11 March 2023, Space Coast USA, Port Canaveral –

After a day spent catching up on various things, it was time to get back on the space tourist trail.  First up, we called in at the Sands Space History Center, in Port Canaveral. We discovered this was tucked in behind SpaceX’s launch and landing control center, itself an unassuming building that could be a local council office.  No shiny glass towers for Elon; the magic happens inside.

The Sands Space History Center traces the history of the more than 40 launch complexes (LCs) that are strung out along the coastline of Cape Canaveral.  Back before 9-11, there were tours of the launch complexes, but now the average member of the public can’t get any further in than this museum.  It has free entry and is staffed by volunteers; and it is the complete opposite to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center.  It was nice and quiet, small, and we had plenty of room to wander around the displays in a relaxed fashion.

The museum consists of one large display room, and a small but well stocked gift shop.  There is a display board for each Launch Complex, providing a history and highlights, as well as related photos, videos, models and artefacts.  It has been put together with care and accuracy, with the right amount of information to hold interest without being overwhelming or too technical.  We spent about 2 hours looking through it all.  In one corner was an “Astro Lego” display – Ian’s two favourite things in one room.

The reason for visiting Sands on this particular day was its proximity to a prime launch viewing site, and we were back for another go at seeing the Relativity 3D-printed rocket make its maiden flight.  We were directed to reverse park in a grassed paddock, by a guy wearing a hi-vis vest; we half expected to see controls and a finish chute.  Instead, we pulled out a picnic lunch and settled in for the afternoon.  We had a much better view than the previous attempt, and we were hopeful of seeing something this time.

The first delay was caused by, of all things, a boat that had strayed into the range, and had to be sent off.  The countdown actually got right down to zero, and we all stood holding our breath waiting to see the rocket rise into sight, but nothing appeared.  The computer said No, and that was that.  They made one last attempt at 4pm, but it was no surprise when that was aborted.  This is how things are in the world of rocket nerds.  We did meet a couple who are on vacation from Ohio, where it is snowing; we had a nice chat.

Back home, I took some snaps of the Spanish moss dangling from the large trees at the end of our road.  We are in “Sherwood Forest”, a small residential housing estate built around a series of cul-de-sacs.  We think it is related to the university across the road.  There are no fences between any of the houses so you can’t tell where the property boundaries are.  There are lots of kids, and they get together and play in the street, which is really nice to see.  It all seems very neighbourly.