The "NASA Up-Close" tour started at the Visitor Center as we were greeted by our professional tour guide and our bus driver (not the same person). The guide began an easy-to-hear continuous narrative over the bus' PA system.
The first portion of the tour took us around the administrative and engineering areas of the Kennedy Space Center. In this portion the narrative was probably more interesting than the sights, which were mostly standard buildings. There were a few familiar views, such as the place where the astronauts walk from their quarters to the van and the impressive long distance view of the massive Vehicle assembly Building (VAB). We learned a lot about the past and present space program and we were told several times how frugal the space program is in re-using as many parts as possible.
We then drove near the VAB where the size was still hard to comprehend. Since it sits on such a flat section of land, there is no point of reference for its height. When we saw an actual Saturn 5 rocket up close later in the tour, we began to realize how large this building was to hold these rockets. We then drove along the roadway used to move the vehicles from the VAB to the launch pad. Seeing the vehicle used for this task helped us understand what a huge undertaking it is to move a shuttle and its booster rockets.
We drove past the observation platform where the regular tour stops and continued a couple of miles closer to the two launch pads. We stopped at the site of a tracking camera on a sand dune about equidistant from the two pads. We were allowed off the bus to look around. We were impressed by the isolation of this area with the Atlantic Ocean at our backs and the two pads nearby. We then drove close to one of the launch pads as we headed for the shuttle landing runway. The runway was so long that you could actually detect the curvature of the Earth when you looked toward the runway's end.
The bus then dropped us at the Saturn 5 Center, where we were joined by people from the regular tour. This center is fairly new and is a n interesting part of the visit. Included is a re-construction of an actual control room as used on the Apollo missions, complete with a video to re-enact a launch. Inside this building is an actual Saturn 5 rocket that can be seen up close. It is hard to comprehend the force needed to lift this rocket off the ground. Also at this site you can find retired space program participants who are more than happy to answer questions about the program.
We could depart the Saturn Center at out leisure on shuttle busses and return to the Visitor Center. Back a the Visitor Center we went into a suttle craft and expolored several other exhibits. There is also an IMAX theater that we did not attend.
Overall this was an infornmative and interesting visit.