I finally made it to see a Falcon 9 NROL-77 launch and can confirm this is the best and closest…read morelocation to Launch Complex 39A/B (which is too close to allow public viewing during launches) and nearby LC-40 and LC-41. Arrival & Transit Time: From the moment you park at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Visitor Complex, it takes about 1 to 1.5 hours to reach the viewing site. Bus Ride: The bus ride itself is about 15 minutes. Cost: The transfer cost was $88 on top of the daily entrance fee (you might consider an annual pass if planning to return at least one more time). Launch Experience: The narration was very interactive, and the sound was impressive. A major bonus was being able to clearly see the booster landing about 10 miles away at Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2). Departure Time: The way back to the parking lot took a bit longer, almost an hour, since the bus made a couple of stops along the way. I liked it a lot and might return in 48 hours for another potential launch!

The Gantry at LC-39 is the newest attraction and first stop on the bus tour. It's adjacent to…read morelaunch complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral. LC-39 offers 360 degree views around Kennedy Space Center, with several free standing binoculars to see two of the launch pads. If my memory is correct they are launch pads 39 A and 39 B. Through the binocular on the right side of The Gantry you could see a rocket leaning against the side of the launch pad. On the left side you could see the Space X building(I think it was a building)The Gantry is 4 stories high, and is handicap accessible, there is an elevator and a ramp. As we were walking up to The Gantry, you can see a full sized rocket engine under The Gantry, and hear the count down to blast off. When the engine reaches zero the rocket engine starts up loud sound with steam and a mist coming from it. A very impressive photo or video opportunity. Inside The Gantry there are a lot of things to do and see, you can sit on one of the many NASA crawler transporter pistons to make a simulated rocket on the computers that surround the center of The Gantry. What is the crawler transporter?? The crawler-transporter is a huge machine that transports the rockets/shuttles to the different launch pads. It is bigger than a baseball infield, and when it was loaded with a space shuttle it weighs more than 18 million pounds and travels at a speed of one mile per hour. The crawler transporter travels on a specially made crawler way made to support the weight of the crawler transporter. The (according to KSC) river rock surface covers a layer of asphalt and a seven foot-deep bed of crushed stone, and it extends 3.4 miles from the VAB to Launch Pad 39 A and about 4.2 miles to Launch Pad B. There are clean restrooms here, (all of their restroom facilities were super clean and well stocked with supplies)the ladies counting for the buses to load were friendly, and the man running the souvenir shop at LC- 39 was friendly and welcoming. On the side of The Gantry there are stadium type seats to view a rocket launch. The Gantry was very informative and educational and well worth the visit.

Bridges are engineering marvels and I never miss the opportunity to admire their graceful…read morearchitecture, whether I'm driving across one or standing beneath it. During a recent visit to Titusville, I came across the impressive A. Max Brewer Bridge, which spans the Indian River Lagoon and connects the mainland to Merritt Island. Long before today's bridge existed, travelers crossed the lagoon by ferry from Scobie Dock. That changed in 1922 with the opening of the hand cranked wooden Walker Bridge, replacing the ferry service and providing the area's first permanent river crossing. Plans for a stronger concrete bridge were delayed by World War II, leaving a dangerous temporary curve in place. In 1942, an Army transport truck missed the turn, crashed through the wooden bridge supports, and plunged into the river, tragically claiming the lives of six soldiers. The surviving portion of that original infrastructure later became the Veterans Memorial Fishing Pier. A replacement low level steel swing bridge, the Roy Roberts Bridge opened in 1949. In 1983, it was renamed in honor of Albert "Max" Brewer, a prominent local attorney, state representative, and member of the State Road Board who was killed in a plane crash in 1966. After more than six decades of service, the aging swing bridge became increasingly unreliable due to frequent mechanical failures. The current A. Max Brewer Bridge opened on February 5, 2011, replacing the old structure with a modern fixed segmental bridge stretching 3,207 feet and rising 65 feet above the water. Constructed by The Lane Construction Corporation at a cost of approximately $45 million, the bridge was designed to improve traffic flow while providing scenic pedestrian walkways and seamless access to the Veterans Memorial Fishing Pier. Its striking design and functionality earned it the national AASHTO People's Choice Award in 2011-2012. Today, the A. Max Brewer Bridge is more than just functional transportation. It's a beautiful landmark of engineering and history with breathtaking views of the Indian River Lagoon. Get the best view from beneath the bridge at Parrish Park which also offers swimming, boating, and fishing. Whether you're driving across it or stopping to admire its elegant curves, this bridge is a valuable link in Florida's Space Coast.

A spectacular 65 ft tall structure named after a Titusville attorney and constructed in 2010. A…read moregreat spot for cycling and jogging with a dedicated fishing pier. Although it does not open, it is tall enough to allow monster ships to pass underneath to sail up and down the Indian River Lagoon. The bridge permits easy passage from Titusville to Merritt Island.

This is a single stage lock. You can see how locks work close up. There is seating and picnic…read moretables for your use. You can see boats pass thru and many times dolphins go thru also. The best part about this area is the unobstructed view of the Space center launch site. We have watched one from the causeway and Jetty Park and this is the best. I believe this is an unknown site due to its location but it's easy to get to. Take binoculars but you can see without. On the 1/30/18 launch there were probably eight cars in the lot. It's 5.5 miles from the launch pad.

The Christmas Community Center is on State Road 520 just east of the post office. It is not a large…read morebuilding, but Christmas is still a small enough community, so this building fits Christmas, Florida perfectly. I have been to a few things here and while it is nothing fancy by any means, it did fulfill its purpose and still does fulfill its purpose. Christmas, Florida is a small community east of Orlando, Florida. It is still surprisingly rural being so close to a city such as Orlando and with both Orlando growing and Titusville (the city east of Christmas) also growing, Christmas one day might be forced to grow and change. But for now, Christmas is still a wonderfully rural community and this community center fits it perfectly.

Space Shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center is absolutely astounding. So cool to witness…read moreall the marvels of space travel in the past, see all that's being done in the present and into the future. If you have any questions about space travel or ever had any doubts about the legitimacy of NASA or any space related, this marvel of a spectacle is definitely worth a visit if you are planning to come to Orlando! 5 solid stars and two galactic thumbs up!

The last building that we toured was the impressive Space Shuttle Atlantis. Kennedy is the…read morepermanent home of Space Shuttle Atlantis. Atlantis is raised 30 feet off the ground, and is turned 43.21 degrees as if it were in space. There's a full scale external tank and two rocket boosters that are the grand gateway. The huge orange external tank is suspended 23 feet above the ground, and reaches 184 feet in the air. The inside tour tells the entire story of the Space Shuttle Program. There is over 60 exhibits and simulators to experience in the space shuttle center. Two other sights to see is full sized replica of the Hubble Space Telescope, that hangs opposite the open payload bay doors of Space Shuttle Atlantis, with Atlantis' Canada Arm extended(the robotic arm made by Canada). The permanent memorial honors the lives lost during the space shuttle missions, Challenger and Columbia are in the complex with patches along the walls, Challenger on the left and Columbia on the right. We didn't do the space shuttle experience(another trip in the works later this year) on this visit, but some of my younger family members did take the slide down to the next level. Space Shuttle Atlantis also has a souvenir shop located on the way out. I REALLY enjoyed my second time visiting Kennedy Space Center, it was worth the 33 yrs. wait return visit.

