Updates From Kennedy Space Center For May 19-31

1. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, including food and beverage areas, will open at 7 a.m. Thursday, May 22  for guests to view the Atlas V launch scheduled for 8 a.m. Visitors may view the launch from the north lawn of Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction, approximately five and a half miles from the launch pad. The launch will kick-off a full day of space adventures for guests and the Visitor Complex will remain open until 7 p.m. Launch date, time and viewing opportunities are subject to change.

2. Teams of undergraduate and graduate students from around the country will demonstrate their excavator robots May 19-23 at the Visitor Complex. More than 35 teams have designed and built remote controlled mining robots that can traverse the simulated Martian terrain features and excavate simulated regolith. During the competition the teams’ robots will go head-to-head to determine which machine can collect and move the most regolith within a specified amount of time.

3. Veteran NASA astronauts will meet with visitors at Astronaut Encounter:

• Space Shuttle Astronaut Jim Reilly, May 19
• Space Shuttle Astronaut Barbara Morgan, May 20-24
• Space Shuttle Astronaut Mark Lee, May 25-30
• Space Shuttle Astronaut John-David Bartoe, May 31

For more information about these great special events and more, visit www.KennedySpaceCenter.com.