Space Shuttle Atlantis

While on a spring break band trip my junior year of high school to New Orleans and Orlando, we took our last day of the week long trip to make a short three hour visit to Kennedy Space Center.  I say short because it was not nearly long enough to see everything... and I wanted to see everything!

The three things I remember the most are the Space Shuttle replica that sits by the main entrance, a Saturn V rocket, and the gift shop.  The Saturn V rocket was used in the Apollo missions and is absolutely enormous; much bigger than the space shuttle.  There is one hanger that has the rocket in sections on its side an one engine nozzle is probably 40 ft in diameter.  Now the gift shop may seem odd but i wanted to remember my time there and get a book that had more information so i could take a virtual tour if you will.  My favorite souvenir is a full size Apollo 13 mission patch.  In fact it is hanging up in its packaging in my cubicle at work.  On the back I wrote the mission motto: Failure is not an option.  Go and take a look at my Pick Me Up's! page, it's toward the top.

This is a monumental end to a great American era of space flight.  I hope we continue to endeavor into space flight.  It would be very cool to someday go up there my self.


To see more pictures of the last mission, LA Times as a good selection.