NASA KSC Tours

The Kennedy Space Center has always offered tours of the launch complex but to celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2012 they introduced three new specialist “Up-Close” tours to compliment the existing tours which will run until the end of 2012.

All the tours start at the KSC Visitor Complex and end at the Apollo Saturn V Center. The Apollo/Saturn V Center tells the history of the Apollo Moon landing programme and contains a complete Saturn V launch vehicle, Apollo capsule/lander and a lunar rover. From their you can take another bus back to the Visitor Complex.

Whilst the standard Kennedy Space Center Tour is included with the normal admission price the new Up-Close Tours and the Cape Canaveral: Then & Now Tour cost an additional $25 for adults and reservations are recommended as timings and places are limited. Note that all tours must be purchased in conjunction with a regular admission ticket.

Due to time constraints it is not practical to go on more than one tour on a single day. Therefore you may need to upgrade to an annual pass if you want to experience more than one tour and come back for a second visit.

Because the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral are both working space-launch facilities, all tours are subject to change or cancellation due to operational requirements. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.

The Kennedy Space Center is closed to the general public on launch days unless you have purchased a ticket in advance but it is possible to watch a launch from the nearby areas or from within the NASA complex itself, if you purchased a launch pass ticket.

Existing KSC Tours

The Kennedy Space Center Tour is included in the normal admission price and is the only free tour on offer.

Kennedy Space Center Tour

The Kennedy Space Center Tour is a bus trip to view the space shuttle launch pads from the top of the 60 foot tall LC–39 Observation Gantry. From the top of the tower you can get a 360 degree view of the two giant Shuttle Launch Pads, 39A and 39B. You can also see the Launch Control Center, the massive Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and the crawlerway leading to the launch pads.

The tour then continues to a viewing of the historic Apollo 8 launch site and a concludes at the Apollo/Saturn V Center where you can see the massive 363 foot long Saturn V rocket that launched the manned Apollo Moon missions.

You might also get to see the massive Crawler Transporters that take the rockets from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the various launch pads.

The Kennedy Space Center Tour is self-guided, so you can get off the bus and spend as much time as you like at each location. Tour is included in standard admission.

Cape Canaveral: Then & Now Tour

To experience some of the history of Cape Canaveral from the 1960s to the present day, there is the Cape Canaveral: Then & Now Tour. You can relive the launch of America’s first satellite, Explorer - 1, at Launch Complex 26, see Launch Complex 5/6 where America launched its first manned space craft, visit the Air Force Space & Missile Museum as well as seeing some of today’s active rocket programmes. Like most tours, it ends at the Apollo/Saturn V Center.

This tour is very poignant as it highlights some of the sacrifices made by the astronauts including the site of Launch Complex 34, scene of the Apollo 1 tragedy where Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee lost their lives in a fire in the command module.

This tour requires ID. For US and naturalised citizens a government issued driver’s license or state ID card is required for those aged 18 or over. For international guests (including children) you will need a valid passport.

There are a couple of good books covering the Apollo moon landings if you are interested in the early history of the Kennedy Space Center.

New KSC Up-Close Tours

Each of the Up-Close tours costs $25 for adults and $19 for children (aged 3 to 11), plus tax. You are accompanied on each tour by an experienced tour guide.

KSC Up-Close: The Launch Pad Tour

For shuttle lovers. The Launch Pad Tour takes you nearly a quarter of a mile inside the perimeter security fence of Launch Pad 39-A where all the Apollo Moon landing missions and most of the Space Shuttles were launched from, for a unique photo opportunity.

You can get a close up view of the 350 foot high fixed service tower, the rotating service structure, the flame trench, water tanks and the propellant storage containers.

As well as Launch Pad 39-A, you also drive by the sister Pad 39-B, which will launch future manned space flights as part of the new Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket system, the Vehicle Assembly Building, mobile launch platforms and crawler transporters, The tour ends at the Apollo/Saturn V Center.

KSC Up-Close: The Launch Control Center Tour

If your interest is in the launch control side of things, then the Launch Control Center (LCC) Tour takes you inside Firing Room 4, one of the LCC’s four firing rooms where you can see the computer consoles from where NASA engineers monitored the launch control systems leading up to launch. You also get to see the launch countdown clock and the “bubble” room which housed the Kennedy Space Center management team during missions.

From 2006 all shuttle launches were controlled from this room.

The tour also includes a drive by of the space shuttle Launch Pads and ends at the Apollo/Saturn V Center.

KSC Up-Close: The Vehicle Assembly Building Tour

If you have ever wanted to see inside the 525 foot high Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), then you should take the Vehicle Assembly Building Tour. You can walk along the edge of the Transfer Aisle, which is used to move elements of the giant rockets among the building’s four High Bays.

For a limited time, you will have the opportunity to see Atlantis up-close as it has been moved from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the VAB prior to going on permanent exhibition.

Other stops on the tour are the public viewing areas on the NASA Causeway where you can a panoramic view of the launch facilities, the camera stop for Launch Pad 39-A/B and the Apollo/Saturn V Center.

See also:- Kennedy Space Center main page | KSC tickets