July 10, 2025

— NASA's new front-row seat to space history has seats made out of ... space history.

"The Gantry at LC-39," a newly-redesigned observation tower that provides 360-degree views of the space agency's active launch pads in Florida, now has several new opportunities for the public to encounter Apollo-era artifacts, including having a seat on them. After a decade and a half, The Gantry has returned to being a regular stop on the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex's bus tour of the NASA spaceport.

"Take a close look," reads a sign near a group of bar-stool-like chairs located on the upper level of the 60-foot-tall (18 m) attraction. "You will not find these seats anywhere else: they are pistons taken from one of NASA's Crawler-Transporters. Each one weighs about 75 pounds (34 kg) and helped to carry Saturn V rockets, space shuttles, and more!"

The authentic engine parts-turned-posterior perches is just one of the unusual, surprising and exciting ways that the visitor complex has found to integrate what otherwise might be museum pieces at The Gantry.

"Historic artifacts are incorporated throughout the experience," said Therrin Protze, chief operating officer of Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, in an interview with collectSPACE. "With the theme 'Off Earth, For Earth,' The Gantry at LC-39 blends space exploration, Earth science and environmental awareness, incorporating interactive exhibits, gamified learning and awe-inspiring simulations to engage guests of all ages."

The "LC-39" in the attraction's title refers to Launch Complex 39, which includes the two Kennedy Space Center pads from which every moon-bound Apollo mission and every space shuttle lifted off since 1968. LC-39A, located less than a mile (1.5 km) from The Gantry, is now used by SpaceX to launch its commercial rockets. LC-39B, at 2.25 miles (3.6 km) away, is where NASA will launch the next crews back to the moon.

Launches from either pad are too close to safely watch from The Gantry, but the visitor complex will make the site available as a premium viewing location for select rocket missions from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station located across the way.

At all other times, the public can get a much closer look at a rocket engine firing — by stepping underneath its nozzle.

A simulated rocket engine test at The Gantry at LC-39. (Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex)

"At the center of The Gantry, real components of a J-2 rocket engine can be found attached to a custom-built steam sprayer that lets guests experience a test fire simulation, which mimics the full force of an engine," said Protze.

Guided by a NASA engineer and his A.I. assistant, Sōl, The Gantry comes to life every half hour with the test of the "RG-39," a made-up engine built for the display using hardware made to power a real Saturn IB or Saturn V rocket.

Other artifacts can be found in The Gantry's courtyard, including a large metal segment saved from the 2023 demolition of the mobile platform used in the launch of 39 missions between 1967 and 2011, including Apollo 11 with the first astronauts to land on the moon.

"The piece was carefully selected to connect visitors with the real hardware and history of Launch Complex 39," Protze told collectSPACE, adding that, while the most obvious, it is not the only material from Mobile Launch Platform-3 (MLP-3) at The Gantry.

A nearby sculpture by Austin Williams also has a "grip" on the same heritage.

"The talons of the American bald eagle were constructed with metal also taken from MLP-3 and is a reference to the site's location within the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge," said Protze.

Of course, some space artifacts are too large or too heavy to do anything more than be placed on display. That is the case of the two "shoes" or treads on exhibit in the courtyard that once helped move a crawler-transporter, the same large tracked vehicle from which the piston seats were removed. Each tread weighs 2,100 pounds (953 kg).

Other activities at The Gantry at LC-39 include the chance to design and launch your own virtual rocket and the new Earth Information Center, which features a theater show, a hyperwall display and interactive exhibits that show how our planet is changing.

Access to The Gantry at LC-39 is included with admission to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. After the bus tour picks up guests from the loading zone at the main campus of the visitor complex, it travels to The Gantry. From there, once done exploring the tower, guests board a bus to the Apollo/Saturn V Center before returning to where they began.