The weather outside may not be frightful, but Christmas in Florida can be so delightful. While…read morebalmy breezes and swaying palms may not be everyone's idea of a typical Christmas, Floridians have found some pretty unique ways to celebrate the season. And, for those who just can't do without ice and snow, we have that too... we even have a town named Christmas. Yes, Virginia... there really is a Christmas, Florida. Florida may not see much snow, but the small post office near historical Fort Christmas sees plenty of activity prior to the holidays. People come from miles around to have their Christmas cards postmarked "Christmas, Florida!" If you go, expect to wait in longer-than-usual lines for what has become a holiday tradition for many. Christmas, Florida, is a strip of highway 50, east of Orlando, with an overly large post office and a number of local attempts at the theme. Christmas pennants hang from every telephone pole, there's a Christmas trailer park, a perennial fully decorated evergreen tree, religious grottoes, and a small but ominous locked Christmas Museum, apparently open only by appointment or at special events. There are a few things Christmas is famous for one being the post office but that's another review another is Fort Christmas that's also another review then there's the most famous person coming from Christmas noooooo it's not Santa it's James Wheeler a.k.a. Tex. American Sculptor James Hughlette "Tex" Wheeler's Headstone, located in the Fort Christmas Cemetery in Christmas, Florida. Mr. Wheeler is best known for his sculptures of the famed racehorse Seabiscuit and the jockey who rode him to fame, George Woolf at Santa Anita Park in California as well as a statue of Will Rogers at the Will rogers Memorial in Claremore, Oklahoma. If you ever have the opportunity to stop in you should it like stopping in to see the the world's largest ball of twine or the largest frying pan you know it's gonna be on your bucket list now :-)

This Steamboat Pioneer Memorial sign is posted at the center of the Space Coast Park leading up to…read morethe Gemini Monument at the tip of the brick walkway. The memorial sign provides information of the Steamboat Pioneer that was engulfed in a fire in 1877 where it sank at this location on the Indian River.

This historic sign tells us the tragic tale of the Steamship Pioneer, which burned while anchored…read morehere back in April of 1877. The Steamship Pioneer was the first commercial passenger steamboat on the Indian River and was the flagship of Captain T.J. Lund's Pioneer Steamboat Company, which was formed in the 2870's to transport people. History has always fascinated me and ot is hard to imagine what Titusville must have been like back in those days to the tourists. I am glad I came across this plaque.

Project Gemini was NASA's second human spaceflight program, bridging the gap between Project…read moreMercury and the Apollo Moon landings. Operating from 1961 to 1966, the program completed ten crewed missions that developed and perfected the essential spaceflight techniques needed to send astronauts to the Moon. While Project Mercury proved that a single astronaut could survive and work in space, Gemini expanded those capabilities by flying two astronauts together on each mission. The program's primary objective was to teach astronauts how to maneuver their spacecraft in orbit, rendezvous and dock with another vehicle, conduct spacewalks, and safely return to a precise landing location. Just as importantly, the missions prepared crews to respond to emergencies. One of the most dramatic examples occurred during Gemini VIII, when Neil Armstrong and David Scott successfully recovered their spacecraft after it went into a violent, uncontrolled spin that nearly caused them to lose consciousness. Throughout the program, NASA achieved a remarkable series of milestones. Astronauts completed the first American spacewalks, remained in orbit for up to two weeks, perfected orbital rendezvous and docking with Agena target vehicles, and demonstrated the precision reentry and recovery techniques that would become essential for future lunar missions. These accomplishments, technologies, operational procedures, and astronaut skills ultimately made the Apollo Moon landings possible. The Gemini monument is located in Space View Park as part of the U.S. Space Walk of Fame. Located on a narrow protected strip of land between the Indian River and a nearby condominium complex, it honors the extraordinary achievements of Project Gemini and the astronauts, engineers, technicians, and countless support personnel who made the program a success. Groundbreaking for the monument took place on July 16, 1999, at exactly 9:32 a.m., precisely 30 years after the launch of Apollo 11. Designed by Parker R. Shannon of Atlantic Design Company, with William B. Shapbell serving as lead engineer, the monument features two Roman numeral II shaped granite pedestals displaying the bronze handprints and sculpted likenesses of the sixteen Gemini astronauts who flew the program's ten missions in 1965 and 1966. It was thrill to visit this monument in person and lay my hands over the brass handprints of the astronauts. The Gemini Monument pays tribute to one of NASA's most important but often overlooked chapters. The lessons learned during Project Gemini set the stage for the Apollo Moon landings.

In 1997, this twelve foot tall monument was constructed at the end of Space View Park on the Indian…read moreRiver next to the Harbor Pointe high rise condo. In the park, there is a large bronze placard explaining the Space Walk of Fame Project Gemini. The stainless steel structure is dedicated to the astronauts on the NASA Gemini project. The monument is only a walkable landmark since close parking is extremely limited.