Visitors to Florida’s Space Coast can spend summer days and nights experiencing all that the destination has to offer. Whether guests want to get up close to zoo animals or take in an exclusive rocket launch viewing opportunity, Florida’s Space Coast has a wide variety of activities summer vacationers can enjoy.
Summer Saturday Nights at the Brevard Zoo – Melbourne, Fla. – Now – July 31
Brevard Zoo kicks off its annual Summer Saturday Nights starting in June. To beat the summertime heat, the zoo is extending hours of operation to 9pm on Saturdays through July. For only a $5 admission fee after 5pm, guests can enjoy live entertainment every Saturday from 6 to 8:30pm. Zookeepers also offer animal encounters each night at 7pm, where guests can view some of their favorite zoo creatures up close as they are brought outside of their enclosures.
(321) 254- 9453; www.brevardzoo.org
KSC UP-Close: Launch Control Center (LCC) Tour – Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex – Opening June 15
As part of its 50th anniversary, Kennedy Space Center is offering a special series of rare-access tours including the Launch Control Center (LCC) Tour. Visitors have not had access to the LCC since the 1970s. The tour takes visitors inside Firing Room 4, one of the LCC’s four firing rooms and the one from which all 21 space shuttle launches since 2006 were controlled. The LCC Tour opens June 15 and will run through the end of 2012 with a limited number of daily tours.
Price is $25 for adults and $19 for children ages 3-11 plus tax, in addition to admission. For more information, call 877-313-2610 or visit www.KennedySpaceCenter.com.
Celebrate the Kennedy Space Center 50th anniversary – Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex – Offer ends June 30, 2012
Commemorate the rich 50-year history of Kennedy Space Center with the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex $50 annual pass for year-round fun, education and entertainment. Annual pass holders enjoy a range of benefits, including savings on guest admissions, discounts on merchandise and food,viewing access to breath-taking launches, plus admission to seasonal events.
Offer ends June 30, 2012. 1-866-737-5235; www.kennedyspacecenter.com
Rocket Launches – Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. – June – August
NASA and private companies continue to launch unmanned rockets from Kennedy Space Center:
Atlas V • NROL-38 – June 18 – Time: 8:26am – 9:25am
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch a classified spacecraft payload on behalf of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.
Delta 4-Heavy • NROL-15 – June 28 – Time: TBD
A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket will launch a classified satellite cargo on behalf of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.
SpaceX Falcon 9 – August 18 – Time: TBD
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the third Dragon spacecraft, called Dragon C3. The mission will demonstrate the rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station. The company is building the Dragon to fly on resupply missions to the International Space Station.
Atlas V-401 – August 23 – Time: TBD
The Radiation Belt Storm Probes mission will help NASA understand the Sun’s influence on Earth and Near-Earth space by studying the Earth’s radiation belts on various scales of space and time. The launch is scheduled for August 23.
