Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building Up Close Tours End Soon

The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) is a magnificent thing.

You cannot grasp the size of this structure unless you view it up close and personal.   Look closely at the photo above, there is a regular size tour bus parked in front of it right at the center, under that bright white spot.  The VAB stands 525' tall, contains 45,000 tons of steel and the building alone has a 3-acre footprint.  She was built to withstand a hurricane and she did.

 

KSC has been offering up-close tours for a limited time after the closing of the Shuttle program.  KSC will discontinue these tours on February 11, 2014 so they can put the old girl back to work.  As a working spaceflight facility, the VAB will be put to use again for the new SLS launch systems for 2017.

The KSC Up-Close VAB Tour includes a tour of the VAB with an expert guide, a tour in which you can see firsthand where vehicles were assembled for launch.  Extra stops include a panoramic view of all launch pads from the NASA Causeway and the Apollo/Saturn V Center. This tour also includes General Admission to KSC.  The tour is 2 hours and costs $75 per adult, $59 for kids 3-11.  The General Admission includes tons of stuff - enough for two full days of fun at KSC - and includes the Astronaut Hall of Fame and a tour of the retired shuttle Atlantis.

Click Here to Purchase a Ticket for the VAB Up-Close Tour

NASA knows how to give an up-close and personal tour.  I've been given a few as part of their NASA Social program.  Read more here:

NASA Up-Close and Personal with the Mobile Launcher
NASA Up-Close and Personal with the new Swamp Works Research and Development Lab
NASA: Up-Close and Personal for a Rocket Launch
NASA: Up-Close and Personal with Astronaut Ron Garan
NASA: Up-Close and Personal with Astronaut Doug Wheelock with an Emergency on the ISS

The VAB was originally built to vertically assemble the Saturn V rocket.....

NASA 2013 in Review

NASA has posted an excellent video that summarizes what they've accomplished this year.  I consider it a privilege that I was able to be there in person for one of these events.  I'm grateful to NASA not only for their advancements, but also for the way they invite social media users to come behind the scenes at various events.
My review of NASA's Mobile Launcher
My tour at the Grand Opening of NASA's SwampWorks Research Lab
My view of The Atlas V Launch
My other NASA Adventures

Shuttle Atlantis: Meet a Legend

Today's the unveiling of the retired Shuttle Atlantis at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.  I should be there.  I was there during construction of the new Atlantis facility when they had just received the Atlantis and she remained shrink wrapped.  I still ogled.  Shrink wrapped or not, she was magnificent.

Atlantis would not be cleaned up for America, she would be unveiled and on display with all her dings, scratches and smudges.  That would be today.  Today she will be unveiled, the shrink wrap removed and the construction completed.  No hard hats for today's visitors.

(look closely in this photo, you can see Deborah's reflection

Imagine me there next to her.... )

I was invited back for today's grand opening.  I could not afford another trip right now, so I declined.  Many of my fellow space enthusiasts and new friends who were on the hard hat tour with me are down there today, full of excitement, tweeting this and tweeting that.  I sit home, jealous.

The Atlantis Shuttle Exhibit at Kennedy Space Center opens today.  Above is the picture of the exhibit when I saw it, under construction.  Today it is a 90,000 square foot exhibit that shares the story of NASA's 30-year shuttle program.

And I'm sitting home.  Reading the exciting tweets from my space friends who are down there:

"Good Morning tweeps!  It's a great day to meet a legend, isn't it?" - @DeborahHerman

"This is why I backed Grace from Outer Space on kickstarter.  We need stuff for girls, too.  You know that sends a message other than "be pretty." - @KristenFitzpat1

And my fave:  "@VSliker, We will miss you!!" - @KristenFitzpat1

Sadly, I will go about my business today in a town where nobody is interested in the Atlantis or the shuttle program or commercial space flight or an outpost on the moon...... But I'll be checking the tweets all day long!  Send some good pics my way!

Previous Posts:

NASA's Mobile Launcher:  Up close and personal
Atlas V Launch Prep
NASA's New SwampWorks Grand Opening
Emergency on the ISS:  Doug Wheelock
Ron Garan Describes Re-Entry on the Soyuz
Day to Day Life on the ISS

NASA's Mobile Launcher Up Close and Personal

I was one of a handful of social media loudmouths recently given unprecedented access to many of NASA's secret gardens including the massive Mobile Launcher (ML).

The ML was originally designed for the Apollo Program and later used to assemble and transport the Shuttles from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

It basically consists of the lower platform, maybe 25' tall, and the upper umbilical tower, maybe 400' tall.  As NASA restructures following the dissolution of the Shuttle program, the launch pads are one of their most recognizable assets.   They've removed a lot of the structures used specifically for the shuttle, removed a million miles of cable, put up lightning towers and now have a clean launch pad that others can use for a short period of time.  

