{"id":12137,"date":"2013-01-01T16:27:12","date_gmt":"2013-01-01T21:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=12137"},"modified":"2013-01-01T21:07:00","modified_gmt":"2013-01-02T02:07:00","slug":"reptiles-invade-nasas-kennedy-space-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=12137","title":{"rendered":"Reptiles Invade NASA’s Kennedy Space Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Florida Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Looking for alien creatures?\u00c2\u00a0 No need for NASA to blast off into Outer Space when\u00c2\u00a0its most famous\u00c2\u00a0launch pad has already been invaded by critters straight out of the backlot of a\u00c2\u00a0low budget, 1950’s\u00c2\u00a0horror flick.\u00c2\u00a0 Gopher tortoises check all the right\u00c2\u00a0boxes.\u00c2\u00a0 Exotic? Yep.\u00c2\u00a0 Cold-blooded?\u00c2\u00a0 You bet.\u00c2\u00a0 Ancient species?\u00c2\u00a0 300 million years and counting.\u00c2\u00a0 If\u00c2\u00a0 we were NASA, we might suggest looking down rather than up for the greatest discoveries.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kennedy Space Center Famous Launch Pad 39 Complex<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The Turtle Journal team headed for the Bahamas over the Christmas holiday with a day’s stopover in Port Canaveral to re-acclimate our frozen northern\u00c2\u00a0bodies to tropical conditions.\u00c2\u00a0 While there, we arranged a behind-the-scenes, VIP tour of the Kennedy Space Center<\/a>, guided by an official\u00c2\u00a0NASA representative.\u00c2\u00a0 Little did we expect to turn this brief vacation interlude into a busman’s holiday.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

More than 3.5 miles from\u00c2\u00a0NASA’s gigantic Vehicular Assembly Building (VAB) at the other end of the massive crawlway stands Launch Pad 39 Complex, famous as the gateway for all Apollo program\u00c2\u00a0(moon) launches, as well as space shuttle launches.\u00c2\u00a0 See map below.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Map of Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The 39 A & B Complex\u00c2\u00a0was positioned\u00c2\u00a0so distant from the VAB because in case of a catastrophic failure, no one\u00c2\u00a0would survive the fuel explosion closer than 3.5 miles.\u00c2\u00a0 In fact, within a few thousand feet of the launch pad, the sound waves\u00c2\u00a0themselves, generated by a normal\u00c2\u00a0blast off,\u00c2\u00a0would be powerful enough to stop\u00c2\u00a0the heart of anyone unbuffered from their effect.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gopher Tortoise within Launch Pad 39 Complex<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

So, perhaps you might be as surprised as the Turtle Journal team\u00c2\u00a0when our vehicle drove through the\u00c2\u00a0Launch Pad 39 Complex.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Between 39A and 39B — the launch pads for every moon and space shuttle flight,\u00c2\u00a0we spotted a large gopher tortoise scurrying towards its burrow.\u00c2\u00a0 The mature turtle scampered down the hillside as our vehicle approached and plunged its head into the burrow opening.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gopher Tortoise Hides at Launch Pad 39 Complex<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

With\u00c2\u00a0his head in the burrow and full body and carapace outside,\u00c2\u00a0the tortoise\u00c2\u00a0couldn’t see us … and according to the First Universal Rule of Turtles, “If you can’t see your predator, then your predator can’t see you.”\u00c2\u00a0 This old specimen has been around\u00c2\u00a0the Cape for\u00c2\u00a0a long, long time.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re sure this turtle has witnessed the launches of Apollo 8 and 11 en route to the moon, and every space shuttle flight that has ever flown.\u00c2\u00a0 At the same time, the\u00c2\u00a0most honored\u00c2\u00a0human VIP observer\u00c2\u00a0has to stay more than 3.5 miles away.\u00c2\u00a0 When it comes to space launches, turtles get the best seats.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Juvenile Gopher Tortoise Tracks at Launch Pad 39 Complex<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Nearby Launch Pad 39B is being renovated for the next generation of manned space flights where humans will venture once more to the moon, to the asteroids and then to Mars and beyond.\u00c2\u00a0 Our tortoise friend will be on hand to experience these adventures, too\u00c2\u00a0… but\u00c2\u00a0he won’t be alone.\u00c2\u00a0 In a nearby burrow, we found tracks\u00c2\u00a0from at least one\u00c2\u00a0juvenile tortoise.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s quite amazing the prized real estate that Florida gopher tortoises have staked out.\u00c2\u00a0 These Kennedy Space Center gopher tortoise burrows are situated directly on the Atlantic shoreline, across the Florida peninsula from their kissing cousins who occupy equally pricey burrows at the Ritz Carlton\u00c2\u00a0Naples\u00c2\u00a0Resort on the Gulf.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Florida Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) Looking for alien creatures?\u00c2\u00a0 No need for NASA to blast off into Outer Space when\u00c2\u00a0its most famous\u00c2\u00a0launch pad has already been invaded by critters straight out of the backlot of a\u00c2\u00a0low budget, 1950’s\u00c2\u00a0horror flick.\u00c2\u00a0 Gopher tortoises check all the right\u00c2\u00a0boxes.\u00c2\u00a0 Exotic? Yep.\u00c2\u00a0 Cold-blooded?\u00c2\u00a0 You bet.\u00c2\u00a0 Ancient species?\u00c2\u00a0 300 million years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12137"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12137"}],"version-history":[{"count":47,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12204,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12137\/revisions\/12204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}