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Kennedy Space Center Private Tour

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• Transportation Included
• Tour Guide Included
• Groups Allowed
• Access for Disabled
• Approx. 12 hours

Private Kennedy Space Center Tours from Orlando

Welcome to the home of One Small Step for Man. Without any shadow of doubt, this is one of the most thrilling attractions in Florida. The sheer amount you can expect to see, touch, and learn about sets the KSC far above. This is a dynamic, visceral place to visit, and we can’t wait to guide you around. Keep reading to learn more about this private Kennedy Space Center experience; if you’d like to browse more experiences, consider our other Private Tours in Florida and our Standard Group Tours in Florida .

What's Included

• Admission into Kennedy Space Center Visitors complex
• PRIVATE Roundtrip Transportation
• Professional, Certified and Licensed Tour Guide

What's Not Included

Pick-up time & schedule.

Approx. 8:30am

*Pickup directly from your hotel

This Kennedy Space Center private tour offers the past, present and future of the space program, but it also puts visitors front and center in the whole experience like never before. Seeing is believing, and you will believe you have been transported to the cutting edge of space exploration through a series of hands-on exhibits, movies, and presentations, including a daily Astronaut Encounter with one of the modern heroes of NASA’s operations.

About this Private Kennedy Space Center Experience

This Kennedy Space Center experience includes PRIVATE transportation to and from the listed activities. No other visitors will be traveling in the same tour vehicle as you and your party. Door-to-door service is included with pickup directly from your hotel.

“PRIVATE” refers to the transportation used to and from Orlando and between the included activities on the tour booked. Activities throughout the day may still be experienced on a shared basis such as boat rides, simulators, bus tours provided as part of an admission ticket, etc.

Starting Your KSC Private Tour

It all starts with the signature bus tour that provides a complete overview of the full extent of the vast spread of operations, including the massive Vehicle Assembly Building, Launch Complex 39B, and the Apollo/Saturn V Center, with its recreated moon landing and awesome full-size Saturn V rocket.

Back at the KSC’s main Visitor Complex, you should check out the hugely impressive Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit, with its moving presentation of one of the four surviving orbiters. Also make sure to take a ride on the riveting Shuttle Launch Experience, a clever simulator with the inside track on what it feels like to blast off from the Space Center.

You can also visit the Heroes & Legends center (including the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame). Soak up the grandeur of the IMAX Theater with its eye-popping large-screen movies, and wander the Rocket Garden.

There is SO much to see here, you will definitely need all day to take it all in, and our Admission with Transportation is the perfect way to indulge your inner astronaut! The KSC is fully 60 miles from Orlando, so let us take the strain out of the journey and you can enjoy the experience to the max. 

Book today to avoid disappointment and please get in touch if you have any questions. 

New to Kennedy Space Center: Gateway

Officially referred to as “Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex”, this brand-new exhibit is included in the price of your ticket. It is an exciting look at the future of deep space exploration while also shining a light on the incredible work that is being done in the present. Ever wondered how we’ll travel between solar systems? This is the best place on the planet to find out!

The Gateway exhibition space is huge and it is packed with real spacecrafts and technologies used by NASA to get people and equipment out into space and back again. Here are just a few highlights of what you can look forward to in the KSC’s new Gateway attraction:

ORION EFT-1 CAPSULE SPACEX CARGO DRAGON COTS-2 SIERRA SPACE DREAM CHASER® BOEING CST-100 STARLINER MOCKUP CAPSULE LOCKHEED MARTIN SPACE HABITAT ROBOTIC SPACE EXPLORERS INTERACTIVE WALL And so much more!

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NASA Tech Tuesday: Seeing Is Communicating

When a physical condition limits mobility, getting around is easier with EyeGaze Edge. The eye-tracking technology integrates with the Ability Drive application used with motorized mobility devices, enabling hands-free control of a wheelchair’s motion.

Work by JPL has helped to make eye-tracking technology more widely accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Communicating when a traumatic brain injury, stroke, or disease has made speech impossible can be daunting. Specialized eye-tracking technology uses eye movement to enable people living with disabilities to connect one-on-one over the phone or via the internet.

Eye-tracking systems for computers pinpoint a person’s gaze – where the eye is looking at a screen – by reflecting infrared light off the cornea and capturing it with a camera, using image-processing software to determine the eye’s orientation. The technology isn’t new, but it has become much more widely accessible, thanks in part to a collaboration between NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and a Fairfax, Virginia-based company called Eyegaze Inc.

When the company built the first model in 1988, its computers were bulky, requiring three shipping boxes for equipment and a company staff member to set up the system. That cost limited access, and the learning process could be intimidating.

