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Artist’s impression of The Gantry at LC-39, including the new Test Fire Simulation experience scheduled to open to the public in early 2025 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. | Photo credit: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
At NASA’s spaceport in Florida, a countdown is underway, counting down the days until the public can experience a rocket engine test closer than ever before – by standing directly under the engine nozzle.
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex has announced the upcoming opening of The Gantry at LC-39, a former launch pad observation tower that has now been renovated to provide an “innovative, interactive experience” that includes a simulated rocket engine test fire. The redesigned attraction is scheduled to debut in early 2025 and will return to the NASA launch site as a regular stop on the visitor complex’s bus tour.
“The gantry at LC-39 is an exciting next step in our mission to inspire and educate the next generation of explorers,” Therrin Protze, chief operating officer of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, said in a statement. “This new attraction brings together the stories surrounding NASA’s research to monitor our planet and innovative interactive elements to provide a deeper connection to the space program through a unique and dramatic lens.”
“This attraction will delight and educate all ages,” said Protze.
Photo of a large metal scaffolding behind a grandstand where about 50 people are sitting
Static gunfire is not uncommon at Kennedy Space Center and the neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Typically they take place before a launch to ensure the rocket is ready to fly. But just like a launch, the public – and everyone working on the mission – must maintain sufficient distance to be safe from the deafening noise and tremendous power of the test (not to mention that nothing could go wrong, resulting in an… explosion on the pad).
Related: SpaceX launches 6th Starship to prepare for test flight (video, photo)
During the “Test Fire Simulation” at The Gantry at LC-39, guests can stand safely beneath a replica rocket engine as it roars to life. According to a description of the visitor complex, noise, light and a “cooling mist” replace the engine’s exhaust fumes while providing the “power and excitement of ignition.”
The thunderous show, hosted by a fictional NASA engineer and his assistant, is just one of the new features awaiting guests at The Gantry. Visitors can also design and virtually launch their own rockets, as well as view exhibits on the NASA and Space Force launch pads, visible from the tower’s 360-degree platform.
The same view shows the location of the Kennedy Space Center in a nature reserve. To this end, The Gantry on LC-39 was redesigned with the motto “Off Earth, For Earth.” The attraction’s new Earth Information Center (EIC) includes an immersive theater show, a hyperwall display and an exhibit gallery that provides a “holistic view of how the planet is changing in ways that impact all life.”
For young visitors, climbable sculptures of sea turtles, alligators and an eagle’s nest, as well as interpretive graphics, help tell the story of the Kennedy Space Center’s home at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. An artifact of a mobile launch platform can also be seen.
As in past years, The Gantry at LC-39 will continue to serve as a premier launch viewing site where ticketed guests can experience launches up close from the Space Force side of the Cape.
Rounding out the new features is a self-service outdoor dining area adjacent to the river rock-lined crawler walkway, which will continue to be used to transport missiles to the launch site at LC-39B. Visitors can also see the large tread of a tracked transporter that was used for these movements.
a white bus with the words
RELATED STORIES:
– Information about NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
— Cape Canaveral: launch pad for the US space program
— SpaceX launches Starship rocket for upcoming 5th test flight (photos, video)
The gantry at LC-39, formerly known as the Launch Complex-39 Observation Gantry when it opened in 1998, is 60 feet (18 meters) tall and is located at the water’s edge, adjacent to where the crawler path splits either on LC-39A or 39B. Before the renovation, an authentic space shuttle main engine was statically displayed in the tower. In addition, it hosted exhibits and a film about the winged spacecraft, its preparation for launch, the tiles of its thermal protection system, and the science contained within it into orbit.
Due to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the portal was temporarily closed to visitors as security was increased. Ten years later, after the completion of the International Space Station and the end of the Space Shuttle program, the observation bridge was removed from the general bus tour and remained open only for private events until last year.
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