Take a Virtual Visit to Kennedy Space Center Via Google Maps

By Nancy Atkinson - August 2, 2012 at 2:08 PM UTC | Space Exploration
street-view.jpg

A view of space shuttle Atlantis using Street View in Google Maps.

From experience, I can attest to what an amazing experience it is to be at Kennedy Space Center, home of where NASA launches many of its spacecraft. But if you can't get there in person, you can now take a virtual trip – and see many views the public can't normally see – thanks to a new partnership between KSC and Google Maps Street View. Using the interactive 360-degree views from the Street View, you can take a walk through the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building or stand at the top of Launch Pad 39A.

See the video below for a sneak peak into the experience:

Google Maps with Street View lets you explore Kennedy's facilities, roads and structures. You can see the history of spaceflight by viewing the Apollo/Saturn V Center, Space Shuttle Main Engine shop, Orbiter Processing Facility-3, the Launch Control Center, the Space Station Processing Facility and the center's iconic Vehicle Assembly Building.

The new maps also allows virtual visitors to check in at KSC and watch as it transitions to the multipurpose launch complex of the future, revamping existing infrastructure and facilities to provide the flexibility to host a variety of commercial and government spacecraft, rockets and other craft.

Users may go directly to Google Maps, search for "NASA Shuttle Landing Facility," and drag the orange "pegman" icon on the left-hand side to an area outlined in blue. From there, users can navigate around the area by moving up and down pathways and looking around in 360 degrees. The entire collection of images also is available in the Google Street View gallery:

http://www.google.com/streetview

The new partnership is part of KSC's 50th anniversary celebration. For more information about Kennedy's 50th anniversary, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/y0VdRi

For more information about Kennedy, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/kennedy

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com