In 1998, NASA and Eyegaze entered a public-private partnership via Congressional funding to make the hardware smaller, more portable, and affordable without compromising efficiency. It also reduced the weight of the original system by six times and its volume by nearly the same factor. Other advancements served as a springboard for two more decades of development. By collaborating with JPL, the two entities were able to miniaturize and improve the company’s Eyegaze Edge system and lower costs, eliminating barriers to ownership of this communications technology.

“Working with NASA, we were able to make the device less bulky,” said Preethi Vaidyanathan, an engineer with Eyegaze. “Since then, we integrated the external components into a small camera.” It mounts above or below a standard computer screen and requires less than 15 seconds to calibrate to an individual’s gaze.

Visual Surfing

Minesweeper and other video games adapted to use eye-tracking technology are just one form of entertainment made possible by EyeGaze for people living with disabilities.

As personal electronic devices and internet access became commonplace, Eyegaze customers wanted to do more than type. The company’s work with NASA and other government partners put it in a position to meet that demand.

Eyeworld integrates with computers, mobile phones, and tablets, allowing the Eyegaze camera to function as an external mouse and keyboard. By enabling almost any computer function, it lets users chat online, post to social media, send emails, text, or make phone calls. It’s also possible to change room lighting, adjust thermostat settings, and operate other environmental controls using Amazon Echo and Google Home via pages of specialized buttons with one-glance button controls.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Eyegaze integrated communications programs such as Zoom and WhatsApp to allow people to connect with their family and friends. To help combat a sense of isolation, the company added meditation apps and Window Swap, which stream the views from different windows worldwide. Virtual museums take the viewer on guided tours. A music streaming service syncs to favorite music apps and offers the International Radio Garden app to sample music from other cultures. Access to online gaming communities provides another way to connect.

“We are constantly thinking about what the customers want. One thing is freedom of movement, so controlling a wheelchair gives them that to some extent,” said Vaidyanathan. Eyegaze Edge integrates with the Ability Drive application used with motorized mobility devices. Looking at a specific button enables hands-free control of a wheelchair’s motion.

The Right to Speak

Eye-tracking hardware and software make it possible for a person to communicate using the movement of their eyes. This keyboard screen is one of many Eyegaze developed for people with a full range of eye motion. A vertical keyboard is available for those who can only look up and down.

Numerous medical conditions can lead to the kind of physical paralysis making it impossible to speak. Well-publicized brain and spinal cord injuries in athletes have led to broader awareness. But there is a host of other causes, such as cerebral palsy, ALS, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and spinal muscular atrophy. These conditions can result in locked-in syndrome, which paralyzes all voluntary muscles except those that control eye movement. Eye-tracking software is a lifeline for patients, using what may be their only remaining voluntary movement, but even that can be impeded.

Eyegaze Edge measures several eye features, making it possible for the tracker to work even when less of the pupil is visible. The company employs clinical specialists who can troubleshoot issues that may prevent customers from using the system, eye conditions like cataracts, dry eyes, and eyelids that droop, partly covering the pupil.

The company now serves individuals in 44 countries, including nations in Southeast Asia and Africa. Adults, children as young as 18 months old, military veterans, and others can communicate using only their eyes. If only vertical eye movement is possible, Eyegaze Edge offers a special vertical keyboard screen. Pages of commonly used phrases communicate a statement with a single glance. Large, easy-to-use buttons allow patients to communicate directly with healthcare providers and caregivers for everyday needs.

Get the Latest JPL News

Clinicians use Eyegaze Edge and teach their patients how to communicate using the technology. In some cases, Vaidyanathan said, this technology even allows people to share their final thoughts with family and friends.

“NASA helped us get our technology to the size of a laptop – small and sleek. But we continue to investigate and design our solutions to meet ongoing needs. Communication is a key right, so we must accommodate these different challenges,” she said.

NASA has a long history of transferring technology to the private sector . The agency’s Spinoff publication profiles NASA technologies that have transformed into commercial products and services, demonstrating the broader benefits of America’s investment in its space program. Spinoff is a publication of the Technology Transfer program in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).

For more information on how NASA brings space technology down to Earth, visit:

spinoff.nasa.gov

Written by Margo Pierce NASA’s Spinoff Publication

NASA astronauts enter quarantine for 1st crewed Boeing Starliner launch on May 6

The astronauts will isolate in Houston, then in Florida.

The first Starliner crew is in quarantine ahead of their scheduled May 6 launch.

The two NASA astronauts to fly aboard Boeing Starliner , Barry "Butch" Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams, entered standard pre-flight quarantine on Tuesday (April 22) at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, agency officials stated in a press release.

