10/1 Marshall Space Flight Center

We could not go to Huntsville without visiting the Marshall Space Flight Center and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. 

There was lots to see and much of it was interactive.  The displays are so large; many are visible from the highway.  The focus of Marshall Space Flight has been on rockets.  It makes sense to be so close to the Redstone Arsenal.  Just off the parking lot is a rocket with a shuttle replica.  This is what is looked like from the side.

However, when looking from below, it was just huge.

The Saturn V rocket exhibit was amazing.  The stages were separated so you could see how it worked.  The back of the rocket was amazing. 

But when I got to the front and looked back on it, I was even more impressed.

There was a neat interactive on how to land the space shuttle.  It is good thing that Christine works for NASA and not me.

There was a very good exhibit on the International Space Station.  Huntsville can be a back up for ISS mission control. 

There were two other exhibits.  One on the Army and the technologies they use.  John tried an interactive on an actual Avenger Missile System Table Top Trainer. 

Another exhibit was on Archimedes and all his inventions.  While both John and I tried many of the inventions to raise weights and roll balls uphill, I was the one who splashed in the bath and said, "Eureka!".

Remember a couple of days ago, we saw the Delta Mariner taking rockets from United Launch Alliance?  ULA had an exhibit and showed this picture of a rocket being loaded on the Delta Mariner in Decatur, AL.

After lunch, we headed back to the marina where our friends, Tom and Carolynn, had docked their boat Su Sueno.   They have already been up to Chattanooga and are heading back down the Tennessee to get on the Tenn Tom Waterway.  It was good to see them again.

Tomorrow, we head up the Tennessee to Goose Pond Marina, where we have a package waiting for us.