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Natural space Canaveral
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Plenty of space to explore on environmental paradise surrounding launch pad

The folks at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center got back in the space shuttle business this week with the launch of the first space shuttle flight in more than two years. Next up is the Mars Orbiter.

Prior to Tuesday’s launch, the Space Shuttle Discovery completed its 3.5-mile crawl from the Vehicle Assembly Building to oceanfront launch pad 39B. The shuttle was transported atop two crawler transporters named Hercules and Hermes , each weighing six million pounds and guzzling diesel fuel at a rate of 35 feet per gallon as they crept to the launch site at a top speed of one mile per hour. Their success is one huge leap toward a safe return to space flight.

Although the countdown to a launch, and the thrill of lift-off always brings frenzied excitement to Florida’s space coast, this 72-mile stretch of shoreline (just 35 miles east of Orlando) also offers a very unexpected kind of space exploration. Although owned by NASA (and therefore acting as a perfect buffer security zone), the 180,000 acres surrounding Cape Canaveral is run as a vast, multi-eco system natural refuge. It comprises some of Florida’s finest beaches and, tucked in behind the protection of a low lying ribbon of land, a meandering network of inlets, brackish estuaries and lagoons. As fertile nurseries for clams, fish, oysters and shrimp, the waterways are abundant with 1,045 species of plants, 310 species of birds (from white ibises to southern bald eagles), West Indian manatees, alligators, the largest sea turtle nesting beach in America, and other wildlife.

Many areas in the natural refuge have specific highlights. For example, Mosquito Lagoon is better known as the Redfish Capital of the World (mosquitoes have long since gone; something to do with salt marsh mosquitoes being unable to lay eggs in fresh water); Pelican Island, the nation’s first wildlife sanctuary, is (no surprise), rife with territorial brown and white pelicans, each claiming their own side of the island as part of an aparthied movement; and Turkey Creek, a major stopover for spring and fall migratory birds, and a photographer’s Eden with its landscape of ancient sand dunes, saw palmetto and live oaks.

Whether exploring the region on horseback, by kayak or even air boat, a real treat is in store, in large part because what you’ll find amid the bromeliads, mangroves, and oaks draped with hammocks of Spanish Moss, is about as far away from galactic technology as you can get.

That stated, rockets are never too far away and certainly the megaplex Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center puts galactic adventure at your fingertips, albeit displayed Disney style. But this Disneyland has actual sky lab interiors (including a space bathroom); rides that include the G-Force Trainer, which simulates the pressure of four times the force of gravity; a 1/6th gravity chair to create the true-to-life feeling of walking on the moon; and Mission on Mars, an invigorating virtual ride across the Red Planet’s rocky terrain. Space buff or not, the collection of personal items from astronauts like Alan Shepard and Buzz Aldrin offer real insight into the space experience, as do displays of historic flown spacecraft. These include the Mercury Sigma 7 capsule, the Apollo 14 Command Module, Kitty Hawk, and the centre’s piece de resistance: a fully restored Saturn V moon rocket that lies horizontal to the ground and takes up the length of five football fields.

The U.S. SpaceWalk of Fame Foundation and Museum is a lesser known attraction, that deserves attention despite its rather odd location in a Titusville shopping centre. Created and maintained by the volunteer efforts of many of NASA’s very first engineers, astronauts and program specialists, the museum is special for two reasons. It is the only tribute to the early days of space exploration, complete with a rather ingenious mobile pictogram that demonstrates how the space race evolved, and because it offers a rare opportunity to speak personally with some of original space pioneers themselves. The folks that took the first steps to the giant leap we will witness again.   For more information www.visittitusville.com < http://www.visittitusville.com/ >  for excursion information throughout the region; www.kennedyspacecenter.com < http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/ > and  www.usspacewalkoffame.com < http://www.usspacewalkoffame.com/ > for opening hours and ticket information SIDEBAR:

Typical shuttle launch countdown

Launch minus 3 days (L-3)

Countdown clocks start ticking backwards, showing 43 hours to launch. Astronauts arrive at Kennedy Space Center after spending four days in medical quarantine at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Launch minus 2 days (L-2)

Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen (cryogenic fuel), for all uses launch, are loaded into orbiter’s inside tanks. Launch pad is washed down with water; all loose equipment and debris are removed from the area.

Launch minus 1 day (L-1)

All last-minute experiments are loaded aboard space shuttle. The rotating service structure is rolled away, clearing the shuttle for launch

Launch Day (L-0)

A half-million gallons of supercold cryogenic fuel are loaded inside the orange-colored external tank to power the shuttle’s three main engines. Three hours before lift-off, the astronauts depart for the launch pad and board the shuttle for final systems checks. At T-minus 31 seconds, the orbiter computers take control of the countdown, start up the main engines, and ignite the solid rocket boosters. The launch creates an acoustic energy the equivalent of 8 million stereos, which is partially absorbed by pumping 300,000 gallons of water onto the launch pad during lift off. Lift off starts an 8.5 minute climb to orbit. The craft circles the earth once every 90 minutes at 17,500 mph (5 miles per second).