Kennedy Space Center

While in Orlando, I took a day and drove out to Cape Canaveral. I sprung for the "behind the scenes" tour at the Kennedy Space Center, and was delighted to hear that this would include a visit to the Vehicle Assembly Building - a structure I've seen in many IMAX space movies. They don't normally let visitors into this area, since vehicle assembly involves enormous quantities of rocket fuel, and it would be bad PR if a bus tour was incinerated because someone ignored the No Smoking signs. Fortunately, the only spacecraft in the building was the now-retired Shuttle Atlantis, who is being prepared for permanent museum display.

I felt a bit sad to see her there, looking tired, with her nose cut open. I remember my excitement at watching launches on tv as a kid, assembling a Shuttle model kit and playing with it, and poring over the satellite images Dad would bring home from work. I was one of those who felt sentimental when the Shuttle program ended last year - much the way I feel about the decline in celluloid film projection. Dream machines being laid to rest.
We got back on the bus and went out to the shuttle launch pad. The tour guide noted the railroad tracks, which were used back in the early days of the space program, before the equipment got too heavy for trains to handle. I was so pleased that these examples of frontier-exploring-infrastructure were good enough to pose together in perfect composition.