Michael Curie
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
michael.curie@nasa.gov

RELEASE: 42-12

NASA AND GOOGLE PARTNER TO RELEASE 360-DEGREE INTERACTIVE IMAGES OF KENNEDY SPACE CENTER ON 50TH ANNIVERSAY

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Kennedy Space Center is celebrating its
50th anniversary by opening its gates for virtual tours through a
partnership with Google Maps.

The launch pads that sent Americans to the moon, probes to distant
planets and space shuttles into Earth orbit are just a few clicks
away through Google's largest special collection of Street View
imagery to date, totaling 6,000 panoramic images of Kennedy.

Google Maps with Street View lets you explore Kennedy's facilities,
roads and structures through 360-degree street-level imagery that
includes the Apollo/Saturn V Center, Space Shuttle Main Engine shop,
Orbiter Processing Facility-3, the Launch Control Center, the Space
Station Processing Facility and the center's iconic Vehicle Assembly
Building.

Users may go directly to Google Maps, search for "NASA Shuttle Landing
Facility," and drag the orange "pegman" icon on the left-hand side to
an area outlined in blue. From there, users can navigate around the
area by moving up and down pathways and looking around in 360
degrees. The entire collection of images also is available in the
Google Street View gallery:

http://www.google.com/streetview

The Street View feature in Google Maps enables users to see Kennedy as
it transitions to the multipurpose launch complex of the future,
revamping existing infrastructure and facilities to provide the
flexibility to host a variety of commercial and government
spacecraft, rockets and other craft.

View the debut video at:

http://go.nasa.gov/NLqiSU

NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which is based at Kennedy, is spurring
the innovation and development of commercial spacecraft and launch
vehicles to transport our astronauts to and from low Earth orbit and
the International Space Station. Kennedy will be the starting point
for NASA's Orion crew capsule and Space Launch System heavy-lift
rocket, which will provide an entirely new capability for human
exploration beyond low Earth orbit. NASA's Launch Services Program is
preparing for at least 25 missions to various destinations across our
solar system, including Mars, Pluto and our sun.

For more information about Kennedy's 50th anniversary, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/y0VdRi

For more information about Kennedy, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/kennedy