17 Cape Canaveral

An angry cold front has come. It is blistering the Indian River and hurling fistfuls of rain at us at 35 knots. We scurried for cover in Titusville.

Good time to visit the Kennedy Space center.



It is amazing to see these things with your own eyes.

That cone in which Alan Shepard was shot (not even into orbit) is so tiny. It only just contains a seated man with an inch or two to spare all around.
Then there is the sheer size of the Saturn rocket that reminds you of the thundering forces needed to counteract the earth’s gravity.
And there is the breath holding precision that enabled the ‘Eagle’ to dock again with the lunar orbiter and return to earth after Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon.

They show you a movie taken recently on the space station. The astronauts are floating about happily doing experiments or crawling about like white aphids on the outside of the cylinders as the earth spins below. Afterwards you can walk though replicas of those very modules and see how they sleep and shower. And you can see them preparing the new research modules that will be attached in May.

Out there in the distance are the launch pads empty as station platforms waiting for the next regular departure. This really is a space station.

I ever you are disgusted by human agression; if religious fanatics have caused you to despair; come here. Here are the really exciting things that human apes can do!


Returned to the boat inspired.

The gale has shredded our United States courtesy flag.
We went right out and got a bright new one.