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Author Topic:   Planning a dream U.S. space sites holiday
Max Q
Member

Posts: 399
From: Whyalla South Australia
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 05-29-2016 10:34 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Max Q   Click Here to Email Max Q     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I for a lot of years have been dreaming of a visit to America to see the NASA sites and the Smithsonian. I, like a lot of people, am unsure how my job will go into the future (we are in administration at the moment). I have promised myself that if my employer pulls through I will live my dream and come for a holiday.

I would appreciate any advice you guys can give me. What's worth seeing and realistically how much time should be given to what site I will have about two months and don't plan on wasting money but am not adverse to spending to do this trip right. I look forward to hearing from you all so as I can take on board your advice and plan my dream.

OV-105
Member

Posts: 816
From: Ridgecrest, CA
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 05-29-2016 10:02 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for OV-105   Click Here to Email OV-105     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Since I think it would be easier for you to fly into the USA in California, I would fly into L.A., see Endeavour, then on to Houston to see Space Center Houston and Johnson Space Center then on to Florida to Kennedy Space Center and see Atlantis and everything else that KSC has to offer.

Jurg Bolli
Member

Posts: 977
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 05-29-2016 10:45 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jurg Bolli   Click Here to Email Jurg Bolli     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Do not miss the Saturn V mock-up in Huntsville, Alabama, it is vertical and gives you a great impression of what this rocket was like! Of course they have the Apollo 16 CM and a real Saturn V indoors, on its side, altogether a beautiful museum.

Washington DC has the Apollo 11 CM plus many great planes, and Apollo 12 is a few hours south in Hampton, Virginia.

David Carey
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Posts: 782
From:
Registered: Mar 2009

posted 05-30-2016 11:00 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for David Carey   Click Here to Email David Carey     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If your travels allow some other central-US stops you might consider:

328KF
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Posts: 1234
From:
Registered: Apr 2008

posted 05-30-2016 11:13 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for 328KF   Click Here to Email 328KF     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Since you are coming from so far away and this may be your only chance to do so, I'd offer that the Cosmosphere is a place not to be missed. Apollo 13 is there along with more flown equipment on display than just about anywhere else.

The downside is that there is nothing else to do in Hutchinson! But, make a day of it... you can fly into Wichita and its about an hour drive up.

Also, since KSC is a given, make the most of your time there by doing the tours, depending on availability. Check the launch schedule and see if you can time your visit there for an Atlas or Falcon launch. I lucked out last time I went, and we bought viewing passes to go out on the bus and see a night launch of Atlas.

Adler Planetarium has much of Jim Lovell's collection and the Gemini XII spacecraft. Great town with plenty to do, just too bad his restaurant closed.

stsmithva
Member

Posts: 1933
From: Fairfax, VA, USA
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 05-30-2016 02:14 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for stsmithva   Click Here to Email stsmithva     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
You're coming from close to the antipode of Washington, DC / northern Virginia. That's quite a way, so after you tour the Smithsonian in DC I'll be happy to give you a ride from the Metro station at the end of the Orange line to the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center. And then back to the station, after your tour. That will save you a couple of pretty long cab rides. Shoot me an e-mail as your trip approaches.

OLDIE
Member

Posts: 268
From: Portsmouth, England
Registered: Sep 2004

posted 05-30-2016 05:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for OLDIE     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If you have time, and want to add something a little lighter, visit Disney's EPCOT in Orlando, Florida. They have a very good Space Shuttle simulator ride there (I enjoyed it more than the one at KSC!). There's a lot of Star Wars stuff there as well, if you're into that.

p51
Member

Posts: 1642
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted 05-30-2016 06:33 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for p51   Click Here to Email p51     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Sorry, but Los Angeles to KSC is an insane distance to drive.

I'd say start at the Kansas Cosmosphere, work your way down to Houston, East along I-10, to the museum outside Michoud, north from Mobile, Alabama.

Then, back down to I-10 then to Pensacola (Skylab capsule is there at the National Naval Aviation Museum), to the east coast then south to KSC.

From not too far from Orlando, you can load your car onto Amtrak's 'Auto train' which will take you not too far from DC, where you can see the National Air and Space Museum.

Yeah, that's a very long trip, but there's not nearly as much to see from LA for a very long way once you've seen the Endeavour there. The route I cite will get you to see the Atlantis, Discovery, Pathfinder on the full stack, all three existing Saturn Vs and the Enterprise if you want to drive a few more hours to NYC.

