Visiting Kennedy SPACE CENTER

That brings us to our final stop on the tour, the International Space Station Center. The ISS gives you a unique inside look at the largest space program since Apollo. Nations representing every continent are joining together to construct the station that will weigh almost one million pounds and cover nearly two football fields.

The ISS Center provides an unmatched, up-close look inside the actual facility where NASA is processing ISS components. Highlights of this interactive tour also include a video briefing by Shuttle astronaut Bob Cabana, commander of the first United States ISS assembly flight; and replicas of a habitation unit; a Laboratory module; and the MultiPurpose Logistics Module. You can walk through the actual size of simulated modules that will be used and are part of the ISS. It will require some 42 missions in order to complete the ISS (completed in 2004). My recommendation for photographing is to use a monopod or tripod, 400 or 800 negative film, a polarizer for glass glare, and a flash.

Buses then take us back to the Visitors Center at Kennedy Space Center. Tour two (Cape Canaveral Air Station) usually leaves around 1:00 to 1:20 P.M. As we pass across the NASA Parkway East (left side of bus), you see Launch Complex 41 used for Titan and Titancentaur launch rockets, and Launch Complex 40 used for Titan III and Titan IV launch rockets.

One of NASA's most visible facilities at Cape Canaveral is Hangar AF (right side of bus). Kennedy Space Center's two solid rocket booster recovery ships are stationed there. For every shuttle launch the two ships steam out to sea to recover the spent booster rockets and tow them back to Hangar AF.

There, the 149-foot long motors are inspected, cleaned, disassembled and refurbished for future missions.

Cape Canaveral's next stop is Mercury Mission Control. Here, you'll witness a simulated Gemini mission launch through multi-media video. This location was mission control for the Mercury and Gemini programs until 1964. You'll also be able to see Complex 17 A and B Launch Pads for the Delta rockets, and Complex 36 A and B Launch Pads for the Atlas rockets.

Our final stop brings us to Cape Canaveral's Air Force Museum. The Air Force Space and Missile Museum is home to the World's largest outdoor collection of missiles on display. It is operated by volunteers and managed with the help of the Air Force. Cape Canaveral Air Station is operated and managed by Patrick Air Force Base. NASA works very cooperatively and closely with Cape Canaveral Air Station on all unmanned and shuttle mission launches.

A regular stop of the Cape Canaveral tour, the museum grounds, are part of space history. America's first satellite, Explorer I, was launched from the site in 1958. A little farther to the south, but still a part of the museum area, is the launch pad where Alan Shepherd flew into the history books in 1961 as America's first man in space.

Spread out on the grounds are colorful displays of actual missiles built during the 1950s and 1960s when the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was at its hottest. Some of these missiles, such as the Redstone and Atlas, were modified for use by NASA for the peaceful exploration of outer space.