This Kennedy Space Center visitor’s guide features seven must-know Kennedy Space Center tips and a helpful one day in Kennedy Space Center itinerary.
When I was thirteen, I heard my grandpa say for the first time, “The more you know, the more you know that you don’t know.” He opened his notebook (he always had one) and drew a sphere as round as the earth, labeling the inside known. “This is your sphere of knowledge. As you get older and older, this sphere will get bigger and bigger, and that space,” he pointed to a big, blank space extending to the paper’s edges, “that space will get bigger too. That space is infinite.”
He added a new label (unknown) past the sphere’s pencil curves, and I imagined the lines of the sheet fading, the boundaries bending, and thousands of tiny unanswered questions orbiting all the little facts in my brain.
My grandpa was an astrophysicist (later, a computer science professor). He was obsessed with the unknown and knowing the unknown. The quote he shared was from Aristotle, though, for many years, I believed those words were his own because they fit him perfectly.
“The more you know, the more you know that you don’t know,” I murmur as I watch orange, lego-like roadblocks forklifted up and away from Kennedy Space Center’s (KSC) entrance. It’s 8:30 AM. I’m the first visitor here, and the parking lot is almost ready for today’s tourists. My little sphere of Kennedy Space Center knowledge (a tiny remnant from a previous visit) told me to arrive early, but as the clock ticks towards 9 AM, I realize there’s still a lot I don’t know.
Is Kennedy Space Center’s bus tour included in admission? How long is the bus tour? Is KSC on Cape Canaveral, or is it located on Merritt Island? Will I see a rocket launch? Is one day even enough time to navigate Kennedy Space Center?
The short answer: visiting Kennedy Space Center isn’t supposed to be rocket science, but in many ways, it is. Here are seven tips to know before you go to KSC.
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Know Where To Purchase Your Ticket
Kennedy Space Center tickets are available online and in-person. You can purchase a ticket from the ticket counter when you arrive at KSC or book your tickets on KSC’s official website.
Your ticket includes:
- a bus tour (narrated bus transport from the Main Visitor Complex to the Apollo/Saturn V Center)
- access to the Gateway, Space Shuttle Atlantis, & Heroes & Legends exhibits
- an astronaut encounter
- IMAX film showings
- a rocket garden tour
- a rocket launch viewing (if available)
Your ticket doesn’t include parking (the parking fee is an additional $15).
| Itemized KSC Receipt Breakdown | Cost |
|---|---|
| One-Day Adult Admission Ticket | $75.00 |
| Tax | $5.64 |
| Convenience Fee | $5.60 |
| Parking | $14.02 |
| Parking (Sales Tax) | $0.98 |
| Total | $101.24 |
Travel Tip: Although online and in-person ticket subtotals are the same, overall ticket prices are not identical. When I booked my tickets online, I noticed a $5.60 upcharge (labeled on the receipt as a convenience fee) and called KSC to clarify what that was. A general information agent told me I was billed “for having access to the website, of course!” If you purchase your ticket at the ticket counter, you don’t pay KSC’s digital-use convenience fee. KSC always has plenty of counter tickets available, but you will have to wait in line (and queues move slowly).
Know The Best Times To Visit Kennedy Space Center
Tourists pile into Kennedy Space Center during fall and winter breaks. Although Kennedy Space Center officially closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, the weekends surrounding those holidays welcome flocks of families into the visitor complex’s hub of mini-museums.
Crowded holds a different meaning at Kennedy Space Center than elsewhere in Florida. KSC sees roughly a million tourists annually, so it’s consistently busy but not claustrophobic (context for comparison: the Global Attractions Attendance Report estimates Magic Kingdom, in Orlando, hosts 17 million tourists each year).
I’d personally recommend visiting Kennedy Space Center on a weekday between late November and May. You avoid hot, sticky, coastal summer afternoons and stormy weather intensified by hurricane season (Atlantic Hurricane Season officially runs from June to November but carries the most threat between August and October).
Arrive as early as you can in the day. Parking opens at 8:30 AM, and the complex opens at 9 AM. You’ll want to be in line under the EXPLORE sign by then.
