A blast from the past at Kennedy Space Center

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex guests now have another opportunity to get closer to space and history via two new bus tours.

The Cape Canaveral Early Space Tour offers access to the sites of the Mercury and Gemini launches, seaside launch pads and more, while the Cape Canaveral Rise to Space tour offers access to restricted and historic areas of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, guided by a space expert.

Cape Canaveral Early Space Tour (Available Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday):  The American spirit comes to life as participants hear stories of the early days of space exploration as they visit the very places history was made on the Cape Canaveral Early Space Tour. The journey begins at the Air Force Space & Missile Museum at Pad 26 on Cape Canaveral, famously home of the first successful launch of a manmade satellite in the US. Guests visit the site of the Mercury and Gemini launches, the launch pads along the ocean shore, John Glenn’s launch pad at Pad 14 Blockhouse, and the memorial site for the Apollo 1 crew.

The Early Space Tour costs $25 plus tax per adult, $19 plus tax for children ages 3-11.

Due to restricted access at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, all guests are required to pre-register each participant’s information for identity verification. Before purchasing tickets, guests will be prompted to fill out a form with each guest’s (regardless of age) name, date of birth, country of birth, and passport/government-issued ID details.

If a party member is a US citizen under the age of 18 and does not have a government-issued ID yet, a guardian may use his/her own ID for registration.

Cape Canaveral Rise to Space Tour (Available Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday): The Cape Canaveral Rise to Space tour offers guests the opportunity to access restricted and historic areas of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. During this Special Interest Tour, a space expert will lead guests to historic launch sites, the Sands Space History Center, the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse and Hangar C – the first permanent and oldest surviving structure at the Cape built and used for missile assembly. Inside Hangar C, guests will view artefacts like Atlas, America’s first intercontinental ballistic missile; the only known Firebird missile still in existence; and early space artefacts like Gemini and Apollo "boiler plates" that were used during simulations for training.

The Rise to Space tour costs $75 plus tax and does not include admission to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Closed toe shoes are required, and guests must be at least 14 years old. Tickets must be purchased at least five days in advance to allow for the additional security protocols.