Get Out: Space Exploration in the South
Wasn’t nearly everyone’s dream to become an astronaut when they grew up? What is it about space that captures our interest? Perhaps it’s the thrill of unknown or the discovery of something new. Whatever it may be, those dreams seem to rekindle themselves (at leas for me) during shuttle take-offs.
Now, you may never be called up to go on a mission, but there are some places in the South where you can come awfully close to experiencing what it feels like.
At Space Center Houston, the NASA tram tour takes you behind-the-scenes to such places as the historic Mission Control Center or the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility. Ever wonder how astronauts shower while in space? Well, wonder no more because at the Feel of Space exhibit, you’ll find this out and a lot more as further learn about life onboard the shuttle.
Opening in 2009 is INFINITY at NASA Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Miss., near the Mississippi/Louisiana border. The center will feature a number of learning areas including an Earth Gallery and a Space Gallery. You can even participate in a mission training for a day.
For those who aren’t familiar with the John C. Stennis Space Center, it is home to the nation’s largest rocket engine test complex. They are responsible for testing all of the space shuttle main engine. Much like any thing in the South, it has a unique history worth reading about. At StenniSphere, the official welcome center, you can test a main engine or try your hand at landing the shuttle.
In U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., you can see Saturn V rocket at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration, which opened in January of this year. Be sure to make it over to the Apollo Cockpit Trainer, a simulator that allows you to experience an Apollo mission.
The Kennedy Space Center on Florida’s Space Coast is filled with all types of exhibits and experiences 
for armchair astronauts. Perhaps the ultimate (that is, to see if you really could handle it), is the Shuttle Launch Experience. Only at Kennedy will you find the Astronaut Experience, which is your opportunity to meet, in person, a real astronaut.
Photo credits: (top left) Space Center Houston’s Main Hall, flickr, creative common blacque_jacques; (mid-lower right) Saturn V, flickr, creative commons by Robert Goodwin; (lower left) Kennedy Space Center Rocket Garden, flickr, creative commons by acaben; (lower right) Kennedy Space Center, flickr, creative commons by stig nygaard
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POSTED IN: Get Out, Space, Space Shuttle, Things to See in Alabama, Things to See in Florida, Things to See in Mississippi, Things to See in Texas, Things to See in the South, Weekend Trip, attractions, road trip
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