Since we were going to be in Florida together, I got online to see if I could find tickets for us both to attend the launch either at the Visitors Center or maybe even get an upgrade to the NASA Causeway. My online efforts paid off and I found a pair of Causeway tickets from a space fan in Europe who was unable to attend due to the numerous changes in the launch date.
It is a given that regardless of the color of your Launch Transportation Ticket each person must also have a blue KSCVC admission ticket.
He was offering two green Launch Transportation Tickets. Since I already had a car pass, I was trying to find LTT as those tickets get you from the KSCVC to the Causeway. I did some research online and concluded that all we needed were the green Launch Transportation Tickets and we would be fine. It didn’t matter if they were from a tour operator or from Kennedy.
We arrived at the KSCVC on launch day to find out a different story. Turns out there are three types of Launch Transport Tickets, orange, purple, and green. Here is what you need to know. The green LTT’s are for tour operator use only. Those tickets provide you transportation from the Visitors Center but they do not provide you transportation back to KSCVC. This was a problem for us as my car was at the Visitors Center.
The tour operator explained to us that NASA security does not allow the tour operators to return to the Visitors Center from the Causeway after launch. All tour operators are required to leave the Causeway after launch and head back to their origination points. They are not able, for security reasons, to return to the KSCVC. This one little fact is not communicated well by the tour operators. Rather they just tell you that if you buy their tickets you have to use their transportation in what appears as a way to force you to spend more money with them. The reality is that they are enforcing NASA regulations that the tour operators are escorted from the Causeway off NASA property following the launch so if you don’t take their transportation you will be stranded with NASA security.
The orange and purple LTT’s provide transportation to and from the KSCVC. These are tickets issued by the Visitors Center and provide you a seat on the NASA busses to and from the Causeway. The Causeway is restricted government property. The security regulations require that everyone have a seat on a bus to and from the Causeway for launch, so NASA issues the number of tickets they have for bus seats to the Causeway and the tour operators do the same. The difference is NASA will return you to the Visitors Center while the tour operators who issue the green tickets are escorted off the space center to begin their trip back to their origination points.
We learned this the hard way. We showed up at the KSCVC ready to board a tour operator bus since we had green tickets only to find out the tour bus was going to take us to Melbourne after the launch and not back to KSCVC where my car was. This was a problem. Fortunately, the tour operator understood our predicament, put is in contact with someone with the KSCVC who graciously provided us with orange LTT’s so we could get back to the Visitors Center after the launch and pick up our car.
The moral of the story:
- Green LTT’s only work if used with the tour operators which is required by NASA security. The tour operators are not trying to rip you off in this regard. The tour operators drop you off at the Visitors Center, take you to the Causeway from the KSCVC, and then return you to their pick up locations. They are not permitted to return to KSCVC.
- Orange and Purple LTT’s work with car passes from the KSCVC. These tickets provide you transportation to and from the Causeway from the Visitors Center on NASA busses. You cannot combine orange and purple Launch Transportation Tickets with green ones.
- The KSCVC staff are wonderful folks who were great to work with us to sort out our confusion. Based on their reaction this has probably happened before.
Not only is the launching of humans into space complicated business the viewing of the launching of humans into space can be just as complicated.
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Thanks for the information. I'm starting to get anxious. Hope to watch it on April 19.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to watch it on April 19, as well. How do the LTT tickets interact with car passes? http://www.launchphotography.com/Shuttle_Launch_Viewing.html says that a car pass is necessary even for tour tickets, while some folks selling tickets note that car passes *aren't* included (and claim they aren't needed). Can you offer some insight?
ReplyDeleteLTT's interact with the car passes only if you get them directly from the Visitor's Center. If you purchase tickets to view the launch either from the KSCVC or the Causeway then you get a car pass so you can park at the Visitor's Center and ride the KSCVC busses to the Causeway if you get the LTT.
ReplyDeleteIf you purchase your LTT from a tour company then you don't get a car pass as the tour company provides you transportation to the KSCVC and then they also provide you transportation from the KSCVC to the Causeway and then from the Causeway back to your origination point, like Orlando or Melbourne.
A car pass is not necessary if you purchase your tickets from a tour operator as they are responsible to get you to the Visitor's Center.
A car pass is valid for everyone in the car provided everyone in the car has a blue Visitor's Center admission ticket. