Hello, everyone! My name’s Daniel, and I’m using my Rosenkrantz Grant to visit the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Merritt Island, Florida! I’ve always been fascinated by NASA and its history, and this summer is the perfect time to visit the KSC, because July 20th marks the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s safe landing on the moon. While the KSC is a great place to learn about NASA’s history, I’m particularly interested in where NASA is heading in the future, and how they communicate their vision to the general public.
I arrived in Orlando, Florida a couple days ago (after multiple delays to my flight). From Orlando, it’s a 40-minute drive to my hotel in Titusville. Then, it’s another 25 minutes to reach the KSC Visitor Complex. Driving into the Complex, the first thing you notice is a giant Space Shuttle rocket peeking out above the buildings.
Like most things at the Visitor Complex, this turned out to just be a replica of the real thing.
Entering the Complex, I had to first pose for my photo to be taken so they could print out my Multiday Admission Pass. Receiving the lanyard and my pass felt very official — I suppose NASA wants each of its visitors to feel like a Guest of Honor. Then, upon walking into the Complex, you’re greeted by the “Rocket Garden,” a set of eight rockets from the 1960s stood on display.
These were, in fact, real rockets, but they were never actually used.
I then spent the rest of that initial visit to the Visitor Complex at the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit, which is one of the newest (and most expensive) additions to the Visitor Complex. Now, before my trip to Florida, I didn’t care much about the Space Shuttle program. All my interest in NASA was related to the Moon landings of the past and the (planned) Mars landings of the future, with the Space Shuttle era seeming like a bit of a waste of time. But that opinion changed when I saw this exhibit. It begins with an introductory video about the Shuttle program, describing the ingenuity that led to designing a spacecraft that launches like a rocket and lands like an airplane. Then, when the video concluded, the screen lifted up to reveal the main exhibit, which has the real Space Shuttle Atlantis hanging from the ceiling.
This thing flew into space on 33 missions, its final one being in 2011.
This big reveal did induce a sense of awe towards the Space Shuttle program, especially because this was one of the few objects at the KSC which is not a replica, but the real deal. I was also stunned by the size of the Atlantis, as I know how much thrust is required to get even a small payload into space. Designing an awe-inducing exhibit was certainly NASA’s intention. The agency is probably well-aware that the Shuttle era is not particularly interesting to most Americans, but if a single exhibit can help to change that belief, that’s a big win for NASA. The agency wants as many people as possible to be interested and enthusiastic about its programs, as this public excitement will pressure the federal government into giving NASA a larger budget. A lack of public enthusiasm was one of the reasons for NASA’s budget decline which forced the agency to retire the Space Shuttle program in 2011.
I spent my second day at the KSC exploring the Visitor Complex, acquainting myself with the various exhibits on display. I began at an exhibit called Journey to Mars: Explorers Wanted. This exhibit was targeted towards grade- and middle-schoolers, and it laid out the basic facts about what a mission to Mars would entail. It did so in a very visual way, with interactive games and full-scale Mars rover replicas, so it was clearly designed to hold the attention of younger kids. In fact, every half hour, a man at the center of the exhibit would give a presentation on the types of jobs that exist at NASA. Each time, this presentation concluded with a cheesy video showing a group of kids coordinating a rocket launch. In a very obvious way, this was meant to demonstrate that children are the future of NASA, and that they are especially needed for the Mars missions planned for the 2030s. However, this does contradict a statistic I saw in a later exhibit, which stated that the average age of the modern NASA astronaut is an elderly 48 years old (versus 39 years old in the 1960s). Despite what it claims, NASA seems to prefer seasoned veterans over fresh youth.
I didn't realize the Curiosity rover was that big.
Yesterday, I also returned to the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit, this time focusing on the bottom floor. What intrigued me the most was a section memorializing those who died in the Challenger and Columbia disasters. I had wondered how NASA would handle discussing these accidents, especially when so much of the Visitor Complex is oriented towards children. The disasters were ignored in the film about the Shuttle program that plays at the beginning of the Atlantis exhibit; this memorial is one of the few instances in the Complex where the accidents are directly addressed. I found the memorial to be a tasteful one. Personal objects of each of the seven Challenger passengers line one side of a hallway, while items from the passengers of the Columbia line the other side. From Ronald McNair’s black belt to Kalpana Chalwa’s bird-watching binoculars, these items allow you to feel a personal connection to each of the fourteen people who gave their lives for the Space Shuttle program. At the end of the hall, you can also see pieces of the wreckage of the Challenger and Columbia shuttles.
A surprisingly eloquent quote from George W. Bush, in response to the 2003 Columbia disaster.
The final main exhibit I explored yesterday was Heroes and Legends. This is actually the first exhibit you see when you walk through the gates to the Visitor Complex. Inside, the exhibit begins with dozens of children and astronauts answering the question “Who is your hero?” While the video shows that there’s no right answer to this question, the exhibit goes on to suggest (through additional videos and exhibit pieces) that astronauts are, objectively, heroes. I think this idea is worthy of debate, but it doesn’t surprise me that NASA would want to make this argument, as portraying astronauts as “heroes” and “legends” is very helpful for the agency to build up its brand. With thousands of people working for NASA, it’s helpful to allow the public to associate specific individual “heroes” (Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin) with the agency itself. These well-known astronauts are, essentially, the mascots of NASA — and any good organization needs an easily-recognizable mascot.
Does standing with these guys make me a hero by association?
Then, today, I ventured out of the Visitor Complex on a bus tour in order to explore more of the Kennedy Space Complex. The tour passed by NASA’s old headquarters (which had very few glass windows, to prevent against Soviet spying) and then its nearby new headquarters (which was almost entirely made of glass). It also took us past the massive Vehicle Assembly Building, which is where rockets are pieced together. It’s a beautiful building, and I got a couple Facebook-worthy photos out in front of it.
It's even bigger than it looks in this photo.
Then, we went to Launchpad 39A, which is where many Apollo missions launched from, including Apollo 11. Surprisingly, it’s now owned and operated by SpaceX, and was completely remodeled recently. To me, this is a big testament to the fact that NASA’s glory days are behind it. As it stands, NASA does not have the capability to launch anything into space. American astronauts are launched on Russian rockets, while American goods are launched by private companies like Boeing and SpaceX. The fact that SpaceX has completely taken over NASA’s most historic launchpad represents the fact that the old era of public spaceflight may be ending, and a new era of private spaceflight is taking over.
I'm hoping to make a YouTube video on NASA's future with some of the footage from my trip.
The tour ended in the Apollo/Saturn V Center, which houses a massive Saturn V rocket. The Saturn V is the biggest type of rocket NASA has ever built (so far), and was used to get humans to the Moon. This center also has interesting exhibits on the Moon landings, including replicas of the Lunar Lander and the Lunar Roving Vehicle. I found it interesting that this building, dedicated to the Moon missions, is separated from the rest of the Visitor Complex by a couple miles, when the Moon landings are what the public is generally most interested in. The layout of the Visitor Complex seems to suggest that NASA is more interested in displaying its recent history (the Space Shuttle program) and its future (the missions to Mars) rather than its distant past.
The Saturn V is too big to photograph, so here's just the back part of it.
I’ve had an awesome trip so far. Over the next few days, I hope to do a closer analysis of a couple specific exhibits in the Visitor Complex. I’ll also interview some of the people who work here about how NASA communicates its mission to an average person. And, if all goes right, I’ll be seeing a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch on the 24th. It was already delayed from the 21st, so send good wishes that it doesn’t get delayed again!
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