Near Cocoa Florida at the Kennedy Space Center, the car came to a stop. I jumped out and ran towards the gate ready for the best day of our vacation. We spent some time outside the gates before the center opened for the day. In the center of the space sat a NASA globe. Behind it there was a memorial to JFK and a fountain. The gates opened, and I rushed towards them ready to explore. We got through the line and started our adventure with the rocket museum. I was often catching up to my family since I got distracted reading about the rockets and their history. I was fascinated by the feats of engineering it took to build the rockets. I wore a calm face but I was bouncing off the walls with excitement in my head.

We left the rocket yard and walked to where the tour buses start their route. When the bus was loaded we rolled off and a short video played on the screens talking about the history of NASA and the Kennedy space center. The tour started when we got close to mission control and the Vehicle assembly building.

“You see the doors at the bottom? Those are eight ft high double wide doors.” the tour guide said.

They were tiny in comparison to the rest of the building it seemed that only ants could crawl through but sure enough after I looked closer I could see the cars for scale, I don’t think it has ever set in how small I was compared to that building. This feat of human engineering is where some of the most expensive and important things on the planet are put together. I wanted to go inside and play or explore. We stopped at the Crawler. A massive platform sitting on top treads over twenty feet tall. The rockets and shuttles rode on this to the launch platforms. Again I felt like an ant compared to this absolutely massive piece of machinery.  We passed by a fuel tank. The bus driver started talking about the fuel the rockets use. He asked what the reaction of the fuel makes. I knew my time had come, The fuel is liquid hydrogen and oxygen. 

“Water” I said with confidence. I don’t remember what the driver said in response but I know I was right. 

We ended the tour at a different building. We entered right into a theater, old computers on the floor their lights flashing, beeping every so often. Once everyone was seated the show began. Mission control came over the speakers announcing the start of the launch sequence. The seats started to shake in response to the engines coming to life. Mission control was buzzing with activity. System checks, Launch details being confirmed. The engineers now alive began to roar. It felt like the building was going to tear itself apart. The countdown began. 

“10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...Liftoff” The Engines were roaring at full blast lifting the Apollo 11 mission towards the moon. The roar was overwhelming I couldn’t hear myself think, but I know what I was thinking “Holy Sh** This is awesome.” We left the theater opposite of where we entered. I was excited from the show ready to explore more, but I don’t think that anything has shut me up quicker than what we saw next.

Hanging above us was the Saturn V. I looked at it and my jaw dropped; my childhood fantasies all flooding back to me. The dream of becoming an astronaut and going to space.

We were on our way to the Shuttle exhibit when we came across a massive granite ball. It was smooth and cool to the touch. Susspended in water. Round and round it went near impossible to stop after we got it going. Dad, Natalie and I walked away with ear to ear grins; our creation an unstoppable force. 

We walked in between the model boosters of the shuttle this building much bigger than its real life counter part. After waiting for what felt like a year in the line, we got into the theater and watched a short presentation on the history of the space shuttle. It ended with a shot of the shuttle in space, the curtain rises and there hanging right in front of us is the first shuttle, Atlantis, just barely out of reach from the railing. I explored the area and found a shuttle cab where I got to play with all of the buttons, they were amazing. We eventually found our way to a shuttle launch simulation. We filed into the cargo bay of a shuttle, strap in and after a brief information speech the simulation begins. The bay tips vertical and begins shaking. After some time we reach space and the bay doors open, we gaze out upon the vast universe above. Even though it was fake I was still fascinated by the prospect of the simulation We exit and walk down to another set of simulations a landing sim and a docking sim both far more challenging than I was expecting. I eventually landed the shuttle and docked on the space station.

We head back to the car all sad to be leaving the space center. I stare out the window at the rockets as they fade away. Since that day I have had a longing to go back to do it all over again and do what we could not the first time. A spark in my mind a renewed want to go to space or work with the aerospace field.