posted 01-11-2020 07:39 PM               

Cape Canaveral's Rise To Space Tour

A Tour For Space History Enthusiasts

In this all new Special Interest Tour, access restricted and historic areas of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and learn about the United States Air Force and America's early space program. During this tour, see historic launch sites, tour the Sands Space History Center, visit the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse and explore Hangar C with a space expert as your guide. In this tour that may run up to 4.5 hours, space enthusiasts will visit the following by Kennedy Space Center buses:

• Travel to the Sands Space History Center for a docent-led tour.

• Tour through Hangar C with a space expert guide to answer your questions. Hangar C is the first permanent and oldest surviving structure at the Cape built and used for missile assembly. Inside, see artifacts like:
  • Atlas, America's first intercontinental ballistic missile
    
  • The only known Firebird missile still in existence
    
  • Early space artifacts like Gemini and Apollo "boiler plates," used during simulations for training
  
  
• Visit the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse where docents are available to answer questions.

• Stop at Pad 14 Blockhouse to take photos and see inside.

• Drive by Pad 34, the historic site of Apollo 1.

Please note that this tour may be customized as stops will vary based on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station operational requirements.

The tour concludes by returning to the visitor complex. Explore on your own for the remainder of the day. Please note that unlike other Special Interest Tours, this tour does not visit the Apollo/Saturn V Center. We recommend you purchase a multiday ticket or annual pass in order to explore all attractions and shows during return visits.

• This tour is only available on Tuesdays. Daily admission to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is NOT included with this tour, but is required.
  
• You must purchase your ticket in advance by Thursday at 11:59 PM prior to your tour on the following Tuesday.
  
• Guests must be 14 years old or older to take the tour.
  
• Closed toe shoes are required.
  
• Due to the length of Cape Canaveral's Rise to Space, a snack and water will be provided. Guests are encouraged to eat prior to the start of the tour.
  
• Tour availability and routes may be altered at any time with or without any notice due to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station operational requirements.

Due to restricted access at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, each visitor on this tour must register with visitor complex security officers between 9 am and 10:00 am on the day of the tour. Register at the Information center located at the main entrance. For American citizens, a U.S. government-issued driver's license, passport, military ID or U.S. state ID card is required for tour participants age 18 and over. International adult and child participants must present a valid passport to participate.

posted 01-28-2020 06:16 PM               

Hangar C contains many of the items that used to be in the Air Force Space museum rocket garden. They are all spruced up as is Hangar C. The Cape lighthouse was interesting as well.

For me the highlight was visiting Pad 14 and going into the blockhouse. And for the record, the periscopes still work.

Something not advertised regarding the tour is you get a chance to see what is going at Cape Canaveral. For folks that have not been to the Cape in a while, it is starting to resemble what the Cape must have been like in the late 1950s. Blue Origin has taken over Complex 36 and Complex 1. Their launch pad at 36 is taking shape and their huge staging building is under construction. SpaceX has Complex 13 for landing boosters. We could see the SpaceX Falcon on Pad 40 and a Delta launch vehicle being readied on Pad 37. Several other smaller companies are beginning to reuse complexes on ICBM row.