Field Trips To Kennedy Space Center

IMax 3-D
The only back-to-back twin IMAX theaters in the world are located at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, showcasing two exciting motion pictures on screens 5-1/2 stories tall! These enormous screens and state of the art sound system allow you to delve into the weightless environment of a space station, take a peek at the future in 3-D and experience the thrilling sensation of space flight.

Space Station IMAX 3-D
This is the first time that audiences will have the all encompassing view that only astronauts and cosmonauts are privileged to experience. The camera actually puts you right there, with them, moving around and floating in space. The IMAX 3D footage captures the excitement and magnitude of this amazing project being built in outer space in a way that no other medium can.

SPACE STATION stars astronauts and cosmonauts from the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia and Europe, who collectively have spent thousands of hours in space. The IMAX cameras captured seven Space Shuttle crews and two resident station crews, as they transformed the International Space Station into a permanently inhabited scientific research station.

The Dream is Alive presents an insider’s view of the space shuttle program, featuring spectacular in-flight footage shot by NASA astronauts on three separate missions. This 37-minute film, narrated by Walter Cronkite, captures the awesome beauty and thrilling sensations of space flight, as well as the daily business of living in space.

LC 39 Observation Gantry
The LC 39 Observation Gantry is located in the heart of the space shuttle launch complex, just over one mile away from Launch Pads 39A and 39B - the only sites for launching the space shuttle.
These are also the launch pads from which the giant Saturn V rockets blasted off to the moon during the Apollo program. The enclosed, air-conditioned observation deck provides an unobstructed 360 degree panoramic view of Launch Complex 39, which encompasses the space shuttle launch pads, the massive Vehicle Assembly Building, Launch Control Center and the 130-foot-wide Crawlerway. From this observation point, there’s always a chance of seeing a shuttle perched atop of its pad being readied for launch!

Learn how a space shuttle is prepared for its next flight in a film presentation hosted by shuttle astronaut Marsha Ivins. She explains how NASA engineers and technicians accomplish the amazing task of transporting the space shuttle orbiter from the landing site to refurbishment facilities, to preparation facilities and then to the launch pad.


Things to see at the LC 39 Observation Gantry:
Space Shuttle Main Engine: This actual flight engine weighs 7,000 pounds and hangs suspended between the second and third floors of the Observation Gantry.

Crawlerway Exhibit: This roadway is almost as wide as an eight-lane highway and over 3 miles long. It was specially constructed to bear the weight (6 million pounds!) of a Crawler-Transporter as it moves a fully assembled space shuttle, mounted on a Mobile Launcher Platform, from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad.

Shuttle Science Research Station: Interactive exhibits where guests have the opportunity to learn about the shuttle and LC 39 through touch screen computers.

Apollo/Saturn V center
Experience a dramatic recreation of these events in The Firing Room Theater, where three screens ignite with original launch footage. The Firing Room Theater is also an authentic representation of the original 1960's Firing Room containing the actual launch consoles, status boards, countdown clocks and communications equipment that NASA used during the Apollo program.

The Apollo/Saturn V center features an actual 363-foot Saturn V moon rocket, dramatic "you are there" recreations and presentations in two theaters and a large exhibition area with interactive displays. This tour destination is truly a celebration of America’s great achievement of landing humans on the moon and returning them safely to Earth.

Saturn V Rocket Plaza: View an actual Saturn V moon rocket, one of only three in existence in the world! Its sheer size, 363-feet in length and 6.2 million pounds in weight, will take your breath away. The amount of power that the Saturn V produced upon blast off (7.5 million pounds of thrust) could light up New York City for 1 hour and 15 minutes! The speed of this spacecraft would ultimately reach 25,000 miles per hour –enough to escape the Earth’s orbit and propel man to the moon. Also displayed throughout the Rocket Plaza are numerous space artifacts, including an actual lunar module, command service module, lunar rover trainer, astronaut van and Jim Lovell’s Apollo 13 space suit.


Lunar Surface Theater: Enter the Lunar Surface Theater and experience the excitement and nail-biting drama of America’s first lunar landing. An empty stage offers a view of the moon’s desolate surface as you and the rest of the audience await word from the Apollo 11 spacecraft, which has vanished out of radio contact on the far side of the moon.

Finally, a large screen and smaller monitors become active when the astronauts re-establish contact with Mission Control, and a series of special theater effects begin, including the physical descent of a Lunar Module.

New Frontiers Gallery: This interplanetary exhibition area features exciting hands-on displays representing NASA’s bold vision of the future.