Welcome to NASA's Mission Control Center and Rocket Park in Houston
The NASA Mission Control Center plays a big role in the attempt to successfully reach the moon by spacecraft and manages the launch, flight, and landing of a rocket. This virtual cache happens to be placed at Rocket Park, one of the many amazing sites to visit while at the NASA Space Center. The park itself includes a few rockets, all of which were used in real NASA missions during the 1960s and 70s. To log this cache as a find, you must answer a few questions and take a few pictures based on the rockets.
NASA Houston features a large Space Center, the Lyndon B. Johnson Mission Control Center, and Rocket Park, all of which have numerous amazing sites and exhibits of real rockets and spacecrafts and offer inside information on all that happens behind the design, launch, flight, and landing of a spacecraft. Tickets at the gate range from $25 to $30 with a $5 parking fee, but where the cache is located, Rocket Park, is free of charge and open to the public from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. The park features a few rockets used in NASA missions, including the Saturn V, the tallest, heaviest, and most powerful rocket ever flown, weighing in at about 6.2 million pounds and standing at 363 feet tall. This rocket launched 27 astronauts into space with six successful missions to land on the moon. On it's final mission, the Saturn V launched Skylab, America's first station, into orbit. Fortunately, this virtual will enable you to see this beast of a rocket up close and personal and truly experience the size and force of the Saturn V.
Logging Requirements:
Photos:
- At the entrance to the room containing the Saturn V rocket, there is the original NASA sign. Take a picture of you and/or your GPS in front of this sign.
- As you enter the large room, you will see the Saturn V rocket. Take a picture of you and/or your GPS standing in front of the rocket.
*ALL PHOTOS MUST BE UPLOADED WITH YOUR LOG*
Questions:
- At the front of the Saturn V rocket, there is a small plaque that says "National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark." On this plaque, figure out the exact weight of the Skylab that the Saturn V launched into space AND the date it was launched.
- As you walk outside of the Saturn V exhibit, you will see a smaller rocket named Mercury-Redstone. On the sign located on this rocket, figure out the altitude, velocity, and weight of Al Shepard's spacecraft.
- Finally, you will see a rocket that is held up with yellow support beams. From the sign located on the backside of this rocket, figure out the name and use of this spacecraft.
*PLEASE SEND ANSWERS ALONG WITH YOUR CACHING USERNAME AND THE NAME OF THE CACHE VIA E-MAIL OR THE GEOCACHING MESSAGE SYSTEM*
I hope you enjoy the cache and your time at the NASA Space Center!
*PLEASE DO NOT POST ANY SPOILERS IN YOUR PICTURES AND LOGS*
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018: This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.