How do you photograph such a monster?

The goal, according to Jeremy Parsons, a mission operations engineer with NASA's Ground Systems Development, is to

"increase our users and drive down the cost of deep space exploration.  Leveraging the experience of the engineers who worked on the shuttle to be early in the design of the Space Launch Systems (SLS) vehicle, to make it easy to use, reliable, sustainable.  We run simulations to estimate what we need, the time frame, chance of success... change our designs to see how we're doing.  Figure out how we'll process this vehicle and relate that back to the design center.  We work on it in a 3D environment so when the vehicle arrives, we hit the ground running.....

NASA Swamp Works Research and Technology Lab Features RASSOR and OVEN Prototypes

He had me at hello.

You can't see me (I'm hidden behind Tim) but I'm sitting across the table from the guy in the white shirt, NASA Physicist and Planetary Scientist Phil Metzger and I'm totally entranced by his stories of innovative research that will enable long term exploration of space.  That and the stories about stuff he found digging through Apollo leftovers as they cleaned out the building formerly used for Apollo flight training.  By the end of the evening, we were tweeting like old friends.  OK, maybe just 2 or 3 tweets, but still.

NASA's Kennedy Space Center just celebrated the grand opening of its Swamp Works, a Technology and Research Lab in the EDL building (Engineering Development Lab) formerly used in the Apollo days.  The Apollo crew trained here on simulators and also had a boulder garden out back where they would test drive the lunar rover.....

Atlas V Launch Delivers TDRS-K Generation 3 Satellite

Photo: NASA Kennedy/KSC Twitter Feed

Watch a quick video of the Atlas V launch.

I stood on the causeway as a #NASASocial guest of NASA and watched the Atlas V launch Wednesday night.  Bleachers were set up for us, but most of us stood at the water's edge, as close as we could get to the launchpad, which was still far away.  Probably 80% of our group had cameras on tri-pods. I had set my camera aside with intention.  I wanted to be totally in the moment -- just watch the miracle.  I wanted to watch it, feel it, smell it and anything else I could do.

The count-down was thrilling and something I'll never forget.....

Atlas V Rocket Prepares for Launch Tonight

The ULA (@ulalaunch) Atlas V rocket, carrying the TDRS-K satellite, has been rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida and is ready for this evening's scheduled launch.

I know this because . . .

I am standing here looking at it!

Not many people get this close to the launch pad.

And when it launches tonight,

I'll have to back up a bit.

Or get toasted.

Which might be worth it.

I digress.

NASA, in their ever hip, ever cool way has invited 60 of us to spend two days at the Merritt Island Cape Canaveral Kennedy Space Center area, tour their facilities, hear the latest news from various departments, then watch the launch in person.  This is called a NASA Social (@NASASocial).  In your social media, use the hashtag #NASASocial and #NASASocial #TDRS to find out more.

I've been perplexed lately to hear the public outcry over NASA ending the shuttle program.  To me, it has always been a matter of growth......

NASA to Update TDRS This Month, Calls Me In for Backup, Errrr

I heard from an old friend last week..... NASASocial.

{{ Girly Squeal }}

I was selected, with 59 others, to attend the launch of  NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-K (TDRS-K) at the end of January.  We'll also go behind the scenes at Kennedy Space Center, meet and interact with engineers, technicians, and other team members from NASA's Space Communications and Networking (SCaN) group.  Two days of intergalactic bliss, ending with the launch of the satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket after dark on Jan. 29th.

NASA began the TDRS project in 1973 with its first launch in '83.  TDRS (pronounced Teedrus) is a set of geosynchronous relay satellites spread out around the globe which provide around-the-clock communications to NASA's most critical missions in low Earth orbit.  It increases the rate of speed for space-to-ground communications.

Nine TDRS satellites have been launched, seven still function and two have been retired, poor things.  The "fleet is aging," my friend, just like all of us.  It's time to replenish the fleet with a new generation of TDRS satellites.  TDRS-K is the first of three satellites to go up and I get to watch it!  I'm pretty excited about that.

With my love of communications and rabid use of social media, it means a lot to me that I get to be a small part of NASA's "vital information pipeline for space-based research and exploration ambitions."  That sentence alone excites me.  Vital information pipeline.  I so want to be a part of that.

PS.  Note to Bryson.  I'm so, so sorry you can't go this time.  We are not allowed to bring a guest.  Maybe next time! Dude, can you look up "geosynchronous" for me? Thx.

For more information about TDRS, visit http://tdrs.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
More from me: Travel:Outerspace.
My last NASA TweetUp
My first NASA TweetUp

Video explanation of TDRS:

Red Bull Stratos: Mission Accomplished!

