Kennedy Space Center tourist attraction in planning stages
An undisclosed major tourist attraction is in the works at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, permitting records show.
Officials at the KSC Visitor Complex declined to divulge details, saying announcements will occur in the near future. But a NASA draft environmental assessment reveals the mystery attraction will occupy 4.1 acres and reach up to nine stories tall just south of the space shuttle Atlantis building.
And buried on Page 22 of NASA’s 44-page assessment lies a key projection: The future attraction is predicted to increase annual attendance by 10%.
“The purpose of the new (“Next Big Thing”) experience would be to attract additional visitors and immerse them in a uniquely themed interactive environment of NASA’s historic past and future,” the assessment said.
“The NBT would transform the KSC VC to a ‘must see’ attraction for guests who might interpret the complex as a museum instead of the space experience the VC is striving to provide. The NBT would provide an additional experience to the complex to educate visitors about the NASA story while creating an environment where they can experience/feel space,” the assessment said.
Delaware North has managed the KSC Visitor Complex off NASA Parkway on Merritt Island since 1995. In December, NASA officials released the draft environmental assessment for Delaware North’s plan to construct the unidentified attraction.
Here’s what we know, according to the assessment:
The attraction would replace the aging administrative building complex, a set of structures located just east of the tour bus loop and south of Atlantis.
This 28,000-square-foot complex includes an office building, a retail warehouse and two trailers.
Construction of a new administrative office complex may start in spring or summer within 1.1 acres of the Parking Lot 2 footprint. Measuring up to 50,000 square feet, the complex would feature employee offices, restrooms, break areas and utility and storage areas. Work may wrap up within 12 months.
Crews would demolish today’s administrative building complex in early 2026. Afterward, construction of the new attraction would wrap up within 24 months.
“We are in the process of filing all the necessary paperwork and documents to prepare for some additions. As a leading destination attraction, we are always looking for ways to enhance the guest experience at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex,” Howard Schwartz, vice president of guest engagement and operations, said in a statement.
“We look forward to sharing details about this exciting news in the near future,” Schwartz said.
In 2021, nearly 960,000 people visited the 70-acre KSC Visitor Complex. During the 2021 fiscal year, the visitor complex generated an estimated economic output of about $148.3 million, supporting about 1,390 jobs and $79.3 million in total income, the assessment said.
In October, the visitor complex unveiled the new Kennedy Entry Experience — a 3,000-square-foot LED video display stretching 90 feet long — at the entrance plaza. Then in December, Blue
Origin showed off a new immersive, virtual-reality-equipped New Shepard replica capsule inside the “Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex” building.
“Founded in (the) 1960s to build on the support and goodwill of the public with the Mercury program, KSC VC has grown to encompass a launch-viewing area, virtual space exploration experiences, an IMAX theatre, eateries, retail, and objects of significance on display, like the rocket garden,” the assessment said.
“With the increase in launches to space with commercial space entities comes an increase in visitors to the KSC VC. As the space industry continues to grow, expand, and evolve, the KSC VC would grow as well,” the assessment said.
Record-breaking 72 orbital launches last year
The Space Coast hosted a recordbreaking 72 orbital launches last year, and the cadence is speeding up. Fifteen rockets have already lifted off thus far this year, with SpaceX targeting a Sunday
night launch window for its next Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
From an environmental perspective, NASA’s draft assessment determined impacts from the future tourist attraction will be “none, negligible, or minor.” The attraction will be built atop a previously developed impervious area, and a stormwater management system already exists.
In a different expansion project, visitor complex officials also plan to build a new 22,500-square-foot metal retail warehouse with parking, utilities and stormwater management immediately east of the administrative building complex.
Today’s corroding retail warehouse dates to 1983, does not meet building code standards, and is approaching the end of its useable life, a NASA environmental assessment said.
Invasive Brazilian pepper trees occupy 2.4 acres of the future 3.2-acre warehouse site, which is a former orange grove drained by earthen drainage canals dating to the 1940s. The citrus grove originally operated just southwest of the former Merritt Island town of Orsino
before America entered the Space Race.
Looking ahead, Delaware North is preparing an ambitious 15-year development plan for the KSC Visitor Complex.
“A new education center is also expected to be constructed in the next 5 years. A new launch-viewing area, parking areas, and regional stormwater treatment and natural areas are expected to occur in the next 6 to 10 years,” the “Next Big Thing” assessment said.
“The new attractions proposed for (Parking) Lots 3 and 4 and a hotel or conference center would occur in the next 11 to 15 years. Although how these proposed future projects would increase personnel or visitor counts is not known, changes in both would be reasonably expected to occur,” the assessment said.
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Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at 321242-3638 or Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1.