Tour of the Shuttle Launch Area

Monday, March 10 was the day of our tour and briefing. We had to be at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) by 9:15am to get our credentials checks and board special buses. Our group boarded the bus devoted to Astronaut Doi's family and friends, which meant the tour was in both English and Japanese.

Jack Martin, retired NASA contractor was our tour guide. He was joined by Naoko Yamazaki, a female Japanese astronaut who I believe is scheduled to go up later this year.

Our bus took us to the shuttle launch area, past the Vertical Assembly Building (VAB), and then to the shuttle launch area, which is 3 miles from the VAB. Jack said it takes five hours to move the shuttle from the VAB to the launch area; the move is done about 30 days before the scheduled launch.

The shuttle launch area is surrounded by a fence. You know the pictures you see of the shuttle on TV? We were very close to where the TV cameras are stationed. During launch, they are obviously unmanned while taking photos and video. We got to leave the bus and take pictures. Mom and I got to spend time with Jack and ask him questions I'm sure he's answered a thousand times before. He says that KSC is in charge of the shuttle until it leaves the ground and when it touches down for landing. Otherwise, mission control in Houston at the Johnson Space Center is in charge. So that's why the astronauts always refer to Houston in the movies and on TV.

We learned about the tremendous heat and sound that the rockets generate at liftoff. Jack said that the sound is more likely to kill you, which is why 400,000 gallons of water are dumped on the ground at liftoff to dampen the noise. The noise dampening also helps to prevent damage to the shuttle and equipment from the sound waves. Makes sense, but I guess I never really thought about how sound waves can bend metal and kill you. Eeek.

Jack is a neat guy. He's a retired contractor, he's been with NASA since the 50s and he has volunteered on nearly every shuttle launch. Mind you, this week's launch was the 123rd launch (STS-123) although not all launched successfully.

Naoko was neat. How cool that we met a female Japanese astronaut!

After the tour, we attended a mission briefing by a female astronaut who has already flown on the shuttle and Naoko. They gave us background information on the astronauts, the mission, the schedule for launch, etc. Astronaut Reisman is staying on the space station, allowing another astronaut currently on the space station to come home. There is usually four astronauts from different countries on the space station at any given time. Just think about it. The space station is being built, piece by piece, by just a few dozen men and women, over vast distances.

After the tour, we lunched at the food court, enjoyed more space dots ice cream, saw a 3D IMAX movie about the space station (this one narrated by Tom Cruise), then headed back to the hotel for some rest.

Unfortunately, CJ was not in the mood to nap, so we headed to dinner at a popular seafood restaurant called Dixie Crossroads. We enjoyed some rock shrimp and lobster. Yum. After dinner, it was back to the hotel for a few hours of rest before heading out to the shuttle launch area around 11pm.