kennedy space center florida

by mia hadjigeorgiou

For those fortunate enough to travel State-side, the NASA-operated Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida is a far more interesting day-out than Disney World, and it undoubtedly once and for all settles the debate around the moon-landing. After a day at the Apollo 11 research and launch site seeing the intricacies of space-travel, it is near impossible to leave as a moon-landing sceptic.

The site itself is simply huge, and that just includes the areas open to public visitors, never mind the miles and miles of restricted zones reserved for ongoing research as NASA’s primary spaceflight launch and research centre.

As such, it’s advisable to leave the whole day free to ensure visitors get to see everything, rather than rushing through the dozens of halls of rockets or missing the enormous gift shop at the end.

Personally, I was amazed at the sheer size of the items on display, with several sections of the centre having entire hangars dedicated to individual components of different rockets. Each had its own description of its function in launching and maintaining a rocket in space, and even as someone unfamiliar with a lot of mechanics, it was breathtaking to see.

My favourite section though had to be the control room, upheld in a semi-preserved state from the original Apollo missions of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The centre has also kept in archive a large amount of its original flight-launch audio files, broadcasting them on surrounding speakers to create a type of immersive experience that allows visitors to feel as if they’ve stepped into the heart of the real launch of Apollo 11 in July 1969.

The whole site is equipped with top-notch facilities, including a range of restaurants and gift-shops, and water fountains and air-conditioning throughout (both of which are definitely needed in the hotter summer months!). Tickets are undeniably expensive, starting at $75 (£59) for an adult ticket without discounts, but when compared with similar whole-day experiences like Disney World just an hour away, the price begins to appear a lot more reasonable.