Actually, it's the most practical trip to get the most out of it if the ends of the trip are in Washington DC or New York and the other end at Houston...

SpaceAholic
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Posts: 4437
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 05-30-2016 06:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SpaceAholic   Click Here to Email SpaceAholic     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by p51:
Then, back down to I-10 then to Pensacola (skylab capsule is there at the National Naval Aviation Museum.
Base access may be an issue given your non U.S.

p51
Member

Posts: 1642
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted 05-30-2016 07:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for p51   Click Here to Email p51     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Last time I was there in Pensacola in 2013, the gates were open.

According to this, though, getting there isn't as easy as it used to be.

JSC01
Member

Posts: 84
From: Houston, Texas, USA
Registered: Nov 2011

posted 05-31-2016 09:59 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for JSC01     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Sounds like an amazing tour. Here in Houston you can see the new Shuttle/747 display (not to be missed) and Saturn V... but most unique to here is the JSC tour (mission control, vehicle mockup facility, NBL). Bottom line: be sure to book the behind-the-scenes 'Level 9' tour. The available slots fill up, so schedule it well in advance. For the distance you are traveling, you will want to see 'everything' at JSC and the L9 tour is the best way!

alanh_7
Member

Posts: 1252
From: Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Apr 2008

posted 05-31-2016 11:39 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for alanh_7   Click Here to Email alanh_7     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I am doing something similar this summer.

We are going to be in Florida anyway so I have to make my normal stop at the KSC. Then we are off to Pensacola for a few days to visit the Naval Aviation Museum, then up to Huntsville for a day and then a stop at Dayton for a visit to the USAF Museum before heading home. We had planned a side trip to Houston but we are driving and just do not have the time.

Cozmosis22
Member

Posts: 968
From: Texas * Earth
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 05-31-2016 12:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Cozmosis22     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by alanh_7:
...then a stop at Dayton for a visit to the USAF Museum before heading home.
The Armstrong Air & Space Museum is only about an hour's drive from Dayton up Interstate-75. Worth a quick stopover if you're heading north.

alanh_7
Member

Posts: 1252
From: Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Apr 2008

posted 05-31-2016 05:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for alanh_7   Click Here to Email alanh_7     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Time permitting, and we should be ok, I hope to stop at the Armstrong Museum too.

Max Q
Member

Posts: 399
From: Whyalla South Australia
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 05-31-2016 11:54 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Max Q   Click Here to Email Max Q     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks for the responses guys, really given me something to consider. I hope to see well most of it or at least as much as time allows. Big thank you to Steve (stsmithva), I may just take you up on your kind offer.

sca
New Member

Posts: 5
From: Coralville, IA, USA
Registered: Aug 2013

posted 06-05-2016 04:40 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for sca   Click Here to Email sca     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by 328KF:
Adler Planetarium has much of Jim Lovell's collection and the Gemini XII spacecraft.
In addition, the Apollo 8 and Aurora 7 spacecraft are just a few miles away down Lake Shore Drive at the Museum of Science of Industry.

Stafford Museum
New Member

Posts: 3
From: Weatherford
Registered: Jun 2016

posted 06-27-2016 09:07 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Stafford Museum     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Max Q:
I would appreciate any advice you guys can give me.
It would be an honor to host you at the Stafford Air & Space Museum in Weatherford, OK. Our Smithsonian Affiliate museum houses one of the finest collections of aerospace artifacts in the Midwest, with over an acre of indoor exhibits.

If you are able to make it to our museum on your travels, we would be happy to offer you free admission and a tour of our museum!

We hope you are able to take take your NASA dream vacation very soon. Best wishes on your next adventure!

mikej
Member

Posts: 481
From: Germantown, WI USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 06-27-2016 06:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mikej   Click Here to Email mikej     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I can definitely recommend Stafford Air & Space, especially if you're into propulsion (I just visited two months ago). They have
  • V-2 engine
  • Atlas sustainer engine (LR-105)
  • Set of first stage Titan engines (LR-89)
  • Three different Titan second stage engines (LR-91/YLR-91, including one with its ablative skirt, although one was temporarily off exhibit during my visit)
  • J-2 engine
  • F-1 engine
  • H-1 engine (was not yet on permanent display; still sitting next to the door through which it arrived)
  • Service Propulsion System (SPS) engine
  • Shuttle SRB segment casing
  • Agena engine
  • Several Command Module thrusters
And that doesn't count the engines on the Titan II missile, displayed with the stages separated.