Quarantine will "ensure the health and safety of the crew prior to liftoff, as well as prevent sickness of the astronauts at the International Space Station ," NASA officials stated . "During quarantine, astronaut contact is limited, and most interactions are remote — although family and some launch team members also may be in quarantine or cleared before interacting with the crew."

The astronauts' mission, Crew Flight Test or CFT, will launch to space from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) near Orlando, Florida. The duo will also be the first humans to fly on board the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket.

Related: I flew Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in 4 different simulators. Here's what I learned (video, photos)

Boeing and SpaceX received contracts from NASA in 2014 for commercial crew missions to the ISS. Previous to commercial crew, NASA's space shuttle regularly exchanged ISS crews until the program's retirement in 2011 after 30 years of missions.

Boeing's commercial crew contract for the Starliner is valued at $4.2 billion, compared to SpaceX's $2.6 billion. SpaceX has been running operational ISS missions with Crew Dragon since 2020, while Starliner was delayed four years.

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Engineers uncovered and addressed numerous technical problems with Starliner, particularly after the first uncrewed test flight in 2019 that failed to reach the ISS as planned. (A second flight got there safely in 2022.) 

More issues were found in 2023, further pushing back human spaceflight: The suspension lines of Starliner's main parachutes could handle less load than engineers thought, for example, and the capsule's wiring was largely covered in flammable P213 tape.

During a two-day media tour at JSC in March that Space.com attended, the crew, NASA and Boeing officials emphasized that the delays were necessary for safety. Moreover, the team has confidence that everything is ready for astronauts. Should issues come up in flight, which is common on new spacecraft, Starliner will be in good hands: Williams and Wilmore are former U.S. Navy test pilots well-versed in working out the kinks.

Related: 1st Boeing Starliner astronauts are ready to launch to the ISS for NASA (exclusive)

NASA's commercial crew program gave CFT its "go for launch" on April 18, following a flight test readiness review, officials wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Another review is scheduled on April 25, which is also the day that the astronauts are scheduled to fly to KSC for launch preparation.

Meanwhile, Starliner made a six-mile (10-kilometer) journey between KSC buildings on April 16 to reach ULA's vertical integration facility, where it was integrated onto its Atlas V rocket. Engineers are testing the communications between the rocket and spacecraft before the stacked rocket rolls out to its KSC launch pad.

—  NASA, Boeing hail Starliner space capsule launch success despite thruster glitch

 — Boeing's Starliner crew capsule channels R2-D2 ahead of astronaut test flight

 — NASA, Boeing delay Starliner capsule's 1st astronaut launch to early May

The first operational mission for Starliner, known as Starliner-1, is set for early 2025 at the earliest. The crew for that mission is NASA's Scott Tingle, NASA's Mike Fincke and the Canadian Space Agency's Joshua Kutryk. 

SpaceX and Boeing aren't the only entities sending astronauts to the ISS, as Russia's Soyuz spacecraft has been doing that since the complex began construction in 1998. Some NASA astronauts fly on Soyuz for technical and policy reasons, too. 

NASA has several quarantine facilities available for astronauts and their support teams. JSC's NASA Astronaut Quarantine Facility is a 12,000-square-foot complex with 12 private sleeping quarters, alongside restrooms, a fitness room and a full kitchen, according to general contractor Harvey Cleary .

KSC's Astronaut Crew Quarters is roughly 26,000 square feet in size and is on the third floor of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, where spacecraft are tested and assembled. Among other features are 23 bedrooms and bathrooms, a suit room to get spacesuits on before launch, a kitchen, dining room, gym, conference rooms, laundry rooms, medical exam rooms and a flight surgeon's office, NASA officials stated .

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, " Why Am I Taller ?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will not fly private missions yet, officials say

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is 'go' for May 6 astronaut launch

Russia vetoes UN resolution against nuclear weapons in space

• sciencecompliance Let's hope the hatch doesn't fly off. Reply

Admin said: Veteran NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are in quarantine at agency facilities before the 1st Boeing Starliner launch. They are expected to fly on May 6. NASA astronauts enter quarantine for 1st crewed Boeing Starliner launch on May 6 : Read more

• Robert Lucien Howe Two very brave people. Reply

Ed Henry said: Didn't they learn their lesson when Gus Grissom was burned to death?

• View All 4 Comments

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NET MAY 6, 2024 | NASA's Boeing Starliner Crewed Flight Test

2024 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame® Induction 

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Incredible historic place. Wish my grandkids lived closer, this place would be so exciting for them. We only spent 4+ hours but even a full day won’t be enough. Seeing the rockets and space shuttle were breathtaking. Go 😃...

Trip Advisor user Linda D, February 2020