Know The Bag Policy Before Visiting Kennedy Space Center
At 9 AM, I slide my day bag onto a screening table.
Since Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor Complex is located on federal property, all bags are subject to search. Your bag will be inspected right when you enter (it doesn’t take long, and security is usually friendly).
Only small, soft-sided coolers and backpacks are allowed, so I slipped my phone, wallet, and Hydroflask into this comfy little crossbody rucksack (I had every intention of packing a brunch wrap too, but I may have eaten it before I got to the gate – whoops). I recommend packing your own lunch if you can (I’ve tried KSC’s dining options, Moon Rock Cafe and Orbit Cafe, before and found them underwhelming and overpriced).
| Bring This (Allowed) | Leave This (Prohibited) |
|---|---|
| small, soft-sided cooler | glass container or bottle |
| phone + portable charger | drone |
| water | alcohol |
Travel Tip: Pack a portable phone charger or mini power bank! As much as I love Kennedy Space Center’s free visitor app, the app drained my phone battery (and I would have appreciated a low-stress way to recharge).
Know How To Navigate The KSC Guide App
You’ll find a digital Kennedy Space Center map on KSC Guide, a free app available on both IOS and Android.
Before Visiting Kennedy Space Center:
- Download the KSC Guide app
- Navigate to the “Daily Schedule” tab.
- Select the calendar icon in the top left corner (if you’re using an Android device, this icon is located in the top right corner).
- When prompted for a date, set the date you are visiting KSC.
- Then, click Done in the top right corner (if you are using an Android device, click Save).
- Now, you will see a tentative list of IMAX movies and guided tour timings.
- Attractions with the gray label “show” are included with your ticket. Items with the gray label “event” are add-ons (you need to pay for an additional ticket to access those events).
- To see the attractions map, select the “Explore” tab.
Travel Tip: If you purchased your admission ticket online, you can import your ticket into the app! Head to the “My Visit” tab. Click on Tickets, then the blue “Add Tickets” button. Once prompted, take a photo of the barcode on your admission ticket (the one sent to your email) to import your admission ticket!
Know How To Spend A Day At Kennedy Space Center
I visited Kennedy Space Center for the first time in the late aughts. I sat on a bus that tumbled towards a rocket the size of a football field and stared out the window. As a kid, I was sidetracked by the landscape. Florida’s shallow marshes looked like puddles I could jump in (for a few seconds, at least. An alligator’s toothy smile instantly fizzled that fantasy).
A decade later, I’m back in line for KSC’s bus tour. It’s 9:05 AM. I’m listening to an audiobook (What If 2 by Randall Munroe. I also recommend All Systems Red by Martha Wells) because the first bus departs at 9:30 AM. Lines get long quickly, so it’s nice to be here early.
KSC’s bus tour begins with a thirteen(ish) minute ride to the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Small screens play a presentation narrated by space gal Emily Calandrelli.
Try to sit on the right side of the bus (instead of the left) on both the ride to the Apollo/Saturn V Center and back from the Apollo/Saturn V Center. The right side of the bus provides clearer views of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the biggest single-story building in the world. More of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge’s plants and animals also slide into view (Kennedy Space Center, NASA, and Space X sit on 7,000 acres of developed land in the midst of a 144,000 acre conservation area managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service).
One Day In Kennedy Space Center Itinerary
9:00 am
Once you arrive at KSC, head straight to the bus tour line. Now, relax. Pop on some headphones and listen to an audiobook or podcast as you wait for the 9:30 am bus to depart from the Main Visitor Complex to the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Allocate at least an hour and a half to the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Here, you’ll learn about the Apollo moon landings, see the largest rocket ever flown, and touch a moon rock!
11:15 am
Shuttle back to the Main Visitor Complex and snap a photo of The Rocket Garden, real rockets from the Apollo, Mercury, and Gemini programs huddled outdoors. NASA never flew these rockets, and a KSC tour guide will tell you a bit more about why. The tour is only fifteen minutes long but packed with information.
