Centaursite.com - Mavra at Kennedy Space Center

Mavra once again got to tour the Kennedy Space Center, or as she jokes, "..space centaur," in Florida.

Being a highly intelligent, clever woman, she does just fine usually, but being a centaur offers some special challenges. Yet just as man faced huge challenges to get into space, Mavra faces the challenges of her form with her Master's Degree in Physics, and the help of a few friends.

Just like any eager tourist to the Space Center, Mavra took the bus tour. The busses are made for folks with only two legs, but thanks to the help of her friends, she got into the bus.
She was able to get a window seat, and thanks to the relatively large windows, had a perfect view of the things on her side of the bus. As is usual, she had folks looking at her without trying to be obvious about it, and after a while, they seemed to realise she wasn't going to step on their feet or poop on the bus, and everyone settled back to enjoy the tour.

The tour travelled by the Space Shuttle launch pads. These are the same foundations from which Apollo capsules mounted to Saturn IB and Saturn 5 rockets left the earth's surface. Some went into earth orbit for tests, others circled the moon, and five sent men to the surface of the moon. The bus stopped at a small rise, and the tourists were allowed to exit the bus and view the panorama of both launch facilities.
Being eight feet tall, Mavra usually stands head and shoulders above most other folks. But when she found a high platform, she climbed to it's top and took a moment to pause and honor the people who braved the unknown, and cleared the way for others, perhaps her, to follow.

One of the things Mavra was most anxious to see, was the actual Saturn 5 rocket which had been cosmetically restored and placed on display. The doors to the display are very large, and even Mavra was dwarfed by them.
After passing through this door, she, along with the rest of her tour group, saw a presentation about the space program, and the work and scientific advances that led to the need and creation of this launch vehicle.
After a nice multi-screen video presentation, the crowd was let into a room full of what was claimed to be the 'actual equipment' used to launch the Saturn 5's. The group, who by now realised Mavra was a pleasant, polite individual, made room for her without complaint.
The show continued with a simulation of an actual launch, with the 'actual consoles' lights blinking, and clocks counting down, and video feeds from the 'launch pad'. As the count reached zero, the louvers behind the audience, simulating the louvers on the Launch Control Center of the VAB (Vertical Assembly Building) started to glow, simulating the light of a night launch. The sound system wasn't quite up to the challange of the deep bass rumble of the powerful engines, but the overall effect gave Mavra goose-bumps.
Once the program ended, the crowd was herded (a term Mavra doesn't care for, for obvious reasons,) through large doors into a cavernous structure in which the surviving Saturn 5 is displayed.

After the Apollo program was prematurely ended, three Saturn 5 rocket assemblies remained which were never launched. The one at Kennedy Space Center is the only complete set of launch components remaining.
The Saturn 5 is the most complex machine ever built. It was the largest operational launch vehicle ever produced. Standing over 363 feet high with its Apollo Spacecraft payload, it produced over 7.5 million pounds of thrust at lift-off.
Even knowing it to be inactive, and never to reach space, it is an impressive sight.

In honor of the Saturn 5's role in delivering men to the moon, and bringing those same men, and samples safely back to earth from it, a piece of moon rock is on display beside it. Enclosed in a case, visitors can reach in and actually touch a portion of the result of this feat of skill and engineering.
Mavra, who due to her centaur form, may never be able to walk on the moon, got perhaps as close as she will get, by standing on the 'surface of the moon'.

After looking over the Saturn 5, Mavra caught a tour bus back to the KSC Visitor's Center. With thoughts of brave men and women on her mind, she went to the Astronaut Memorial to remember those who gave their lives to advance science.

Among the displays at the center, was this piece of a meteorite which is believed to be from the surface of Mars. Blown off the planet by a cataclysmic crash of a large meteor hitting the planet's surface, it tumbled through space for eons until landing on the earth. When found, it was identified as a piece of Mars.
This is a piece of that meteorite, and so in one day, Mavra stood both on the surface of the moon, and on Mars.

A special feature offered at the Visitor's Center is called, 'Astronaut Encounter'. A 'real, live astronaut' speaks to a group and answers questions. Mavra couldn't resist the temptation to take the podium.
Some day, it's very possible that she will be asked to speak to a group, as not only a centaur, but the first centaur in space.

