KSC is located on a the Merrit Island Natioanl Wildlife Refuge. It is made up of a bunch of non-descript buildings that were built in the 60's and 70's. They are spread out over the refuge. Apparently many of the buildings are used to test and prepare highly explosive fuels and chemicals. They intentionally built the buildings far a part in order to prevent damage to all of the equipment and supplies if something went wrong in one building. Because the buildings are so spread out and only authorized vehicles are allowed on the property and no boats are allowed within 3 miles of the coast line the area around KSC quickly became a habitat for 1,500 different species. Including the nearly extinct Manatees. The wildlife refuge was established to help maintain the land and protect the species.
The launch pad from 3 miles out and a good view of what most of the wildlife refuge looks like.
We started off our day by taking a 2 hour bus tour around the wildlife refuge. A guide pointed out all the buildings, told us what they were used for and explained how a shuttle gets to the launch pad and takes off for space. I learned a ton but what struck me the most was the incredible risk that astronauts take by climbing into a shuttle and launching themselves into space. There are enough explosives in a shuttle to create an explosion 3 miles wide. As a result no one, except 2 engineers in highly protective suites and an armored vehicle, are allowed with in 3.5 miles of the shuttle when a launch is scheduled. The steam that is created and the sound vibration that is released kills the vegetation and some animals that are around the launch pad at launch. Having grown up watching shuttles launch and always knowing that space exploration was possible, I guess I took for granted how much energy it takes to propel man beyond earth.
Bill and I in front of the Shuttle assembly building.
To give you some scale...the stars on the painted flag on the building
are 6 feet tall and the stripes are 8 feet wide.
After the bus tour we watched an IMAX 3D movie about the Hubble Telescope. Absolutely amazing! It is hard to put into words the beauty and wonder of the pictures the Hubble has sent back to earth. As I watched the images (like the one below) pass before me it was hard to believe they were real.
A 3 light year tall mountain of dust and gas rising in the Carina Nebula
(Picture copied from the Hubble Website: http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/pr2010013a/)
In the end these pictures left me in awe of God and marveling at his incredible ability to create such beauty and mystery. What a gift to be able to explore the depths of His creation. Who am I to call myself a daughter of His? Only through his grace.
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