Kennedy Space Center to Offer Public Viewing of SpaceX Rocket Launch (VIDEO)

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will offer a public viewing of a SpaceX rocket launch on Friday, January 3, 2014. Watch a video of the rocket being prepared for launch here: 

Kennedy Space Center visitors can view the dusk launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from the Apollo/Saturn V Center, the closest possible public viewing area, or special areas at the Visitor Complex.

The rocket is targeted to blast off from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 5:50 p.m. EST, carrying a Thaicom 6 telecommunications satellite. The launch window closes at 6:57 p.m.

Guests can experience the powerful sights and sounds of the rocket at special viewing available to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex guests from the Apollo/Saturn V Center, located in Kennedy Space Center, for $20 plus the cost of admission. Admission to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is $50 plus tax for adults and $40 plus tax for children 3-11. Bus boarding for the Apollo/Saturn V Center begins at 3:45 p.m.

Located along the Banana River just a few miles from the launch pad, the Apollo/Saturn V viewing area offers the closest public viewing opportunity in Brevard County. This viewing area will feature live launch countdown commentary.

Launch viewing, featuring live mission control commentary, also is available from Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and is included in regular admission.

This will be the second Falcon 9 launch in a month following the successful December 3, 2013, launch of the SES-8 satellite. 

Space tourism has been in the news recently with word of plans to offer cheap space flights from the Canary Islands. The flights are being designed to be as cheap as possible, with a space shuttle detaching from an Airbus A300 aircraft six miles above Earth. Six people will then be flown 60 miles further before returning to Earth.

RELATED: Cheap Space Flights Planned for Canary Islands

In a more unorthodox take on space tourism, World View Enterprises recently announced plans to offer near-space flights using a high-altitude balloon. Jane Poynter, CEO of the Tucson, Ariz.-based company, said the price for the four-hour ride would be $75,000.

RELATED: A New Idea for Space Tourism - Balloon Over Rocket

Visit www.KennedySpaceCenter.com or call 877-313-2610