This close-up and personal behind the scenes tour is well worth the $62.00 ticket. It is advertised as a 4-hour tour, but ours lasted over five and we wanted it to last longer. The tour is presented only once a day beginning at 11:45, Monday through Friday and is limited to twelve (12) people.
We met our guides at the assigned time and meeting place near the Tram Tour and received our VIP badges. There were 10 guests and two guides that made up our group. We boarded a small NASA Bus and drove from the Space Center through the NASA Security Gates to Building 3, the Astronaut’s Cafeteria, so called because it is adjacent to the Astronauts’ official offices.
We were each give a $4.50 credit ticket and we could choose between the daily special, burgers and fries or the salad bar. Our choice was the special- Southern Fried Chicken, twice baked potatoes and a choice of steamed vegetables. The food was delicious. Unfortunately, there were no astronaut sightings. While at the Astronaut’s Cafeteria, we visited the small gift shop. This is the best place to buy souvenirs because they do not charge any sales tax and the items are slightly cheaper. I don’t know why no tax- maybe its considered an intergalactic site not covered by any earthy domain. Harry had his eye on a NSAS cap and I was taken with the beautiful mission pins that all the employees wear with great pride.
Our next stop was at the Sonny Carter Training Facility’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. The NBL is also known as the world’s largest swimming pool, measuring 102 feet x 102 feet and is 40 feet deep. Through the crystal clear water we could see a mockup of the Orbiter’s Payload Bay and modules of the Space Station. We could see two astronauts working on one of the modules. The objective of this training mission was to close a pass-through hatch. It sounded like a simple task to us, but in this weightless environment and in the full spacesuits, it was difficult. It appeared the astronauts had been working on it for several hours, and could continue until they got the procedures down pat.
Next was Building 32, the Space Training Facility Lab and the Zero Gravity Chamber, where the Martian Landing Unit was tested for its bouncing characteristics. The chamber was depressurized to create an atmosphere similar to that on Mars. This test gave NASA an advance idea on how the Martian Lander would perform the delicate landing. This site was another one of many that simply blew our minds- the shear size dwarfed our stature. We felt so tiny. If you saw the movie "Armageddon", you might recognize this area.
Hanger X houses mock-ups of not only the space shuttle, but also all of the individual modules for the International Space Station. We were able to view them from the catwalk high above, giving us a great vantage point.
Our last stop was Rocket Park, the outdoor display of the Gemini, Mercury and Apollo rockets. It is amazing standing close by these giant masses of metal that once took Americans into space.
The Level 9 Tour was coming to an end. Our heads were filled with so much information and excitement; we could hardly wait for the next day to complete our visit to the Space Center.