Greensboring.com | Greensboro, NC

I find it interesting that for about the same amount of money I could have came to Orlando and went to "Holy Land" or I could of went to NASA. Interestingly, in the big picture, "Holy Land" is winning: with the demise of the space shuttle program, it was obvious while at Kennedy Space Center today that our move to "free market capitalist" cough, private enterprise space program was making Republicans giggle with joy. Basically NASA is dying, and in one film today they showed how conservatives have suggested the benefits of the space program aren't as important as the issues our tiny little planet faces. Since this was NASA's home turf they defend it to pieces, explaining the scientific gains mankind has made from it. It's great, it's Americana... its everything America should be, everything it was, but isn't any longer. No one would say it but it was readily apparent when people walked out on the appearance of Astronaut Fred Gregory and ran in line for "Star Trek LIVE". Sure it's cool, but here was an American Hero- a man who risked his life 3 different times for his country, for you and me.... and people walked out because it wasn't interesting. What the eff? There was a disconnect.



And in here lies the problem. Kennedy Space Center itself is a facade for the concept of Space. They borrow soundtracks from Apollo 13, and actors like Leonardo DiCaprio to narrate IMAX 3-d movies, and Disney style attractions. It's cool, real cool- but not what I expected. I expected a tour of a working facility, and more realistic presentation of the work that goes into the space program. What it really is- is a rock and roll, light and magic show that empowers the visitor to feel the triumphs of mankind. To encourage pride, and a shared sense of belief in a common spirit. Much like its religious alternative a few miles away. (I do however highly recommend going if you come to Florida.... Nasa, not Holy Land.)



Again not complaining. I'd do NASA a million times over anything else, its just it goes to prove everything in America is fake. Everything has to be like a Hollywood action flick in order to obtain the interest of the American public. I've know this all along. We want to believe we're better than we actually are, yet I watched these same people push handicap people out of the way to get a ride on an elevator rather than walk the 3 flights of steps me and everyone not speaking English did today. Only in America are handicap elevators used to encourage healthy people to be lazy. I digress though.

I did have an epiphany though. The other day in class, my Euro professor discussed how she didn't understand the concept of Americans always trying to make deals. Like, the student getting a "B", but bargaining for an "A". America is the land of competition, were we're always jockeying for a better position. She asked me "why?", and at the time I didn't have a straight answer. Today I figured it out. It was the cold war. The is is a country born out of competition. It drove us to the moon through the space race. It was great for America then because it moved us forward and ultimately led the country from the brink of war, to a technological revolution. When the cold war ended, so did our space program, our ambitions and what to do with these values we embedded into our culture. We (especially conservatives) transferred these values to capitalism... instead of competing with the Russians- we turned on each other and have been cannibalisng ourselves. Now the very thing we claim is our right as Americans is being killed by the same group of people who tend to feverishly cling to some faux concept of those values while dismantling the space program which birthed the idea. So it's the space program that made America different than Europe or anywhere else on earth... it's just somewhere in all this mess, we've forgotten what we really need is the embodiment on mankinds spirit, of American values: a 30 story Saturn V rocket with enough fuel to make an atomic bomb look like a dreidel.

we choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. -JFK

So much of what NASA embodies, I see about myself. In another post we've been talking about people who have never left NC, who don't understand why I want to leave... To me, exploration and travel is part of being human.... without it, I'm afraid I have to question your humanity. Of course a NASA employee put it much more to the point today. "Where would mankind be if he would have looked out of his cave upon the hills and not wondered what was on the other side? Never chose to leave his home and travel to find something better?"

You didn't take the tour of the real facilities? I forget how much the tour cost us when we were there a little while back, but it really was the highlight of the day to see the techs working on preparing the last space station modules for liftoff.

On your thoughts of the Cold War... yeah. It's sad to think that if we hadn't had the Russians prodding us to be better, we would very likely STILL look like 1950 America. We would never have bothered with space just for the heck of it.

As for the grand vision of Star Trek, and humanity finally uniting to solve the grandest problem of all: becoming a space-faring race -- well forget it. Unless there's some huge return on investment guaranteed within one year of starting, it will never happen.

On the whole, we are a short-sighted, petty species. Maybe the universe will one day belong to a more noble one.

I thought KSC was a blast. Honestly I got more out of it than I expected. I felt very emotional the whole day and was proudly patriotic. It seems like it's one thing in our history that we could be proud of accomplishing. A collaboration of great thinkers and ingenuity striving for excellence as humans and Americans. It was a great day as a family and we had fun sharing that experience together.

Overall I feel like we got more bang for our buck here than anywhere else. I had called AAA and they had assured me that we would get our discount at the gate but when we tried the assertive woman at the ticket booth would did honor a AAA discount. However, clever Shannon had printed out a free magicard from visitOrlando.com and saved us $20.00. Woo hoo! People online had said that you could do everything in 2-3 hours. We soaked up every bit of the experience and stayed all day. Unlike the fast pace set at Magic Kingdom, KSC was more leisurely and I was not nervous about the kids running off or getting lost. It was a different crowd here than at Disney, as you'd might expect. A lot more retirees and science enthusiasts.

We caught the 3D IMAX about the Hubble Telescope. It truly was amazing. One of my favorites! While we were looking at the Astronaut Memorial we found the "real Florida alligator" the kids and I were on the hunt for. It was truly amazing to see Launch Pad A and the shuttle facilities. For me growing up on the West Coast to be right in the middle of so much history that I had only watched on tv was seriously special. I was moved during the real time simulation of the Apollo lift off. It was incredible to hear the stories from the perspective of a three time shuttle astronaut. I know I'm gushy, but it brought tears to my eyes listening to this man, in a league of so few, recount his time in Space. As he was speaking you could tell that being in Space was so remarkable to him. An experience only few have shared and something you can never put into words. I was moved by it as others were tired of hearing an old man jabber on about his good old days and rudely abandoning him and this once in a lifetime opportunity. He generously let us meet with him afterwards for a photo. I know I'm geeky, but it was so cool! Seriously if you want to have a really great, easy day the KSC is the top of my list.

shannon wrote:listening to this man, in a league of so few, recant his time in Space

I hope you mean recount not recant

thanks AP!

Apparently NASA employees are so bored now that they don't have a shuttle program, they've resorted to this:

Okay, wonder if this will get us back in the race?

Another cold war space race?

Maybe a good thing?

Hard to say. China isn't really seen as the global threat that the Soviet Union was. Yet, at least. THAT was the real driver in the old Space race. That, and China will have to go a long way before they get anywhere near the technical level of the folks in Russia, America and Europe. And really, they aren't at all likely to OUTPACE anyone in spacefaring technology. I think that would be the only way that America would find the motivation to bring back the "glory days."

So apparently now that NASA has done away with the space shuttle program, you can now take a tour of the launch platform. COOOL! If only there was a reason to go to Florida.

I dunno. That would just depress me even more than my last visit there. I guess I'll just wait until America gets back to manned flight before even going near KSC. Might not ever have a reason to bother.