The 38 flight experiments comprising the SSEP Mission 17 to ISS payload launched aboard SpaceX CRS-29 (SpaceX Commercial Resupply Service Mission 29) on Thursday, November 9, 2023, at 8:28 pm EST from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida. About 7.5 minutes after launch the first stage landed back at Kennedy Space Center. In the long exposure photo above courtesy of Spaceflight Now, three milestone events taking place at different times are visible. At the bottom of the photo is the launch of SpaceX CRS-29. At the top, the first stage separates from the combined second stage and Dragon vehicle. The arc is the first stage returning to Earth and landing at Kennedy Space Center. The Dragon vehicle docked with the International Space Station on Saturday, November 11, 2023, at 5:07 am EST. The experiments returned to Earth on December 22, 2023, after being operated for 4 weeks by Astronauts Andreas Mogensen (ESA/Denmark) and Loral O’Hara (NASA/USA) (see their bios below).
IMPORTANT NOTES
All NEWLY updated information is in GREEN TEXT below.
Information still to be determined is in RED TEXT below.
Dates and times that are subject to change at NASA’s discretion are in PURPLE TEXT below.
Last update of this page: October 10, 2026 at 9:54 am ET
This page provides basic logistical information for SSEP delegations traveling to Florida for the launch of the Mission 21 to ISS Discovery experiments payload aboard SpaceX CRS-35. Liftoff is currently scheduled for NET (No Earlier Than) Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 6:33 am ET, from Space Launch Complex (SLC) 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL. SLC-40 adjoins Kennedy Space Center. While this is still an NET date and time, all experiment loading and launch planning – including launch viewing – must be done against this date and time.
Launch Viewing Summary – all SSEP Mission 21 delegations will be viewing the launch from the Banana Creek viewing area, which is operated by the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex (KSCVC). All members of a Mission 21 community’s delegation MUST register with NCESSE via their delegation’s Point of Contact, in order to attend launch viewing at Banana Creek. This will be a spectacular night launch before sunrise at 7:21 am ET, and before civil twilight starting at 6:58 am, when the sky starts to become noticeably bright.
Watching a rocket launch is a truly amazing experience. Watching a launch with your community’s experiment and mission patches aboard is a life changing experience. At the launch viewing area, we will also have a jumbotron that will carry the launch live on NASA TV, with pre-launch commentary, tracking of the rocket over its path to Low Earth Orbit, and coverage of the return to Earth and landing of the Falcon-9 first stage.
Delegation Status – currently, we have 73 attending: 32 SSEP Student Researchers, 2 Mission Patch designers, 24 teachers/administrators, 12 family members, and 3 other stakeholders.
Please note that the deadline for providing final attendee numbers is Monday, October 5, 2026 by 12:00 pm ET. After this time, the delegations will be locked and new attendees will not be added.
CONTACTS
For all questions, please contact SSEP Flight Operations Manager John Hamel at johnhamel@ncesse.org or call 434-882-5177.
A. Basic Travel Information
1. Considerations if You Are Flying into Florida
Where should folks fly in? NASA recommends to their guests that they fly into Orlando given it is serviced by multiple carriers. You can certainly try flying in to Melbourne, which is closer, but flights are far more limited.
Everyone traveling to Florida for the launch needs to be aware that you’re planning a trip to see a historic event that may not happen on the date it is scheduled. You may book travel and then find a day later that the launch is postponed. Or … everything is going just fine, you get to Florida and then you find the launch is delayed (“scrubbed”) to a date after your scheduled departure,. If it is a 24 to 48 hour delay due to e.g. weather, you might want to consider staying a few more days in the hope of seeing the launch. The main problem is airfare. For most carriers, if you need to make a change, you’ll need to pay the difference between the fare you already paid and the new fare. Most carriers no longer charge an additional penalty fee for a change. But everyone needs to recognize that you may need to make flight changes.
