Launch Complex 34: Apollo 1

Wednesday October 24, 2007 - CAPE CANAVERAL AF STATION: Launch Complex 34 is a very moving stop on the tour. Shadowing all the success of the Mercury, Gemini, and very early Apollo programs was the tragedy that occured here - on 27 January 1967 - when astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee lost their lives in a fire during an "all-plugs-out" test inside their Apollo Command Module. Here are some photos, Then and Now (the older photos on the left are NASA photos).



.....Then............and Now






........Then..................and Now


Godspeed to the crew of Apollo 1

This is the abandoned LC-34 Launch Pedastal and Mobile Blast Deflectors. Note the Launch Tower in the background... that's LC-37 with a live Delta-IV-Heavy Air Force Rocket under the Mobile Service Structure. It is scheduled to launch on November 10th.

Launch Complex 19: Gemini-Titan

Wednesday October 24, 2007 - CAPE CANAVERAL AF STATION: Our tour bus stopped only at the entrance to LC 19, launch pad for the 2-Astronaut Gemini Titan launches of the mid 1960's. The pad and its surrounding facilities are all but gone now. The NASA photo on the right is the launch of Gemini-Titan XI on 12 September 1966, with Charles Conrad and Richard Gordon onboard. In the immediate background to the far left is the umbilical tower for Launch Complex 34 (see the blog on LC-34), and in the distance (7.6 miles away) you can see a test-Saturn V rocket on the pad at the "new" LC-39A... today it's the launch pad for the Space Shuttle. Click on the photos for a larger view.

Launch Complex 14: Mercury Atlas

Wednesday October 24, 2007 - CAPE CANAVERAL AF STATION: Here are some pictures of the remains of LC-14 and the entrance tunnel to its blockhouse. It was from this launch pad that John Glenn became the first man to orbit the planet Earth - riding on top of an Atlas ICBM booster rocket inside his Mercury capsule Friendship 7 - 20 February 1962 (NASA photo on lower right). Three other Original 7 astronauts flew Mercury Earth-orbit missions from this pad. Notice that they have preferred parking!

The Project Mercury Monument at the entrance to LC-14.

Buried beneath the slab is a time capsule containing artifacts relating to Project Mercury, including photographs, capsule blueprints, movie footage, and even John Glenn's Marine Corps pilot wings. It is scheduled to be opened in the year 2464. Keep your tour tickets for free admission to the capsule opening that year!!!

Cape Canaveral - Then & Now Tour

Wednesday October 24, 2007 - CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION: If you ever make it to the Space Center, this is THE tour to take! It's about 4.5 hours long, and covers the entire history of the Cape... from the very first launch all the way to the Shuttle. Below each set of photos is a brief description of the various launch sites.

Above is Launch Complex 5/6. Looking out from the blockhouse control room toward PAD-5, you can see a replica of MR-3 (Mercury Redstone 3)... a tribute to the launch of Alan Shepard aboard his Freedom 7 capsule. He was the first American in space, May 5, 1961. The windows are all nearly 12" thick and made of many panes of tempered glass sandwiching compressed gas to eliminate moisture. The blockhouse (or launch control) was very close to the pad, and yes, that is THE button they pushed to launch the rocket! (the photo on the lower right is a NASA photo of Mercury Redstone 1 on Pad 5... an interesting story can be found by clicking this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury-Redstone_1)

This is Launch Complex 26, site of the Jupiter and Jupiter-C launches. Most notably the US Air Force launched Explorer 1 - America's first satellite - on February 1, 1958. LC-26 now houses the Air Force Space & Missle Museum, and has numerous indoor and outdoor displays, including a V-2 rocket engine. The launch control room is preserved exactly as it was back in the 60's. In the background of the picture on the lower left is Launch Complex 37b, containing a Delta IV rocket that will be launced in a couple of weeks with a USAF satellite.

More at the KSC Visitor Center...

Tuesday October 23, 2007 - KENNEDY SPACE CENTER: Here are some shots in the Rocket Garden. Note the size of the Saturn 1B, which is displayed on its side. The Atlas rocket is the vehicle that launched John Glenn aboard his Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7. Glenn was the first man to orbit the earth on 20 February 1962. The F-1 engine on display really puts the Saturn V into perspective... there were 5 of these engines on the first stage. Note the person next to the sign on the left (in the shade). Click on the pics to see a larger view.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center

Tuesday October 23, 2007 - KENNEDY SPACE CENTER: The VC (Vistor's Center) sure has improved over the years! The last time I was here for the launch of Discovery (STS-29) on March 13, 1989, there wasn't much to see. Now you can spend an entire day here. Here's the Rocket Garden, the Shuttle Launch Experience (awesome simulator!), the Mercury Program Mission Control room, and Explorer - a full scale Shuttle model that you can walk through. You can even walk on the same gantry service arm that the Apollo 11 astronauts walked on before their famous trip to the Moon! Tours of KSC and Cape Canaveral AF Station can be purchased, and I'll cover them in another blog. Good job, NASA!

Go, Baby, GO !!!!

Tuesday October 23, 2007 - 11:38am - KENNEDY SPACE CENTER: Here are my pics of the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery. The lift-off was obscured by the treeline across from the visitor center, but within seconds one can see the most magnificent sight in the world... and then you feel it, and then you hear it! You have to experience this up close! You can see the sequence from launch to SRB separation (approx 2 minutes).

USAF Armament Museum - Eglin AFB

Sunday October 21, 2007 - EGLIN AFB, FL: This is a HUGE AFB! I happened upon the USAF Armament Museum while exiting the area! Unofrtunately the indoor display was closed (Sunday), but the static displays outside were impressive. Lots of aircraft and missles.

I ran into these guys on Pensacola Beach

Saturday October 20, 2007 - PENSACOLA BEACH, FL: While visiting Pensacola Beach, I happened to run into an astronomy club who were holding their monthly public skywatch. They let anyone and everyone view Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the moon. We watched "shooting stars" and even saw a satellite go overhead. The picture of the moon was taken through the eyepiece of one of the telescopes. The man in the last picture is NOT a ghost, but since this was a timed exposure he walked into my camera's field of view toward the end of the exposure... the bright spot in front of his scope is Jupiter... pretty cool! (click on the picture to see a larger view).