Sneak Peek Inside The Gantry at LC-39 | THE COURTYARD

As the central hub of The Gantry at LC-39, the Courtyard acts as the crossroads between nature and technology – a mirrored setting of NASA within the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Here, you can climb, pose, and play atop three different animal habitats while discovering NASA’s symbiotic relationship with nature. Real NASA artifacts scattered throughout the courtyard offer an up-close look at structures that supported and transported famous rockets.

With ample opportunities for children to play, families to gather, and you to learn, there’s something here for everyone.

Many animals share their home in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge with NASA, and animal spotting is one of our guests’ favorite activities on the bus tour. The courtyard has recreated the habitats of three fan-favorite animal species here at Kennedy Space Center – the American alligator, American bald eagle, and sea turtle. The habitats, along with their sculpted inhabitants, are perfect for young ones to play in and on, and host stories about the animals’ lives inside an active spaceport. It’s a fun and safe way to interact with Kennedy Space Center’s native animals up-close.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is filled with artifacts from NASA missions dating back to the Mercury Program; but at The Gantry at LC-39, for the first time, you will be able to actually touch one. And it’s a giant.

Standing at an impressive 10.5 x 9 feet (3.2 x 2.7 meters), the artifact was taken from Mobile Launch Platform 3 (MLP-3), known as Mobile Launcher 1 during the Apollo Program. Its role was as big as it is: to serve as the base for rocket launches, notably numerous Apollo and space shuttles launches.

Complementing the MLP-3 piece is also a 2,100 lb (953 kg) “shoe” taken from a crawler-transporter. What’s a shoe, you might ask? Come to The Gantry and find out. One thing’s for certain: it’s definitely bigger than yours.

The Gantry at LC-39 opens summer 2025 as an exciting new experience on the Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and is included in the standard admission ticket.

It is included with the standard admission ticket and features outdoor play areas, historical artifacts, premier launch viewing, and an immersive Earth Information Center, simulated full-sized rocket engine static test fire, and four-story gantry with interactive experiences – all just 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) from an active launch pad.

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