News: Shuttle Launch Experience opens at Kennedy Space Center

Posted at 12:12 PM EDT (1612 GMT)

May. 26th, 2007 -- KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex today officially opened Shuttle Launch Experience. Joining Florida Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp and key officials for the attraction's premiere were NASA veteran astronauts including Charlie Bolden, Rick Searfoss, John Young, Robert Crippin, Buzz Aldrin and Al Worden.

The culmination of three years of development by veteran Space Shuttle astronauts, renowned attraction experts and a design team under the guidance of NASA, Shuttle Launch Experience sends visitors through a simulation of launching into Earth's orbit from Kennedy Space Center, the birthplace of American space exploration, minutes from Orlando.

Through sophisticated motion technology, special effects seats and high fidelity presentations, the unique experience immerses visitors in the sensations of launching into space -- going fully vertical in the process.

Kennedy Space Center Director Bill Parsons and Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Chief Operating Officer Daniel LeBlanc joined first Space Shuttle Commander John Young and Pilot Robert Crippen for the inaugural launch of Shuttle Launch Experience. Astronauts and visitors embarked on the new attraction, becoming the first crews of terrestrial explorers to feel the effects of the Space Shuttle's rush to Earth's orbit.

About Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is charting a new course to bring far-reaching NASA exploration events and triumphs to visitors -- up close and personal. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex has been operated by Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, Inc. on behalf of NASA since 1995. More than 1.4 million visitors annually tour Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, the gateway to a working space center and one of Florida's most popular destinations. Admission includes Shuttle Launch Experience, inspiring tours of NASA's spaceport facilities, daily Astronaut Encounters, towering rockets, IMAX(R) space films and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame(R). For more information, call 321-449-4444 or visit http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/.