First Day At Kennedy Space Center

The rear of the famous countdown clock.
View from the Press Center lawn, past the countdown clock and the U.S. flag towards the Vehicle Assembly Building.
The Press Center lawn runs down to the Turn basin, where barges arrive bearing the shuttle external tanks and solid rocket boosters.
View of the STS 131 stack on Pad 39A from the Press Site. Discovery is hidden by the enveloping Rotating Service Structure, but the orange external fuel tank and one of the two white solid rocket boosters are visible. The white mast atop the launch tower is a lighting rod.
Pad 39B has been used by Apollo, Shuttle and now Aries vehicles. Here we see it from the Press Site. The masts are newly installed lightning rods.
My rental car in the Press Site carpark, with the Vehicle Assembly Building dominating the background. I quickly learned to park the car facing north, minimising the need to cool the car before getting in. This being my first day at KSC, I had parked facing south, and so learned the lesson the hard way!

On Good Friday, April 2, most shops appeared to be open, but my focus was on getting to the Kennedy Space Center, which was also open for business. With my media accreditation complete, I drove into the News Center and took part in some media briefings on STS 131, and met NASA Public Affairs Officers and other journalists. I could see the space shuttle Discovery sitting on the launch pad some 5 km away. Between 12:50 pm and 1:45 pm I took photos of the 160 metre tall Vehicle Assembly Building and of the famous countdown clock.

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