Blast Off To Summer Funby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 28 May 2007 12:48 PM For less cash than it would take to fill up your car with gas you can experience an out-of-this-world ride that will leave your cheeks fluttering and your ears ringing. That's right; just $38 will buy you a seat on the brand new Shuttle Launch Experience. The ride is part of the $60 million addition to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex located east of Orlando, Florida. The simulated experience is being touted as one of the best thrill rides in the nation. It includes an interplay of sound, high definition video, and special-effects seats, which make you feel as though you are pulling 3 G's, much like an astronaut would during a vertical blast into space. The ride was designed with detailed input from a former shuttle pilot and other astronauts to allow visitors the chance to experience what it is like to blast off into outer space. For you expert thrill seekers, the Shuttle Launch Experience unleashes no real force on riders, though it still rates among the best non-roller-coaster rides in the country according to amusement park analysts. If you have a gut of steel and dare board the Shuttle Launch Experience, here's what you can expect: First, you are led along a series of industrial-looking catwalks similar to those that surround real shuttles. Next, you enter a gigantic room lined with large video screens. Once all the riders are inside, the lights dim and a briefing about the shuttle begins, hosted by former astronaut Charlie Bolden. After that, you file into one of four "flight simulator" chambers, which each seat 44 passengers. The commentary by Bolden continues while you buckle up and prepare for blast-off. Prior to the virtual launch, the seating chamber tilts back, and the video screens show the nose of the shuttle, creating the sensation of looking straight into the sky. During take off the ride shakes and pictures of smoke and passing clouds illuminate the video screens. Finally, you feel a tremendous amount of pressure that makes you feel as though you have been cemented to your seat. The ride then shifts to mimic the sensation of G-force and you feel as though you're upside down. The five-minute "flight" also includes a high-powered jolt before the "Main Engine Cut-Off" is initiated. That's when the shuttle shifts suddenly from 3 G's to zero gravity, and you experience silence as the shuttle supposedly glides into space. The ride starts to power down after the "Earth reveal," when the shuttle appears to be orbiting upside down, and you get the chance to view continents and oceans float past the mock cargo-bay doors. There is little doubt that the ride will satisfy your thrill seeking needs, but the designers of the Shuttle Launch Experience say, besides giving visitors a heck of a ride, they also want people to walk away with an appreciation for the mechanics and history of America's space shuttle. Are you game? Related Articles: Summer Travel: Calling All Thrill Seekers Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevanttravel tags User Comments Community Tags florida, family travel, Kennedy Space center, Shuttle Launch Experience, Travel Discuss this article
|
Travel categories |