2. General Information – Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
The Mission 21 launch viewing is taking place at the Banana Creek launch viewing site operated by the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex (KSCVC). The launch is taking place before the KSCVC is open to the public. Their Fall operating hours are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. After the launch, all delegations will need to exit the KSCVC. However, you may want to return to this major destination site for the day, after it opens to the public at 9:00 am. Unfortunately, access to the launch does not provide an admission ticket to the KSCVC later in the day.
The KSCVC provides access to a number of attractions, including: the Shuttle Launch Experience (a launch simulation), IMAX films, the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame (including interactive spaceflight simulators), the Apollo/Saturn V Center, and retired Space Shuttle Atlantis.
DOWNLOAD MAP of Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex
Here is general visitor information for the KSCVC:
General admission is $77 adult/$67 child (ages 3-11) plus tax
You can add a behind-the-scenes tour – the KSC Explore Tour, and other add-on experiences. The added cost of a KSC Explore Tour is $30 adult/$24 child (ages 3-11) plus tax.
The KSCVC cannot offer a discount to SSEP delegates.
You must pay KSCVC general admission even if you only want to take a behind-the-scenes tour.
3. Hotel
The hotel we recommend in the Courtyard Titusville Kennedy Space Center by Marriott. This hotel is approximately 7 miles from the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and has a great space theme. Please note that when booking a hotel, make sure to find out what happens to your commitment of payment if the launch date slips before you arrive in Florida.
Courtyard Titusville Kennedy Space Center
B. The SSEP Launch Plan for SpaceX CRS-35
1. Key Thinking for Planning
Fly in as late as reasonable before the launch so that if the launch is delayed by just one or two days there is still an opportunity to see the launch if you stay in Florida for a couple more days. However, we strongly advise you NOT to fly in on the day of the launch, which could cause you to miss it due to airline delays or traffic. In addition, for a morning or early morning launch (the current situation for SpaceX CRS-35), there is no ability for you to fly in on the same day and get to NASA Kennedy on time. The recommendation is therefore to fly in the day before launch, and extend your stay until at least the day after launch.
2. Viewing the Launch in Person
All delegations will be bused from the KSCVC main gate to the outdoor bleachers at the Banana Creek launch viewing site, which adjoins the Saturn V Building; the building will be closed, but bathrooms will be accessible from the bleachers. Note that Banana Creek is a public space a few miles from the KSCVC main gate, inside the Kennedy Space Center security perimeter, requiring busing of all attendees.
Attendees are able to bring water, snacks, and hand held umbrellas (no hard sided coolers, alcohol, or glass bottles).
For us to view the launch after-hours, the KSCVC needs to contract for buses and drivers, pay for security and staff overtime, and secure the bleachers, and the jumbotron and a technician at Banana Creek. KSCVC is charging a significant amount of money for these after-hours services, which needs to be passed on to attendees as a per attendee fee. The cost per attendee is $150. One way to look at this – the overall cost per attendee includes airfare if flying + hotel + meals, which combined is significantly more expensive than the added $150 cost for launch viewing.
On the day of the launch, October 13, 2026, the SSEP delegations will meet at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex main gate no later than 4:45 am ET. The SSEP delegations will then be bused to the Banana Creek launch viewing site. If you miss the bus, you will need to find a public viewing space outside the KSCVC to watch the launch (see section 3 below).
You must enter the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex via the ‘Crawler’ entrance on Space Commerce Way. The parking lot will be open and you do not need a parking pass for the Launch Viewing. Directions are below:
From Cocoa Beach on State Road 528 – Travel north on A1A to SR 528 west. Take exit 49 for SR3 toward Merritt Island/Kennedy Space Center. Turn right/north onto SR3 and continue north for approximately 8 miles. Turn left/west onto Space Commerce Way and go approximately 1.5 miles. Entrance to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is located on the right.
