fao Apache and "space people"

[dieselboy]

hi! ive come on here to ask you a question:
well, this summer, we are going to be in orlando for a week. we were originally only going there to watch the nascar at daytona. but ive just realised the space centre isnt too far away. i probably wont get another chance to be within that distance for a long time so i really would like to go. Apache, i think you have been havnt you? whats the best way to get there? should i rent a car for a day? is it a whole day thing? is it entertaining for adults as well as kids?
we land on tuesday june 30, and leave on monday july 6 to go to another part of usa

[Hi-sider]

The Space Centre is well worth a visit. We went about 5 years ago and really enjoyed it, even my wife who previously wasn't interested in science and space travel. The Saturn 5 rocket is very impressive to say the least.There are all the exhibits, displays, Imax theatre and loads more. We also saw a shuttle being taken back to the hanger for repairs.
If you are in Orlando they do trips to it or if you hire a car it very easy to find.
We were last in Florida in October 2007 and saw a rocket launch was going up on the television and we went outside and could see it from our villa in Orlando and then later in the week drove to Cocoa Beach and watched a shuttle launch. Fantastic it was. Have a good trip.
One thing about the Space Centre I think we saw more alligators while we were there going round on the Centre coach than anywhere else all week.

[dieselboy]

thanks for the tips! looking forward to it so much now

i hope there is a launch whilst im there. i looked on their website and the shuttle has just landed on the 28th.
orlando is expensive for hotels.. whats the bar's like? my mate reckons there is a beach party on independance day at Daytona.

[Apache]

The place is incredible! Just the scale of, well, pretty much everything, is unbelievable.

Endeavor was on the pad when we were there, and what a sight that is. The size of the structure at the pad, the size of the central fuel tank, the history. Just standing where the heroes of the modern age have stood was akin to a religious experience for me.

If you can be there when there is a launch, so much the better. I couldn't, and really wish I could have.

The 'launch simulation' in the old mission control is spine tingling, and then you walk from there out of a door and find yourself under the business end of the Saturn 5 which just takes your breath away.

Yes, Orlando is expensive for hotels, but you dont want to stay there. Stay at Cocoa Beach (we stayed at an old motel which was given to the Mercury Seven), and hang out in some of the bars where the Mercury and Gemini guys hung out in their Corvettes. We ate in a Mexican where every wall was covered in signed photos of people like Al Shepherd, Neil Armstrong, Gus Grissom, Gene Krantz etc. The owner even opened the bar at the back for us to have a nosey round. A place steeped in history that was made during my lifetime. Cocoa Beach is obviously a place past its best, but for those in the know, it's the ONLY place to stay!

What can I say? GO!!!! Do the bus tours, do everything, but a day isn't enough.

Funny story about alligators. We got to Cocoa Beach about 6pm. We decided that we were gonna drive to Canaveral and just have a mooch from a distance in the dark. We got to the centre, where there is a mock up shuttle parked up and floodlit, and I got out and walked along the grass verge (in the dark) to get a photo, noticing a drainage ditch a few feet to my right....

Next day, on the tour bus, we drove past said ditch, and the coach driver stopped and pointed out what he said was one of the largest 'resident crocs' in the area.

[Phantom]

Ooh got me all excited now I fly to Orlando may 15th for 2 weeks might have to go there now sounds awsome.

[Apache]

Ooh got me all excited now I fly to Orlando may 15th for 2 weeks might have to go there now sounds awsome.

Yeah, sack off all the plastic Mickey Mouses, and go see something REAL!

[Phantom]

Yeah, sack off all the plastic Mickey Mouses, and go see something REAL!

Going with my wife,son and his wife he has Blizzard beach, Bush gardens, Universal studios, discovery cove, Wet and wild and Daytona beach planned already but I'm sure he would love the space centre also.
I only want a fake supercharger for my truck not too much to ask for is it?

[Apache]

Some pics :-

Night time by the big croc!

[Phantom]

Whoa that looks mental. Even more excited now.

[Apache]

If you need a bag carrier I'm happy to return

[Phantom]

If you need a bag carrier I'm happy to return

Wifey says you can have her seat she hates flying. Hang on so do I

[mark g8awo]

Having watched a launch its worth every second of the viewing.....

You can get free tickets to sit along the banks of the Banana river from NASA themselves or you can order the by email i think.. This gives you a good view of the pad. At the time i had a 18month monster with me so it was not practical to do the river, so instead we chose to drive out along the 172 from Kissime and when we got to the banana river we turned towards Coco beach and found a car park near to Kennedy and spent the day on the beach without all the crowds. Also worth noting if you take a scanner with you and tune around 145-146Mhz you can listen to a local ham repeater where they rebroadcast nasa audio so you can find out all of interesting information about the mission and shuttle.

[Apache]

Wifey says you can have her seat she hates flying. Hang on so do I

Thats two seats for me then

I did so much flying over 8 or 9 years in my last job I became quite fatalistic about it. You cant 'enjoy' a long haul flight, despite what the cabin crew say, but you can survive it. If I had to fly 'cattle class' I used to try to get a seat where I could watch all the mechanical stuff going on, you know, flaps, ailerons, spoilers, reverse thrust buckets etc. I found after a while that I could ONLY get to sleep if there was significant turbulence to rock / buffet me to sleep

[Apache]

Having watched a launch its worth every second of the viewing......

Hey stranger!

I have a growing collection of radios now Quite addictive this lark eh? No wish to Tx as yet, but there's plenty to do as far as Rx goes. Got into decoding ACARS and POCSAG etc now, and antenna design - which helps at work. Trying to come up with a reliable way of generating 200V/m plus at <30MHz in a 6m2 anechoic room. NOT a small undertaking! We can easily get 3000V/m plus (along with occasional smoke / sparks) above 2.5GHz or so, but those low freq's demand antennas that barely fit the room!

[Phantom]

Thats two seats for me then

I did so much flying over 8 or 9 years in my last job I became quite fatalistic about it. You cant 'enjoy' a long haul flight, despite what the cabin crew say, but you can survive it. If I had to fly 'cattle class' I used to try to get a seat where I could watch all the mechanical stuff going on, you know, flaps, ailerons, spoilers, reverse thrust buckets etc. I found after a while that I could ONLY get to sleep if there was significant turbulence to rock / buffet me to sleep

I can just about cope with flying to Lapland cattle class. Given the choice of flying long haul cattle class I would'nt go. I just cant do it it would spoil my holiday Last time I flew premium economy to Vegas this time I fly upper class with Virgin. So if I can't cope with a 6'6" bed then I'm never flying again.