Ace of space
Watch this space as Florida’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex prepares to boldly go forward with a stratospheric selection of cosmic experiences and out-of-this-world events.
Experience the thrill of a live launch
Hot on the heels of a record-setting year for rocket launches – more than 50 in 2022 – it looks set to be another monumental year of blast-offs with more than 80 scheduled at the neighbouring space port, from companies including Spacex, Boeing and United Launch Alliance (ULA). Visitors can arrange their trip to coincide with the bucket-list experience of seeing and feeling the force of a rocket lift-off. Special viewing packages, meals and live commentary from a space expert will be available for many of the launches, along with commemorative gifts.
Epic experiments
Created to give younger space enthusiasts the chance to be wowed by science, technology, engineering, arts and maths through fun experiments, the centre’s new S.T.E.A.M. Team will be putting on three daily shows of their mind-boggling new production It’s A Matter Of Fact at the newly transformed Universe Theater.
Space travel with Snoopy and Woodstock
Spring will see the launch of All Systems Are Go, an immersive experience featuring beloved Peanuts characters Snoopy, Woodstock, Charlie and Sally Brown, Linus, Lucy, Franklin and Schroeder. In the new daily live show, the cartoon personalities, operated by puppeteers, will tell the story of NASA, the Artemis missions and future plans for space exploration.
Come fly with me
Back for 2023, Fly With An Astronaut is an exclusive tour of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and NASA’S Kennedy Space Center with a veteran NASA astronaut. Guests will hear first-hand from a space explorer as they tour iconic sites, with stops including crew quarters, a launch pad, the Vehicle Assembly Building and Space Shuttle Atlantis. The five-hour package, limited to 43 participants, includes lunch, a presentation and Q&A with the astronaut ($206 adults,
$181 children).
Simulated space journeys
Still new on the space scene is Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex, which opened to visitors last summer. Surround yourself with real-life, flightflown artefacts and full-scale models, and experience simulated space journeys at Spaceport KSC, climbing aboard “spaceships” to set off on one of four adventures: Cosmic Wonders, Daring Explorers, Red Planet and Uncharted Worlds.
Space Shuttle Atlantis anniversary
In June the centre will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction, which takes visitors on a journey that mirrors the iconic orbiter’s time in space and return to Earth. Just 45 minutes from Orlando, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex opens daily at 9am (single-day admission $75 adult, $65 child, including new attractions and shows, kennedyspace center.com).