NASA

Tracy and I had the incredible opportunity to tour NASA while we were visiting her aunt and uncle in Florida last week.  Her uncle works at NASA and was kind enough to get us tickets for the afternoon; just another reason why I love them so much!

NASA is located about 10 miles away from where we were staying in Titusville.  In fact the launch pad is visible across the river where hundreds of locals line the banks to watch the space launches.  We arrived at the Space Center just in time to meet Wendy Lawrence, an astronaut sharing her experiences from different missions in space.  We then toured the Rocket Garden and had some fun climbing into the pods placed throughout the grounds.  In the early stages of space exploration, two men orbited space in this pod for 14 days with absolutely no leg room.  I'm pretty sure I'd go crazy with claustrophobia!

(MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

After the Rocket Garden we watched a 3-d IMAX film narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio about the Hubble Telescope.  I have to admit the movie was quite soothing and I may have drifted off a bit for a minute or two.  After the movie we walked along the grounds to the Astronaut Memorial and then toured the Explorer, a retired space ship.

My favorite part of the afternoon was the Shuttle Launch Simulator.  It's a ride that simulates what an actual launch would feel like.  It was an incredible feeling being smashed to the back of your seat and feeling the skin on your face being forced back by rising gravity and pressure.  I may have shed a tear or two in the process.  After the simulation, we caught a tour bus out to one of the original launch pads where we were able to tour some amazing exhibits from the past missions to space.

Overall it turned out to be an amazing experience.  I am continually baffled by the concept of space and other planets, so I am amazed at the knowledge these scientists share.  If you have the opportunity to spend sometime at NASA it is well worth it!