Space Center Houston

 Dickinson, Texas
Green Caye RV Park

Over the years we've spent a lot of money on admission, but I can't remember anything that is worth as much as the $17.45 we paid to tour the NASA Johnson Space Center.  

Saturday hours are 10 am to 7 pm.  We were waiting outside the doors for them to open and didn't leave until 4 pm.  We did not stop to eat and there were still things that we didn't have time to view.  

Bill and I were very blessed to have been able to visit Star City (Russian NASA) outside of Moscow some years ago.  We had the opportunity to meet one on one with a Russian cosmonaut.  While that was an unforgettable experience, this experience today ranks very near that one.  We've also been to Huntsville and I thought that was great until our experience today.   

I always enjoy blogging about places we see, without giving to much information so that if my followers ever go, they'll have the great experience that we did.  

If you haven't been to NASA, take the time to do it.  You won't be sorry.

We took the first red tram ride.  This one went to the Mock Up Building.  This is where they develop and train.  

Since it was Saturday no one was working in this building.  I think we had to walk up 286 steps and you walked the entire length of the building behind a glass observation walkway.

This is the mock up of the Orion which will land men on Mars.

They are also developing rovers.

Robots will play a big role in the future.  

The tram tour is always changing based on what the 13,000 employees are working on.

We also stopped at a building that housed the Saturn Rockets.

There is no way you can describe how huge these are.

Notice the beautiful blue sky and the temperature was perfect too.

It seemed strange to see Texas long horns and to also see deer roaming the grounds.

As soon as the Red tram returned we got in line for the blue tram.  The trams hold 120 people and we had to wait for the second one.  Lucky for us we were in the very last seat next to the tour guide.  They play an audio of the things you see and while on the red tram, people were talking to each other without listing to the information.  The blue tram guide, Kirk, would stop the audio and add some information.  He told us that all over the center are bicycles so people can ride from one building to another.  

Our first stop was the Mission Control Center. 

After walking 837 steps up to the original mission control, we were seated in the theater style seats of the 60's complete with ash trays.  This is now a National Historic Site.

There was the glass wall where you could look down at the computers.  We were told that they used 5 MB's.  Someone could use that much taking a few photos on a phone.  

This flag was flown on the moon.

The new mission control is downstairs in this building.

After climbing all those steps we decided the next attraction should be the theater so we could catch our breath. There are three theaters, Blast Off, Destiny and Space Center.  

After leaving the theater we proceeded outside to the Independence Plaza which has the original shuttle carrier aircraft NASA 905.  

Not sure how many steps this was, but it is high.

You were allowed in both the replica of the shuttle and the actual American Airlines plane.

The exhibits in here were very well done and lucky for us there were no lines.

Kiker built a radio controlled mock up to prove his theory for transporting the shuttle.  

Did I mention there is a lot of steps and walking on this tour?

Bill and I were able to walk through a mock up of the ISS (International Space Station).  For some reason, I remember 48 feet long, saying to Bill that's bigger than our RV.  

The round hole is where they come through when docking.  

There was a presentation on life in space.  

This is the toilet.  The big suction tube is for urine.  The little adapter changes for men and women.  The thing I didn't realize was that the urine is recycled back to water. Ugh!

These are just a few of the highlights.  This is a must for everyone to see.

Here's Bill touching a moon rock.

I'm happy to check this off the bucket list, but I'm sure if we are back in the area we'll come back again.

Time for a nap.....

Turtle Safely.........