He did it!

Felix Baumgartner supported by a team of experts and sponsored by Red Bull jumped 120,000 feet from a stratospheric balloon, a freefall jump at supersonic speed.

Read about the plan here.
About Felix.

Red Bull Stratos Live

NASA TweetUp with Astronaut Ron Garan

"Social media platforms enable us to bring the public along on our missions not just as spectators but as fellow crew members."

- Ron Garan

Fellow crew members?!?  Eyes lit up all around me, big smiles, even some cheers.  NASA Astronaut Ron Garan (@Astro_Ron) was speaking to a select group of NASA's (@NASA) Twitter followers at one of NASA's famous Tweetups.  Referring to us as virtual crew members let us know he "gets it."

NASA "gets" social media. In fact,

NASA masters social media.

" It was nice to send down (via twitter) pictures from space and get your feed back on those pictures."   - Ron Garan

Communicating with the public has always been important to NASA.......

Astronaut Ron Garan Describes Re-Entry on the Soyuz Space Capsule

Others said you'll feel like you're tumbling when you hit the ground.

I thought, "No, I'm pretty sure we ARE tumbling."

- Astronaut Ron Garan

In their ongoing superb use of Social Media, NASA offered another TweetUp at the NASA Headquarters in Washington DC and I was fortunate enough to be invited. Speaking with a crowd of 134 twitter followers, NASA Astronaut Ron Garan (@Astro_Ron) gave this amazing description of his trip home from the ISS aboard the Russian Soyuz:

"There is a big difference between the United States Space Shuttle and the Russian Soyuz.  The shuttle is a massive powerful vehicle you are inside, a very violent ride into space.  The Soyuz, on the other hand, as opposed to riding in it, I felt like I was wearing it.  It's so small, everything is right there, every valve that opens, every pump that turns on -- you feel it.  It is a remarkable spacecraft. 

The launch into space on the Soyuz..... 

NASA TweetUp with Ron Garan

Getting the party started, we are learning how to speak properly into the mic and introducing ourselves.  Having a great time meeting Space Tweeps I've talked to online and never met face to face.  So far?  No mass murderers or stalkers, they are all normal folks.

Watch us live at 2 pm. Feb. 14, 2012  http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

Can't wait for Ron Garan to take the stage, unveil his special treat for us, then tell us all about the ISS.

Check out my Travel:OuterSpace posts for more NASA info, including interviews with thenow-famous @Astro_Wheels who wasn't so famous back when we were growing up in NY.

NASA is Now Hiring Astronaut Recruits

NASA is now hiring.  Well.  By "now," I mean Spring 2013.  They are accepting applications now and will hire between 9 and 15 recruits by Spring 2013.

NASA is looking for astronauts willing to go to Mars and beyond.

"NASA is continuing space exploration programs that will include missions beyond low Earth orbit."

Beyond low Earth orbit?  Because low Earth orbit is so yesterday.....

NASA TweetUp

Click here for my series on Doug's 6-months on the International Space Station.

NASA TweetUp for Dummies

So I'm going to my very first TweetUp and, in true Pookie fashion, it's a doozie.  Not just any old neighborhood tweetup, no, this tweetup is sponsored by NASA and is being held at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.  {insert girly-girl squeal here}

Entry is limited and by invitation request random(?) selection.  OK, I don't really know how entry was granted.  I know thousands wanted to go, only 100 were chosen, one of which was me.  I like to think it's my good looks, but I think my sidekick might have had something to do with it.  See, each person who entered for an invitation could enter to bring a guest and I entered a cute and adorable fourth grader to be my guest.   So my guest, Bryson and I will skip school/work next week and head to Washington.  We are very excited, but feel a little stupid to say we're going to a TweetUp  so we just say we have a meeting at NASA HQ in DC as if we do it every month or something, adding  "Hey, Bryson, don't forget your briefcase" and Did you pack my power-suit?? and stuff like that......

Discovery Space Shuttle: Wheels Stopped

Wheels stopped at 10:58:14 central, 3/9/2011.

27 years in service

365 days in space

Discovery, a lovely, reliant workhorse in NASA's shuttle fleet, has taken her final voyage.

Nose down at 10:57:28 central

Wheels stopped, 10:58:14

It was a beautiful tribute landing, full of sentiment and quotes that will enter history books.

But you know what?

Next quote was

"Crew now checking for leaking hypergolics."

Can't a girl get any privacy??

Let her retire with dignity.

Expedition 24: Life In Space NASA Video

Click here for the series I've written on Doug's trip to the ISS.

