Popular State Guides
|
Free Traveling Guides » States » Florida » OrlandoUS Astronaut Hall of Fame
The United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, situated at Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, Florida, holds the largest collection of personal astronaut memorabilia and authentic astronaut training simulators in the world. This comprehensive collection focuses more on those astronauts who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame and the spacecraft. Located just next to the Florida branch of Space Camp, the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame was established on October 29, 1990 by the U.S. Space Camp Foundation. The Mercury Seven Foundation and Astronaut Scholarship Foundations also play an integral role in the present-day operations of the Hall of Fame. It was in September, 2002 that this property was made a part of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
The main inductees of the Hall of Fame include the original class of ‘Mercury Seven’ astronauts; Alan Shepard, the first American in Space; John Glee, the first American to orbit the Earth; Gus Grissom, the first American to go in space twice; Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan, the first and the last men to walk on Moon; James Lovell of Apollo 13; and Ed White, the first American to walk in space. Besides, 24 Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab astronauts; 22 astronauts from the Space Shuttle program; and many other shuttle astronauts were also inducted into the Hall of Fame in the subsequent years. The main exhibits put on display at the Hall of Fame include CSM Kitty Hawk, the Command Module that was used in the Apollo 14 spaceflight to the Moon; Sigma 7, the Mercury Spacecraft that orbited the Earth nearly 6 times in the year 1962; and Gus Grissom’s spacesuit, which was worn by him during Mercury 4. Other exhibits include Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s report card; early space traveler Wally Schirra’s Mercury capsule; film footage; and genuine space hardware.
The Astronaut Hall of Fame also features an Astronaut Adventure Room that serves as a simulator for use by kids. The film, named ‘The Explorer’, is featured inside the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Theater. Interactive exhibits and simulators, such as the G-force trainer centrifuge and the ‘Land the Shuttle’ simulator, give the visitors a unique opportunity to experience the thrill of flight. Another major attractions at the hall of Fame are the 3-D 360, a ride that allow the guests to enter the world of aerial combat; and the ‘Shuttle to Tomorrow’, a full-scale Shuttle model, which takes the visitors on a multimedia trip into the future.
- Location: State Route 405, Titusville, FL
- Information: (407) 269-6100
- Hours: 9 AM - 5 PM daily except Christmas Day, with extended hours during summer and holiday periods.
- Website: www.kennedyspacecenter.com
|
Top 5 National Parks
- Great Smoky Mountains
- Grand Canyon
- Yosemite
- Olympic
- Yellowstone
All 58 national parks. |
