Protze said.

A dozen designing people face monitors at a time in this activity, but also intriguing are the stools there. They’re pistons from one of NASA’s famed Crawler-Transporters.

On the in-between levels are open-air views of historic launch pads. In some cases there are binoculars to look at nature (wild pigs and vultures) as well as Launch Complex 39 – Pad B, from where the Hubble Space Telescope was sent up, and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The bleachers area also was expanded for watching real-life launches from pads 40 and 41, which are about 2.7 miles away from Gantry at LC-39.

On the ground level are shaded play areas inspired by Florida wildlife such as alligators and sea turtles. Nearby is the Earth Information Center with a four-minute film and electronic displays, including the Science on a Sphere, a floating globe that reveals data on topics such as ocean temperatures, aerosols in the air and fires, as seen from space.

The gantry, where many space shuttle launches were witnessed, once was a stop on an extra-ticket V.I.P. tour only. Now it’s part of the standard tour included with regular admission to the visitor center.

Guests may linger as long as they desire in the gantry area, then catch another bus headed for the Apollo/Saturn V Center. There’s plenty to read and absorb, including a tale about an alligator getting into the Vehicle Assembly Building (thanks, automatic doors) and the fact that NASA tests engines at the Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi before sending them to KSC.

“The best thing to do is explore,” Protze said. “That’s what Kennedy is all about. That’s what space exploration is all about.”

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