A Complete Guide to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

What is the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex?

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is the visitor center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Filled with delightful exhibits, attractions, and activities, the Visitor Complex offers tourists a glimpse into the world of space and technology.

The Visitor Complex is divided into five Mission Zones. Within these zones, attractions and tours are grouped by chronological era. From the inception of space exploration to current and ongoing missions, visitors get an up-close experience of the stories of humans in space. The Visitor Complex also contains historic spacecraft and memorabilia, two IMAX theaters, and a range of bus tours of the spaceport, among many other exhibits.

History of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in a nutshell

• In 1963, after NASA’s Mercury program grew in popularity and caught the attention of the public, NASA Administrator James Webb was given the responsibility to set up self-guided tours that the public could drive along a predetermined route.
• In the first year, nearly 10,000 visitors flocked to the Kennedy Space Center to marvel at the development of the USA’s space program.
• By 1964, more than 250,000 self-guided car tours were permitted between 1 and 4 pm. on Sundays at Kennedy Space Center.
• In 1965, Kurt H. Debus, the director of the Kennedy Space Center was given $2 million for a full-scale visitor center, covering 42 acres.
• In 1969, as NASA neared the moon, the popularity of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex only increased. In the same year, it became the second most visited Florida attraction.
• Between 1995 and 2007, the Kennedy Space Center visitor center went through many changes. Restaurants, retail shops, buses, and new exhibits were all renovated.
• During this time, the visitor complex got its current name, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
• Ever since, the facility has been entirely self-supporting and receives no taxpayer or government funding.