Kennedy Space Center: The Right Stuff gift shop

Kennedy Space Center:  The Right Stuff

Kennedy Space Center
Merritt Island, Florida
 
The Right Stuff Gift Shop

 Apollo / Saturn V Center

https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/

Saturn V Rocket

AT A GLANCE:  Kennedy Space Center, Apollo / Saturn V CENTER
Date of Visit:	Mondays, February 20 and 27, 2017
Parking	$10
Amount of time needed to peruse exhibits:	2 hours
Amount of time needed for gift shop	30 – 45 minutes
Online shopping	Some.  However, if you see something you like, buy it.
Kid friendly shopping	Yes
Kid friendly	Yes
Dress code	Come as you are
Be sure to…..	Spot the bald eagle nest on the return trip.  The tour bus driver will point it out.
Nearby/other establishments to visit	·         Warbird Museum Review:  http://www.meetmeinthegiftshop.com/p/valiant-air-command-wardbird-museum.html ·         Police Hall of Fame Review: http://www.meetmeinthegiftshop.com/p/blog-page_30.html
Walkability, general downtown area / amount of traffic	Wear comfortable shoes.
Safety, in terms of type and number of crimes committed in general area	Generally safe, but stow your valuables out of sight and lock your car to keep the honest people honest.

Space Headlines from Florida newspapers, February 27, 2017 

SpaceX to transport 2 paying customers around the moon

http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2017/02/27/spacex-transport-private-parties-around-moon/98472346/
 
Florida Today

SpaceX to launch private moon mission in 2018

http://www.mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2017/2/27/spacex_to_launch_pri.html
 
WESH News 13

Welcome to part 2 of the Kennedy Space Center gift shops, this week focusing on the gift shop of the Apollo / Saturn V Center, The Right Stuff.

FICTION

I overheard a conversation on the tour bus which went something like this:  “I can’t believe that the government built a space complex in the middle of 140,000 acres of undisturbed land disrupting wildlife and bird migrations.”

FACT

That’s not even vaguely close to what happened.  Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) had long been the sole inhabitants of Merritt Island.  Launch pads dotted the eastern shore of CCAFS, each one tailored to the specifications of the rocket being launched.  Bigger and more powerful rockets require larger launch pads, because of the increasing distance of the “safe zone,” that area from the launch pad which should be safe in case a rocket explodes.  This created a dilemma because CCAFS lacked the necessary amounts of land to guarantee a safe zone for these newer rockets.  

 The federal government purchased land to the north and west of CCAFS, an area of 140,000 acres.  This is equal to five times the amount of land that comprises Disneyworld, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld.  Of that, the KSC uses 6,000 acres, or just over 4%.  The remainder was deeded to the Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) to create and operate a national wildlife refuge.  If the CCAFS had not run out of room, if NASA had not stepped in and purchased immense amounts of land, and had the FWS, operating within the Department of the Interior, had not assumed management of the remaining land, there’s a strong possibility that this valuable ocean front land would have been leveled and developed for housing.  The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (MINWR) is home to over 1,500 species of plants and animals, of which 109 are threatened or endangered.

That’s not to say that the animal species respect the boundary between the MINWR and KSC, because interactions between nature and the space center are not uncommon.  A special crew checks the launch pads before liftoff not only to clear debris, but to shoo away any alligators that may be sunning themselves (from the website www.nasa.gov).  Another incident that tour bus drivers like to share is about one particular alligator that was discovered in the lobby of one of the onsite officebuildings early one morning.  The alligator had triggered the pressure sensitive doors (similar to the ones at grocery stores) and walked right in and settled down for the night.  After that, the last person to leave the building at the end of the day is responsible for manually setting the locking apparatus.  It is then opened by the first person to arrive the next day.  Thanks to the website Modern Farmer website for refreshing my memory on this event.  


 Finally, author Cathie Katz writes about woodpeckers that delayed the launch of the space shuttle Discovery in her 1997 book, “The Nature of Florida’s Neighborhoods.”  The northern flicker is a type of woodpecker that is common in the area, and shares the same tap-tap-tap behavior of most woodpeckers.  Hundreds of holes from northern flickers were revealed upon inspecting the space shuttle Discovery prior to launch.  Since most of the holes penetrated the insulation layer of Discovery, the launch had to be postponed until the holes were fixed. 

The coloring of the space shuttle Discovery is about the same color as a dead tree. 
The northern flicker had a tough time telling them apart.

Besides wildlife/rocket interactions, the MINWR boasts some impressive statistics.  It is the second largest trek of land in Florida, coming in behind the Everglades.  It also ranks third in the nation in terms of bald eagle populations; Alaska takes the top honor in that category.  Note that the State of Florida doesn’t rank third, but the 140,000 acres of Merritt Island alone ranks third.

Back to the bus tour.  This part of the Kennedy Space Center experience is mitigating time spent in waiting lines.  It’s a fascinating part of the visit, yet is often crowded.  The bus trip from the main visitor complex to the Saturn V building lasts 25 minutes, during which time the massive size of the NASA property becomes apparent.  Also obvious is the barren vastness of the land, since all of Merritt Island was swampland before it was purchased by NASA.    



The tour buses run every 15 minutes, which should lessen the nervousness of being stranded and left

In the rocket display area

behind in the wild lands of Central Florida.  Running on this short schedule means that every 15 minutes, 58 visitors are offloaded from the tour buses.  I got that figure from a tour bus driver who told me that the bus holds 58 people, leaving three empty spaces for wheelchairs, scooters, and the like.  Visitors leave the bus to wait in line for an additional 5-10 minutes before being allowed to enter the Saturn V building.    The immense doors open, and the 58 people shuffle in and stand politely in anticipation.  A short video rolls presenting an introduction to the Apollo missions to the moon and how the Saturn V rocket played an important role.  As the video finishes, another set of doors automatically open on the far side of the entrance hall.  The 58 people advance to the presentation in the next room and settle into the provided seats.  This time, the video uses actual footage of launching a rocket from Mission Control, complete with banks of computers and visual graphics.  The 10-minutes spent in this room fill many visitors with awe, inspiration, and appreciation of the technology used to complete the Apollo Missions, preparing visitors for the exhibit in the next room.  Those 58 people from the tour
bus get corralled into the enormous exhibit to wander amongst actual Saturn V rockets.  To clarify, the Saturn V on display here was a back-up rocket and never spent time in space.  Most visitors spend

A glimpse of the Saturn V rocket,
used in Apollo missions

15-20 minutes here, absorbing the monstrosity of the Saturn V rocket while simultaneously snapping photos.  Exhausted and spent, the busload of 58 wearily make their way to the exit, to wait for a return bus, and they have to walk through the Right Stuff gift shop to do so.  As an interesting fact, the bus tour was where I heard about the Florida “law” that all exits go through the gift shop.  

This information gives the advantage of knowing when the gift shop is less crowded.  A pulse of visitors exit through the gift shop approximately every 15 minutes, timed with the offloading from the tour buses.  Here’s what to do to avoid being herded about like a flock of 58 sheep:  visit the gift

Entrance to the Right Stuff gift shop

shop first.  After offloading, the rest of the bus crowd queues at the Saturn V entrance, while the lone wolf visitor navigates a separate and less congested way toward the Right Stuff gift shop.  Wait out any crowds that are encountered in the gift shop, as their numbers will thin out as they make their way to the exit.  The lone wolf visitor will practically have the Right Stuff gift shop to themselves.  Wander around the mammoth Saturn V rocket after leaving the gift shop.  Fewer the visitors equates to a better chance to get closer to the rocket to take incredible photos.  When through, exit through the gift shop and get in line with the next busload of 58 people.  Enter the entrance hall and absorb the stories about the technology and astronauts.  Don’t be in a hurry to enter the next room, the Mission Control rooms, because there is more than adequate seating.  While the new group of 58 visitors swarms through the exhibit housing the Saturn V rocket, head toward the gift shop and exit.  The

Partial view of Saturn V thrusters

return bus will be roomier because that the throng of 58 is still photographing the Saturn V rocket.  By the way, the NASA staff member hanging around outside the building told me that cruise ships docked at Port Canaveral will work their watery way to a landing near the Saturn V Center, often offloading 200 people at a time.  Again, it’s best to wait it out and let the large groups go first.

The Right Stuff gift shop is a condensed version of the main gift shop, The Space Shop. It has all of the elements I look for in a gift shop, selling refrigerator magnets and several designs of both shot

glasses and t-shirts.  I also give it a solid 10, on a scale of 1 (very bad) to 10 (the best) when it comes to selling merchandise that supports the brand of KSC.  The Right Stuff gift shop has a goodly amount if items for sale, all of it good quality.  The shop is clean, organized and well stocked and carries an excited and energetic vibe consistent with the rest of the KSC complex.  Don’t buy anything there.   This was the strange advice I received from chatting up a NASA employee while waiting for the bus to take me back.  She explained that visitors usually save the main gift shop,

The space walker magnet
came home with me

The Space Shop, for last, on their way out.  The Right Stuff, at the Saturn V Center, is the first one that visitors experience.  The hitch is that this gift shop is a mini version of another gift shop, which carries a greater selection and variety of souvenirs, so visitors return what they purchased here at the main gift shop in order to buy something better or different.  People end up having to wait in line to return an item at the Space Shop, which is why I received the advice to not buy anything at this gift shop.  

 It’s a good gift shop, though.  The “Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Guide” is prominently display, and is an optional purchase to recall all of the info picked up from the various tours.  The gift shop additionally carries a decent selection of books including two that are geared to younger adults:

• ·         “How Do You Go to the Bathroom in Space,” and
• ·         “Do Your Ears Pop in Space?”

For the more mature set, titles are available regarding the doomed Apollo 13 mission made popular by the movie of the same name starring Tom Hanks.  Racks of branded t-shirts bearing either the Apollo logo or the meatball logo are there, too.  I had no idea of what a “meatball” shirt was until a

The "meatball"

tour bus driver solved the mystery.  The NASA logo was updated by adapting a modern font for the letters N-A-S-A in the mid-1970s.  Employees likened this new logo to a meatball, and the moniker stuck.  Meatball shirts are simply t-shirts with the upgraded lettering.  One of the “must have” purchases here is a copy of a newspaper with the heading:  “On the Moon!  One Giant Leap for Mankind” dated July 21, 1969.  The other “must have” souvenir is a 6” x  4” picture frame, to display those photos taken at and about the KSC (see photo).

A great souvenir for the space or history buff

The aforementioned picture frame

Time spent at the Saturn V building so far has been less stressful than what is normally experienced by those busloads of people that are rounded up and led through the visual presentations.  They are the ones who push and shove their way to the front of the group in order to be first through the doors.  Many are anxious because they fear missing the tour bus back to KSC’s main complex.  They don’t seem to realize that if they miss the bus, another will come along in 15 minutes.  My method of shopping decreases this anxiety, because the end of the tour is no longer unknown.  Tour buses are visible from the gift shop, reinforcing that it would be difficult to be stranded here.

The bus tour back to the main complex provides a window into the KSC and the surrounding undeveloped areas.  Be sure to watch for alligators sunning themselves at the drainage ditches alongside the road, and keep an eye out for the bald eagle nest.  The bus drivers are good at pointing these things out to the 58 people on the bus.

Here I am with Skylab astronaut Jerry Carr

Special thanks to fervent and enthusiastic reader Dale Deditch
for suggesting the inclusion of the “must have” souvenir section.

Related links:

Map of the smaller launch pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station 

History of Canaveral National Seashore 

Listed Species of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 

NASA Scare Tactics Keep Birds at Bay 


The Saturn V Rocket 

Smithsonian Magazine: 11 Heart-Pounding Moments at Kennedy Space Center 

Countdown to the next launch at KSC 

Calendar of future launches at KSC