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I called this post “Day 2″ but it was in fact our first full day in Florida. At the time of booking the holiday this day was the scheduled launch date for Space Shuttle Endeavour, however the launch was delayed to the 29th just a few days after I hit the “Pay Now” button!

We took the 52 mile drive out to the space center early to get there for opening. After picking up and paying for our tickets we made our way to the bus pickup. The tour was very interesting and we got to see plenty of the space center including the huge vehicle assembly building, the shuttle landing strip, launch pads LC-39A and B, the crawler and the Saturn V display.

Our first stop was at the Causeway where we could see a panoramic view of the various launch pads as well as the Vehicle Assembly Building.

The tour stop at the causeway:

The VAB as seen from the causeway:

You can just about make out the space shuttle from the causeway:

The tour then moved on past the crawler and the crawlerway. I remember the last time we did the tour a long time ago we stopped at the crawler and got a good look at it but this time we just passed it in the bus.

The crawlerway leading out to the launch pads with fresh tracks. During the tour we saw NASA staff using the crawlerway to go jogging. I can’t think of a better place to get a workout.

The crawlerway leading the other direction back to the VAB:

On the way to Launch Pad 39A to see the space shuttle we passed the deconstructed pad 39B. NASA last used the pad in 2009 to launch Ares-I-X. The last space shuttle was launched from this pad in 2006. The crawlerway out to this pad looked a lot shabbier than that of the active pad, with weeds growing through the small rocks.

We then stopped at the closest allowed location for viewing the shuttle on the launchpad. I was happy to get this far as the tour guide had informed us that security had stopped the previous days tour from getting this close.

We had 15 minutes to take it in and take pictures before we moved on.

This is launchpad LC-39A and the Space Shuttle:

We then moved on to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The VAB is the forth largest building in the world. Each of the stars on the flag measure 6ft across and each of the stripes are 9ft wide. A very awe inspiring sight!

The tour then moved onto the Shuttle Landing Facility. We did not really get a good view of the runway but stopped for a few minutes before turning around and moving on to the Saturn V exhibit.

The control tower at the Shuttle Landing Facility:

On the way to the Saturn V exhibit we passed a nesting Golden Eagle. The nest is over 6ft wide and weighs over 700lb’s. It was tricky to get a photo through the window of the moving bus:

The last stage of the tour was the Saturn V exhibit. We spent a long time looking at the huge Saturn V rocket.

After looking at the Saturn V we had lunch outside overlooking the VAB and launch pads.

Here are some final images from our day at The Kennedy Space Center.

The Apollo 14 command module:

Rocket Park:

A painting of the International Space Station:

And that concludes a great day at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida!