Repositioning South — Kennedy Space Center Part 2

Full Saturn V assembly and Apollo Mission logos

Today we’re just going to mosey around the Race to the Moon: Apollo/Saturn V Center at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. There are many Apollo artifacts here to see, such as the actual Apollo 14 command module:

Apollo 14 Command Module

The interior is glassed off from prying fingers, but you can still peer inside:

Inside Apollo 14

Here is a replica of the lunar suit worn by Gene Cernan during the Apollo 17 mission (the real suit is on display at the Smithsonian):

Apollo 17 lunar suit

This image is a statue depicting geologist Harrison “Jack” Schmitt’s excursion on the lunar landscape during Apollo 17:

Statue depicting lunar astronaut (and former senator) Harrison H. Schmitt

Did you know we actually sent a dune buggy to the moon? Three times? This is an LRV (Lunar Roving Vehicle), similar to one used during Apollo missions 15, 16, and 17:

Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV); the Lunar “Dune Buggy”

But the star of this show is overhead. That’s the various components of the enormous Saturn V rocket that sent a dozen men to the moon over the course of six missions:

The five Rocketdyne J-2 engines of the Saturn V S-II second stage

Saturn S-IVB third stage with single Rocketdyne J-2 engine

Apollo Command Module with Launch Escape System

Put it all together you get this view from the end opposite of the picture at the top of today’s article:

Saturn V assembly with Lunar Excursion Module in foreground