047: The Space Coast Lives up to is Name!

We left Melbourne and headed up to Titusville on February 13^th, with the goal of spending two nights in the Titusville Marina and going to the Kennedy Space Center (“KSC”) on Cape Canaveral.   On the way up I checked to see if there would be any rocket launches and we hit the jackpot:  there would be not one, but two during our stay and one would be a night launch!  

More on that later.

Vehicle assembly building and a launch pad:

After getting all tied up at the dock, we got a visit from a manatee looking for a freshwater handout which someone on the dock obliged despite it being a big "no no:"

The morning of the 14^th I got up early and walked two miles to a Budget rental car place to get a car for our KSC-visit and to pick up some flowers for Nancy for Valentine’s Day.   At 8:30 a.m. we gathered up the crew of KatMat and headed over to the KSC, it did not disappoint. Lots of interactive exhibits and you can take "rides" to Mars and the Moon!

 

This is the bus that shuttled the astronauts to the launch pad, I remember it well from TV:

Atlantis Space Shuttle:

This is a mockup of the Mercury capsule, it was small!

One of the cooler things for me was to see an actual Lunar Excursion Module.  This one is an original but was not used as they cut the program short.  The “LEM” is special to the Kanzler Family as my Uncle Paul (Joe’s dad) was the lead welding engineer on the LEM project*.  In fact, his name is on the moon at this very moment and likely will be on it until the sun explodes.  All the lead engineers on the LEM project (propulsion, avionics, communications, etc. etc.) etched their names on the bottom half of the LEM which served as the top half’s launch pad.   Not many people can say that!

 

Uncle Paul:

Another cool thing was this Pinto Station Wagon, not something you see every day, or ever for that matter.    We talked to the owner who bought the car when he was twenty-one and uses it to cruise the USA.  For you car buffs, the guy put a V8 engine in it so he can pull a small camper trailer:

 

The first rocket launch was scheduled for 5:30 p.m.   We found a great spot to view it in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.   This launch was hard to get a good picture of given the relative lack of contrast with the sky.   But it was our first ever rocket launch, and item long on the “bucket list.”  

Waiting:

On its way:

 

After the first launch we had a Valentine’s dinner at a local Italian restaurant and then went over to Target for some foodstuffs. 

The next launch was scheduled for 1:05 a.m. on the 15^th   (having been delayed a day), and I went to bed and I set my alarm for 12:45 a.m. to catch the launch.   We got this video.  Two launches in less than twelve hours and one a night launch! Awesome!!!

 

Later that morning I returned the rental car and walked back to the marina before the roosters were crowing, then it was back on the water to continue heading north.

A very memorable stop!!

 

Dave

 

Odometer:  2,380

* Now, don't get my Uncle Paul started about the movie Apollo 13, his complaint: "NASA had nothing to do with the vehicle (Command Module and LEM) fixes and modifications.  NASA ran the mission, they didn't know about the vehicles.  It was Grumman (LEM) and North American (CM) that did the problem solving.  In fact the CO2 scrubber fix was done in a conference room next to my office in Bethpage, Long Island.  They made themselves the hero's and made us look like dopes."   The true story: