THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER--

A dramatic, holographic presentation (above) took space center visitors along for the historic 1969 landing on the moon; one of the featured venues at the visitor's complex for our gateway to space exploration. 

The lunar landing module remained on the moon while an artistic view of the starry sky, nebulae, a spiral galaxy, the sun, earth and the space station celebrated this early achievement in space after--in the above view--the lander's module returned to the service vehicle orbiting above the lunar landing site.

Another dramatic venue at the space complex was the Saturn 5 display of the largest rocket ever built.  The rocket's five massive engines (left) dwarf visitors walking below.

Our visit to the complex included a bus ride to the observation gantry for the 39 A and B launch pads of the Apollo program, in addition to the Apollo/Saturn 5 center located near the Vehicle Assembly Building where those massive rockets were assembled and made ready to fly.

My tour of the center was rattled by noting all of the programs were done in the present tense while our current space shuttle flights to the International Space Station have now been stopped.

We have abandoned our capacity to resupply astronauts and supplies to that historic, scientific platform that orbits overhead, about 17 times each day.

We have left that mission in the hands of the Russians and their Soyuz spacecraft--with its checkered history of recent, safe launches.

NASA's base of operations for some of the most amazing achievements of mankind now has no mission--except for an occasional military or civilian satellite launch.

Yet, the dream is still there; to return to the moon and fly to Mars.  Maybe.  Someday.

Mark Meinzer enjoys a peek at the model of the Space Shuttle with its launch gantry (above).  The control room for the Saturn/Apollo launch program is pictured below, treating visitors to an animated view of an actual Saturn launch.

US Astronaut deaths in the space program are memorialized at the space center (above) and include the loss of 7 astronauts in the 1986 Challenger disaster, 6 who died in the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster, 5 in training flights and 3 who died in a fire on the pad in Apollo 1 in 1967.