They've got several relatively unusual artifacts, such as a Gemini ejection seat, the Soviet side of an ASTP docking module, an Apollo S-Band antenna, LM rendezvous radar antenna, an Apollo probe and drogue, and a much nicer Gemini AMU than the one at the NMUSAF. They've also got two Apollo and two Gemini suits, as well as ASTP (both American and Soviet) and Skylab in-flight garments.

And I walked right through the aircraft galleries to get to the space stuff (since jet fighters aren't really my thing).

alanh_7
Member

Posts: 1252
From: Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Apr 2008

posted 07-16-2016 03:03 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for alanh_7   Click Here to Email alanh_7     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
We drove down to Orlando from Toronto for my daughter's dance competition and extended the visit on the drive back to include a few stops.

We stopped at the Kennedy Space Center for the umpteenth time but there is always something new. The new Astronaut Hall of Fame is really coming around and seemed to me to be on schedule for completion in November.

I took the bus tour out the Saturn V museum and the tour has been extended beyond what it had been or it seems to me and now the tour includes a drive past both pads 39A and B. I had not been around the pads since the first Astronaut Scholarship Foundation show when Atlantis was on the pad so it was nice to see the work being done.

I also had a chance to visit the exhibit honoring the lost crews of Columbia and Challenger. Tastefully done and a great tribute to the fallen crews.

We decided to drive over the Pensacola for a few days on the beach and stopped by the U.S. Naval Aviation Museum. It is not disappointing. It was raining that day so the Blue Angels were not practicing but it was still a great visit with some beautifully restored aircraft from all eras. The Skylab 2 command module is well displayed and appeared in good condition.

On Wednesday, the morning we were leaving, the Blue Angeles did a "practice fly by" to promote the airshow this weekend. Pensacola is the home base for the Angels. It has been a tough season with the loss Marine Captain Jeff Kuss this past June.

It was good to see the team flying again at the morning fly by over the beach and they have been practicing frequently with the addition of the new team member.

We headed up to Huntsville, Alabama for a visit the Marshall Space Flight Center. I am not allowed in the base because I hold a Canadian passport. But the visitor's center was well worth seeing. The place was near empty when I was there this past Thursday so I was able to wander at will and spent time at the Saturn V museum and taking photos of Casper the Apollo 16 command module. I spent about four hours there and it was a good visit.

From there we headed north and made a brief stop in Bowling Green, Kentucky to visit the Air Park. I had a chance to talk with Gen. Dan Cherry a few years ago. He was the person who told me about the Air Park (he lives in Bowling Green) and that he and his group started that park. The F-4 Phantom he flew to shoot down a MiG-21 in 1972 is on display.

But also NASA T-38 N901NA, as well as an F-111 and F-9f is also on display. Worth a quick visit to be sure.

From there we headed up to Dayton to visit the USAF Museum. I have not been in seven years. It is my favorite aviation museum.

The new Boeing sponsored building is beautifully done. Unlike the other three buildings there is lots of light for photography and the experimental aircraft and rockets are well displayed. The Apollo 15 CM is well displayed. I could spend days in there but had only one day. The new hanger really enhances the collection. Where before you had to drive over Wright Patterson to see the experimental aircraft now the entire collection is all on one location. The shuttle trainer simulator is there but I cannot help but think what a great addition a space shuttle (Enterprise?) would have made to the museum.

All in all a great week with visit to museums I have visited in the past and two I have never been to. A great week.

Mike Dixon
Member

Posts: 1397
From: Kew, Victoria, Australia
Registered: May 2003

posted 07-16-2016 05:47 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Mike Dixon   Click Here to Email Mike Dixon     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Max Q:
I would appreciate any advice you guys can give me.
Plan that trip carefully, especially add on domestic airfares and get up to speed (so to speak) with lefthand drive cars if you're not already. The distances can be enormous, similar to here.

alanh_7
Member

Posts: 1252
From: Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Apr 2008

posted 07-16-2016 07:37 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for alanh_7   Click Here to Email alanh_7     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
We were driving anyway. We were going for my daughter dance competition in Orlando and as we learned from previous experiences traveling with baggage and all my daughters dance stuff, the baggage costs can be astronomical. In any case we had the time.

A round trip drive from Toronto to Orlando is about 1200 miles. We figure with the add on stops it added another 1000 miles to that. Long yes but its a long drive anyway so whats another 100 miles? Besides the airports these days are such a pain, who needs it?

All times are CT (US)

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