Mavra enjoyed her trip to the Kennedy Space Center, and she owes it to her friends shown here. Left to right are, Boki, Morticon and Argon, and of course, Argon has Mavra in the palm of his hand!

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	Just like any eager tourist to the Space Center, Mavra took the bus tour. The busses are made for folks with only two legs, but thanks to the help of her friends, she got into the bus. She was able to get a window seat, and thanks to the relatively large windows, had a perfect view of the things on her side of the bus. As is usual, she had folks looking at her without trying to be obvious about it, and after a while, they seemed to realise she wasn't going to step on their feet or poop on the bus, and everyone settled back to enjoy the tour.
	The tour travelled by the Space Shuttle launch pads. These are the same foundations from which Apollo capsules mounted to Saturn IB and Saturn 5 rockets left the earth's surface. Some went into earth orbit for tests, others circled the moon, and five sent men to the surface of the moon. The bus stopped at a small rise, and the tourists were allowed to exit the bus and view the panorama of both launch facilities. Being eight feet tall, Mavra usually stands head and shoulders above most other folks. But when she found a high platform, she climbed to it's top and took a moment to pause and honor the people who braved the unknown, and cleared the way for others, perhaps her, to follow.
	One of the things Mavra was most anxious to see, was the actual Saturn 5 rocket which had been cosmetically restored and placed on display. The doors to the display are very large, and even Mavra was dwarfed by them. After passing through this door, she, along with the rest of her tour group, saw a presentation about the space program, and the work and scientific advances that led to the need and creation of this launch vehicle. After a nice multi-screen video presentation, the crowd was let into a room full of what was claimed to be the 'actual equipment' used to launch the Saturn 5's. The group, who by now realised Mavra was a pleasant, polite individual, made room for her without complaint. The show continued with a simulation of an actual launch, with the 'actual consoles' lights blinking, and clocks counting down, and video feeds from the 'launch pad'. As the count reached zero, the louvers behind the audience, simulating the louvers on the Launch Control Center of the VAB (Vertical Assembly Building) started to glow, simulating the light of a night launch. The sound system wasn't quite up to the challange of the deep bass rumble of the powerful engines, but the overall effect gave Mavra goose-bumps. Once the program ended, the crowd was herded (a term Mavra doesn't care for, for obvious reasons,) through large doors into a cavernous structure in which the surviving Saturn 5 is displayed.
	After the Apollo program was prematurely ended, three Saturn 5 rocket assemblies remained which were never launched. The one at Kennedy Space Center is the only complete set of launch components remaining. The Saturn 5 is the most complex machine ever built. It was the largest operational launch vehicle ever produced. Standing over 363 feet high with its Apollo Spacecraft payload, it produced over 7.5 million pounds of thrust at lift-off. Even knowing it to be inactive, and never to reach space, it is an impressive sight.
	In honor of the Saturn 5's role in delivering men to the moon, and bringing those same men, and samples safely back to earth from it, a piece of moon rock is on display beside it. Enclosed in a case, visitors can reach in and actually touch a portion of the result of this feat of skill and engineering. Mavra, who due to her centaur form, may never be able to walk on the moon, got perhaps as close as she will get, by standing on the 'surface of the moon'.
	After looking over the Saturn 5, Mavra caught a tour bus back to the KSC Visitor's Center. With thoughts of brave men and women on her mind, she went to the Astronaut Memorial to remember those who gave their lives to advance science.
	Among the displays at the center, was this piece of a meteorite which is believed to be from the surface of Mars. Blown off the planet by a cataclysmic crash of a large meteor hitting the planet's surface, it tumbled through space for eons until landing on the earth. When found, it was identified as a piece of Mars. This is a piece of that meteorite, and so in one day, Mavra stood both on the surface of the moon, and on Mars.
	A special feature offered at the Visitor's Center is called, 'Astronaut Encounter'. A 'real, live astronaut' speaks to a group and answers questions. Mavra couldn't resist the temptation to take the podium. Some day, it's very possible that she will be asked to speak to a group, as not only a centaur, but the first centaur in space.
	Mavra enjoyed her trip to the Kennedy Space Center, and she owes it to her friends shown here. Left to right are, Boki, Morticon and Argon, and of course, Argon has Mavra in the palm of his hand!