From Orlando on State Road 50 – From Orlando, travel east on SR50 for approximately 50 miles. Passing I-95, turn right/east at the next intersection onto SR405 and follow signs for approximately 10 miles. Turn right onto Space Commerce Way and go approximately 1.2 miles. The entrance to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is located on the left.
Schedule for October 13, 2026
4:45 am – Meet at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. From the parking lot, walk to the flagpoles in front of the main entrance. Each community POC (Point of Contact) should check in with Jeff Goldstein at the flagpoles.
CRITICAL NOTE – we are asking everybody to arrive by 4:45 am to guard against anyone getting lost en route to the KSCVC. If you arrive late, and cannot board the buses at 5:30 am, you will not be able to get into the Visitor Complex and you will miss the launch.
5:30 am – Enter KSCVC through security checkpoint and board buses to Banana Creek launch viewing site.
5:45 am – Buses depart for Banana Creek launch viewing site
6:00 am – Arrive at Banana Creek launch viewing site – 6 miles from the launch pad
6:33 am – LAUNCH of SpaceX-35
7:00 am – Board buses to return to KSC Visitor Complex and exit
If there is a 24 or 48-hour launch scrub before we enter the KSCVC (before we go through security), we will work with the KSCVC to reschedule launch viewing, and will need to work with all delegations to assess how many can still attend. There will be no added charge per attendee for rescheduling.
Note on costs incurred by the delegations – once we enter the KSCVC through security we are contractually committed to pay the KSCVC for all launch viewing services whether or not the launch occurs. The delegations are therefore committed to pay the cost per attendee fee whether or not the launch occurs.
If there is a launch scrub after we enter the KSCVC, we will NOT reschedule a new launch viewing at the KSCVC. It would require an added payment per attendee of likely more than $150. If, e.g., only half the attendees are able to come back for a rescheduled launch viewing, the cost per attendee would be another $300. This is not feasible. For a rescheduled launch viewing, we will redirect all attendees that are still available to a public viewing area for the new date and time. We will meet at the parking lot for Sand Point Park, and walk to the middle of the Max Brewer Bridge. This is 12 miles from the launch pad. Please carefully review Section 3 below.
3. Viewing Locations – Kennedy Space Center and Public Viewing Locations
The Distances Map below provides distances to SLC-40 for multiple viewing locations, including: the main KSCVC, Banana Creek, and some public spots.
Of note –
- the Banana Creek Launch Viewing Site is 6 miles from SLC-40
- the main KSCVC is 7 miles from SLC-40
- our preferred public viewing site for the SpaceX-35 launch, the center of the Max Brewer Bridge, is 12 miles from SLC-40, with a parking lot at Sand Point Park
Download: Distances Map
Distances Map – Distances from Launch Pad SLC-40 to Key Viewing Locations [CLICK ON MAP TO ZOOM]
On Map 1 below (Click on the Map to Zoom), two launch pads are identified in black with an ‘X’: SLC-40 and LC-39a. We are launching from SLC-40. The locations with a ‘check mark’ are the best launch viewing locations. Both the Observation Gantry and Banana Creek are operated by the KSCVC. The Observation Gantry is unavailable for this launch. We are at Banana Creek, 6 miles from SLC-40. If the launch is scrubbed we will relocate to the best public viewing area available for this launch, which is Sand Point Park, and walk to the middle of the adjoining Max Brewer Bridge. The Bridge is 12 miles from SLC-40. See Map 2 for a closer look at the location of Sand Point Park and the Bridge. Playalinda Beach, which is 7 miles from SLC-40, will not be open to support an early morning launch. All other public launch viewing locations listed on the Public Viewing Sites document (downloadable below) are represented by blue makers.
Download: Maps 1 & 2
Download: Public Viewing Sites
Map 1 – Launch Viewing Locations, Wide View [CLICK ON MAP TO ZOOM]
Map 2 – A Closeup of Sand Point Park and the Max Brewer Bridge [CLICK ON MAP TO ZOOM]