Travel Tip: Tour and show timings change from day to day. I highly recommend scrolling through the “Daily Schedule” tab in the KSC Guide app, making any modifications to this itinerary based on your specific dates, and setting notifications for shows you’re interested in.
11:30 am
Snack break. Sit at one of the umbrella-topped outdoor tables, rest your legs, and munch on a packed lunch.
12:30 pm
If you spent a little longer at Apollo/Saturn V Center (honestly, I could spend hours there) and missed the 11:15 am Rocket Garden Tour, no worries! You can always join a later tour time or wander around the garden at your own pace. Just be sure to hit up a nearby Mission Zone, NASA Now + Next, before you leave.
Alternatively, duck indoors to watch a space film. Our top two film options? One of KSC’s IMAX documentaries (45 minutes) and Journey To Mars (30 minutes). Journey To Mars plays every hour within an interactive, multimedia-heavy exhibit (you’ll learn fun facts about the Curiosity Rover and Mars Landers).
1:00 pm
Next, head to Space Shuttle Atlantis, one of the most popular attractions at Kennedy Space Center! The segue to the Atlantis exhibit alone makes this exhibit worth visiting. Allocate a lot of time to see Space Shuttle Atlantis, KSC’s Hubble Telescope replica, and floor displays about astronauts’ day-to-day life in space. If you have questions, join the 1:30 pm Space Shuttle Atlantis tour. It’s short (barely nine minutes) but a welcoming place to ask questions.
3:15 pm
Sit in a chilly theatre and listen to a real astronaut give a TED-style talk about their life. Astronaut Encounter is one of the most underrated shows at KSC. I listened to Anna Lee Fisher (my current girl crush). Fisher was one of the first women to fly in space and the first mother to fly in space!
4:15 pm
Wander into Heroes & Legends, an immersive 4D show that leads to the Astronaut Hall Of Fame. Once you’re in the Hall of Fame, try to spot the name of the astronaut you listened to at the Astronaut Encounter before Kennedy Space Center closes (at 5 PM)!
Know The Truth About The Rocket Launch Schedule
Although viewing a rocket launch is included in admission, don’t expect to see a launch while visiting Kennedy Space Center! Rocket launches are sporadic and often scrubbed. Florida’s weather is fickle. Technical issues happen. So NASA and Space X frequently delay or postpone launches. Safety first.
If you’re interested in (maybe, potentially, crank-that-hope-down-a-notch) seeing a rocket launch, here’s a link to a launch schedule. These are the best places to see a launch at Kennedy Space Center. And this NASA guide shares additional launch viewing locations outside of Kennedy Space Center.
Know If Kennedy Space Center Is Worth Visiting
There is no point in my life where I would have disliked Kennedy Space Center. My grandfather was an astrophysicist for a space program. I went to Buzz Aldrin Elementary School. The first famous figure I met in the United States was Buzz Aldrin (he sat in my school’s auditorium and read from his children’s book and was kind to us all). Somewhere in an envelope of Kodak photos at my parent’s house is a picture of me and my dad smiling in front of Space Shuttle Discovery at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. My dad was a space geek, too, and I was a STEM major before becoming a travel blogger.
If you don’t love science and technology and math and engineering, Kennedy Space Center might feel boring. Many couples pointed out the lack of rides, and I saw so many smiles slip upside down once it clicked for visitors that KSC is not a theme park. If you’re looking for fun space-themed thrills, Cosmic Rewind (the Guardians of the Galaxy ride) at Epcot and Galaxy’s Edge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios might be more worth your time (and money).
Kennedy Space Center is an educational facility, a hub of museums with a handful of hyped-up exhibit reveals and interactive elements. You need a high tolerance for multimedia presentations and info-dumping to enjoy this space fully.
Is KSC worth visiting? Yes, if you love rocket science. Yes, if astronauts and NASA engineers were your childhood heroes. Yes, if you love knowing about the unknown. Yes, if you feel these words by John F. Kennedy in your heart.
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
John F. Kennedy
Did you enjoy this guide to visiting Kennedy Space Center? Do you have any Kennedy Space Center travel tips? Let me know in the comments below!