We went to
Kennedy Space Center today and went on a tour that went to the
LC-39 Observation Gantry. It's an observation tower where you can see the shuttle launch pads. This tour is closed on launch day.
This is a picture of the
Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) where the space shuttles are lifted vertically to be fitted with the big orange fuel tank, solid rocket boosters, and otherwise readied for launch.
A shuttle engine on the LC-39 Observation Gantry.
A view up the shuttle engine. A launch can be scrubbed up to 3 seconds before lift-off. The shuttle engines fire up 3 seconds before the solid rocket boosters. That's to prevent the shuttle from being launched into space if the engines aren't working properly.
Shuttle Atlantis on the launchpad. You can see the black nose of the shuttle and the orange fuel tank. The wide part of the tower rotates away from the space shuttle for launch.
The platform with the tractors around it is the crawler that takes space shuttles from the tall Vehicle Assembly Building in the background to the launch pad. The crawler travels up to 1 mile per hour with the shuttle vertical and maneuvers the space shuttle into place at the launch pad.
Here is a panorama of the crawler path showing both space shuttle launch pads. I couldn't get both launch pads in one shot, so this is crudely stitched together. Click on any of the photos to see a larger version.
This is another photo of the VAB as we left the tour area. It is the third largest building in the world (by volume) and the largest one story building in the world. One of the stars on the American flag on the side of the VAB is 6 feet across. The blue field in the flag is the size of a regulation basketball court. You can see it from miles away.
Busch Gardens all dressed up for the holidays.
An antelope finds a solitary corner to take a break.
The elephants gather around right before an interactive show. They playfully waved their trunks around as if waving at the people.
Holiday lights at dusk.
We visited the Opryland Hotel to see the sights and walk off some of our Christmas feast from earlier in the day.
The place is huge. There are a series of interconnected gardens inside vast atriums. This scene is on the Delta Island.
Lights and fantasy animals from the upper walkway in the Garden Conservatory.
Near a restaurant on the lower level of the Garden Conservatory. The balconies are at hotel rooms and open walkways.
I think this is on the lower level of the Garden Conservatory. There were a lot of twisted paths going up and down around a pond. The turns in the paths made small, hidden areas where there was seating, statues, leprechaun figures, and exotic plants.
This scene in the Delta area looks like a gazebo near an ice skating rink, but it is really a polished indoor floor. Little M danced around shouting "Watch me ice skate."
An outdoor manger scene set up around a pond.
We travelled north on the Dixie Highway from Florida to Nashville, Tennessee for Christmas.
This is a picture of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) where the space shuttles are lifted vertically to be fitted with the big orange fuel tank, solid rocket boosters, and otherwise readied for launch.
A shuttle engine on the LC-39 Observation Gantry.
A view up the shuttle engine. A launch can be scrubbed up to 3 seconds before lift-off. The shuttle engines fire up 3 seconds before the solid rocket boosters. That's to prevent the shuttle from being launched into space if the engines aren't working properly.
Shuttle Atlantis on the launchpad. You can see the black nose of the shuttle and the orange fuel tank. The wide part of the tower rotates away from the space shuttle for launch.
The platform with the tractors around it is the crawler that takes space shuttles from the tall Vehicle Assembly Building in the background to the launch pad. The crawler travels up to 1 mile per hour with the shuttle vertical and maneuvers the space shuttle into place at the launch pad.
Here is a panorama of the crawler path showing both space shuttle launch pads. I couldn't get both launch pads in one shot, so this is crudely stitched together. Click on any of the photos to see a larger version.
This is another photo of the VAB as we left the tour area. It is the third largest building in the world (by volume) and the largest one story building in the world. One of the stars on the American flag on the side of the VAB is 6 feet across. The blue field in the flag is the size of a regulation basketball court. You can see it from miles away.
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