Commercial Space Flights

As NASA retires its shuttle fleet, they are reaching out to help develop commercial transportation services to the International Space Station (ISS).  Rapid Transit is a must for growth in any largely populated areas -- Atlanta's got MARTA; NY, MTA; Boston, BTA; Charlotte, CATS, and now NASA has COTS (Commercial Orbital Transportation Services). 
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In December 2010, the first commercial spacecraft of COTS, "The Dragon" returned to the US from a low-Earth orbit where it had traveled over 17,000 mph for about three hours.  SpaceX is the company behind the Dragon and has spent close to $400 million to reach the launch pad first.....

ISS: Expedition 25 Completes Mission

11th in a series on the ISS
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The three final crew members of Expedition 25 returned home on Thanksgiving evening (eastern time zone), landing in south-central Kazakhstan, the Russian countryside, among 10 helicopters, several ATV vehicles and a few Search & Recovery teams which, frankly, made me a little uneasy. Clouds were low, weather was perfect although very cold.
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Immediately upon extraction from the Soyuz, each astronaut was taken to a recliner just a few yards from the Soyuz. Here they were tended to by several doctors -- blood pressure and heart rate checks -- then wrapped in a blankie and allowed to be asked just a few questions before being carried, recliner and all, to the medical tent about 80 yards away. Doug told a NASA Public Affairs Officer the ride was everything he expected and more. He commented on his view of the ISS as they undocked, "Beautiful view, spectacular to see my home in space and what it looks like in full view - almost like a 3D movie."
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After a visit at the medical tent, the crew would be helicoptered out and then the two American Astronauts would be sent back to NASA Houston within a few days. I haven't heard for sure, but I would imagine Doug is back in Houston as I write this. I will be offline for a few days and unable to keep up with what's going on, so I leave you now with what was my final view of Doug before he was carted off in his recliner. This view so perfectly captures Doug's personality. Here he is, minutes after landing back on earth after 5.5 months living in outer space.
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Doug's Bio
Beautiful Pictures from space on Doug's Twitter
My first ISS post.
My second ISS post: Change of Command
My third ISS post. To Infinity & Beyond: A Young Boy's Dream?
My fourth ISS post. ISS: Home Away From Home
My fifth ISS post. One Big Science Lab
My 2nd fifth ISS post. No Vacancy
My sixth ISS post. In Which Doug has a Screw Loose, I mean a Loose Screw
My seventh ISS post. Personal note from Doug about working with the Russians
My eighth ISS post. Doug talks about the emergency on the ISS
My ninth ISS post. Everyday Life on the ISS
My tenth ISS post. Heading Home

Astronauts Don Their Big Boy Pants for Trip Home

Guess what I just learned?! Doug has to put on his Big-Boy pants before he can come home.

10th in series on ISS, (more like a side note)-
OK so they don't call 'em Big Boy Pants, that's my interpretation, and frankly, now that I think about it, I really don't want to know if they do wear Big Boy pants in the Soyuz. During launch and entry they don an "altitude protection system" - helmet, communications cap, "pressure garment" (don't want to know), anti-exposure, anti-gravity suit, gloves, boots, etc. -
-But what I'm talking about, prior to leaving the space station, they don a very special pair of pants. Having been in micro gravity for over 5 months, returning to gravity, as you might expect, will be dramatic. The heart and arteries haven't had to work as hard up there in the ISS so when they return to earth's gravity and attempt to stand up, they will get very light-headed. To pre-empt some of this, the astronauts on the ISS have to put on some pants that simulate the effect of gravity on the cardiovascular system. I think they do this by inflating really tight, keeping the blood in the upper half of the body near the brain; however, technology has improved so much, maybe they work in a different way, I'm not really sure. This might be what they call the G-Suit -- I don't know. There's a lot I don't know, so let's just stick to "Big Boy Pants."
-Here's a look at the returning crew inside the Soyuz - their ride home. The shiny silver dome in front of Fyodor (center) is the hatch. When they land and that hatch opens, they'll get their first breath of fresh air in nearly 6 months. Photos used by permission from Doug's twitter account @Astro_Wheels.
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Expedition 25 will board the Soyuz on Thanksgiving Day, 4:30 eastern time to head back to Russia. The astronauts must be getting very excited and hopefully having a lot of fun in their special pants. Keep the flight in your prayers.
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Doug's Bio
Beautiful Pictures from space on Doug's Twitter
My first ISS post.
My second ISS post: Change of Command
My third ISS post. To Infinity & Beyond: A Young Boy's Dream?
My fourth ISS post. ISS: Home Away From Home
My fifth ISS post. One Big Science Lab
My 2nd fifth ISS post. No Vacancy
My sixth ISS post. In Which Doug has a Screw Loose, I mean a Loose Screw
My seventh ISS post. Personal note from Doug about working with the Russians
My eighth ISS post. Doug talks about the emergency on the ISS
My ninth ISS post. Everyday Life on the ISS