Here's a sign proving I really was in the place where all this historic space stuff happened:
And a marker commemorating the Mercury program, and the "Mercury Seven," America's first group of astronauts:
This next photo is one of the two launch pads that were used for the space shuttle. It's sitting idle now, alas, but hopefully it will see action again one day in the not-too-distant future.
Kennedy still maintains two active launch pads. If I recall correctly, this one here is used for Delta IV rockets, while the other launches the still-popular Atlas:
And, much as I hate to end on a downer, this is the site where the Apollo 1 test pad fire happened, killing astronauts Grissom, Chaffee, and White, and setting the moon program back significantly before it had even gotten off the ground:
The pad was, of course, never used again:
I'm not sure why that "abandon in place" is so haunting, somehow, but it is.
And, oh, what the heck. Let's not end on the downer note. This picture was nothing to do with Kennedy, and will probably mean nothing to most of you, but for my former Philly-area peeps... Did you know Florida now has Wawa?!
Truly, I was stunned!
There may still be more pictures to come, as my dad also gave me copies of a whole lot of photos that he and my stepmother took, and I haven't even had the chance to look through them yet. But when I have, I'll very likely share some here, so stay tuned!
Good Pics even that some are mine. Good history lessons too.
ReplyDeleteThe quote, "Everything is yours but Europa," doesn't fit here, but it carries a similarly somber note. (Dang, there has to be a classic-sci-fi-literature quote that's more appropriate.) And, wow, I totally would not know that was a Wawa, if not for the name and the goose! Oh, and that's a cool sculpture, too (even though, as a person born in early June, I'm somewhat partial to the Gemini program).
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