Space Shuttle Atlantis — Attraction in Cape Canaveral

The last building that we toured was the impressive Space Shuttle Atlantis. Kennedy is the permanent home of Space Shuttle Atlantis. Atlantis is raised 30 feet off the ground, and is turned 43.21 degrees as if it were in space. There’s a full scale external tank and two rocket boosters that are the grand gateway. The huge orange external tank is suspended 23 feet above the ground, and reaches 184 feet in the air. The inside tour tells the entire story of the Space Shuttle Program. There is over 60 exhibits and simulators to experience in the space shuttle center. Two other sights to see is full sized replica of the Hubble Space Telescope, that hangs opposite the open payload bay doors of Space Shuttle Atlantis, with Atlantis’ Canada Arm extended(the robotic arm made by Canada). The permanent memorial honors the lives lost during the space shuttle missions, Challenger and Columbia are in the complex with patches along the walls, Challenger on the left and Columbia on the right. We didn’t do the space shuttle experience(another trip in the works later this year) on this visit, but some of my younger family members did take the slide down to the next level. Space Shuttle Atlantis also has a souvenir shop located on the way out. I REALLY enjoyed my second time visiting Kennedy Space Center, it was worth the 33 yrs. wait...

Great experience at the Kennedy Space Center! This is located at the northeast corner of the Kennedy Space Visitor complex. It is just north of the bus drop-off and east of the outdoor memorial. It is hard to miss since it has the Space shuttle External tank and solid rocket boosters standing outside the front of it. This building has many exciting features for visitors to see. It has an introductory movie experience, a real space shuttle, interactive experiences, a slide for kids, a shuttle simulator, a memorial, and a gift shop. The visuals throughout the building are very well done. The introductory preshow that explains how the shuttle idea started is very well done and explains the challenges that the idea went through to become a reality. It leads to a novel viewing experience that leads out into the large bay where the real shuttle is displayed with bay doors open and robotic arm outstretched. We took the guided tour that was available and Bart did a wonderful job of explaining details about the shuttle program and the shuttle. We chose to pay our respects in the memorial to the Columbia and Challenger Shuttle astronauts that are located on the bottom floor next to the exit. Overall, this is a must-see at the Space...

2025 Update: Finally visited the Challenger/Columbia memorial area. Very somber experience. It’s important we remember those we lost and why we lost them.

I was absolutely blown away by this experience. The introduction movie just about made me cry, despite how cheesy parts of it were. There is so much to see here, so many great memories from watching years of those shuttles launching. Seeing Atlantis up close like this...that thing was huge! And it truly was a marvel of engineering.

I’m honored to be an American when I think of what we have accomplished at NASA. I hope we continue our leadership in space exploration and eventually return to the moon.

I couldn’t bring myself to visit the Challenger memorial, but maybe next time. Speaking of which, there is no way you can see everything at Kennedy Space Center in one day, so plan for two days, and avoid going when in the Summer when it’s hot and miserable outside. Also, expect quite a crowd and long lines to get to Atlantis.

This is a very kid friendly exhibit. The children looked like they were...