We Have Liftoff

Central Florida’s Space Coast is fired up with new attractions for visitors and residents alike.

- Megan Padilla

IF YOU DIDN’T grow up going to the Space Coast beaches, there’s a chance you haven’t visited the coastal region just an hour east of Orlando since the last space shuttle launch in 2011. But with the opening of the much-touted Heroes & Legends exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex late last year, a new display at the Brevard Zoo that features kangaroos and Komodo dragons, and the revitalized Cocoa Beach Pier, now is the time to linger and explore.

HEROES & LEGENDS. What is a hero? The first major attraction at KSCVC since the awesome Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit debuted in 2013 delves into the successes and failures of our early space missions—the Mercury, Apollo and Gemini—and the character traits of our pioneering astronauts. With the addition of Heroes & Legends, KSC has organized its mission zones based on each era of the space program, from its fledgling flights and beyond with top-secret SpaceX and Boeing projects underway in the hightech garages formerly used by shuttle orbiters.

Orlando-based, themed entertainment company Falcon’s Creative Group helped bring the attraction to life with their deft use of technology. The 4D movie is virtual reality, with the glasses, and it is designed to make audience members feel as if they are reliving the astronauts’ experiences through their eyes.