When I was 8 years old (a long time ago) my gran took me to Florida and one of the places we visited was Kennedy Space Center, part of Nasa.
Now a lot has changed over the years and I really wanted to revisit the place, which I finally got to do in 2016 and in 2019.
Although in some ways, I think they don't change, such as the Rocket Garden, a memory I have from when I was there in the late '80s
I did like the detail they put into the garden making sure there were items related to the period they launched in, such as the Atlas-Agena here.
Heroes and Legends, The Astronaut Hall of Fame was a new exhibition for my visit in 2019 which proved to be quite an interesting one to see.
Such as this Mercury-Redstone on display inside!
When seeing this up close you quickly realise just how tiny the capsule is.
Gemini, while still small was at least a bigger capsule and was able to accommodate two people.
A bit more spacious, although I guess once in the seat, it will likely have felt just as tight.
Now the main reason for visiting. As someone that I had never seen before in my life, it was pretty exciting a thought (and now I've seen four of them!)
Past this sign and towards the building the shuttle awaits!
But before that, you just cannot help but be amazed at the sheer size of the replica fuel tank and solid rocket booster.
Before being able to see the Shuttle, you go into a small presentation room, where unknown to those on their first visit, is just one massive door and curtain away from Atlantis.
Imagine this. the doors open, the curtain remains down, and you notice something, its big, it's white and it's looking right at you.
The curtain raises, and you see this!
And there she is. I can only show a few images around without comment really, because what can you say to something like this?
There was a lot more to see as well.
Including this which should be quite recognisable.
Used for countless years transporting the Astronauts to the launch pad, it now sits on display within the Atlantis complex.
