NASA News
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
John C. Stennis Space Center
(228) 688-3341 May 10, 2004
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000
STS-04-037
Paul Foerman FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NASA News Chief
(228) 688-3341
DO SOMETHING OUT OF THIS WORLD
AT NASA STENNIS SPACE CENTER, MISSISSIPPI
HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. – How far would you like your travels to take you? How about back in time or into outer space – on the same trip? At StenniSphere, NASA Stennis Space Center’s award-winning visitor center in South Mississippi, you and your family can visit the testing site for the engines that propelled the first Americans to the Moon, climb aboard the International Space Station or be transported to a futuristic home on Mars! You’ll find these and other free adventures at Stennis Space Center (SSC), America’s largest rocket-test complex.
SSC was featured on Rand McNally’s 2004 “Land of the Free” list as one of America’s 25 best free tourist destinations.
The center was built on land that boasts a colorful history dating as far back as 1699. Indians, settlers, pirates and soldiers shaped this part of Mississippi that hugs the Gulf of Mexico. The federal government tapped the area in 1961 to be the site of a static test facility for launch vehicles to be used in the Apollo manned lunar landing program. The Apollo program was the dream of famed rocket scientist Dr. Wernher von Braun and a team of rocket technicians who envisioned the peaceful exploration of space as a great adventure. By 1969, SSC had tested the huge engines that took the Saturn V rockets to the Moon in the 1960s, spawning the phrase, “If you want to go to the Moon, first you’ve got to go through Mississippi.”
Located only 45 minutes east of New Orleans and a stone’s throw from the beaches and casinos of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, SSC is ideally situated to enjoy the best of the South.
Kiln, Miss., the hometown of Brett Favre, current quarterback of the Green Bay Packers football team, sits at the edge of the space center.
In 2003, StenniSphere hosted 899 guests from Wisconsin. Visitors to SSC tour the rocket test facility and get a close-up look at the test stands being
used to test the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) that power the Space Shuttle into orbit. SSC also performs tests for NASA’s Next Generation Launch Technology Program that seeks to develop technologies needed for future spacecraft.
StenniSphere, SSC’s visitor center, offers an educational and fun space adventure, and teaches youngsters and adults alike about NASA, Stennis Space Center and space exploration’s rich history and exciting future. Visitors can try their hands at piloting the Space Shuttle in a realistic cockpit simulator; walk through a mock-up of the International Space Station to see how astronauts live and work in outer space; sit at the controls of a Space Shuttle Main Engine test in the Test Control Center exhibit; see how weather is forecast across the globe; and more. They can also see a re-creation of Wernher von Braun’s office, a glimpse of pre-Space Age life in the 1960s.
Visitors begin their journey at the Launch Pad at the I-10 Mississippi Welcome Center. While at the Launch Pad, they can walk in the footsteps of Mississippi native astronaut Fred Haise. Impressions of his moon boots can be found in the cement beneath the lunar lander on which Haise trained for the storied Apollo 13 mission.
From the Launch Pad, visitors register as guests, receive special visitors’ badges to wear during their visit and ride a shuttle to StenniSphere, learning about the unique history of the center along the way. Shuttles travel to and from the Launch Pad approximately every 15 minutes, so visitors can stay as long as they wish.
Added attractions include a motion simulator ride ($4 for children ages 14 and under; $5 for adults); the Space Odyssey Gift Shop, which offers “the right stuff” as souvenirs and gifts for purchase; and the RocKeTeria, a 1960s-themed diner serving local cuisine.
StenniSphere is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend. Winter hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Sundays. StenniSphere is closed all major holidays. Admission is free.
For more information, call (228) 688-2370 or 1-800-237-1821, or visit /centers/ssc/public/visitors.
-ENDNews
releases provided by NASA’s Stennis Space Center are available at https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ssc/news/newsreleases/2004. For more information, call the NASA Public Affairs Office at Stennis at 1-800-237-1821 or (228) 688-3341.
2004 News Releases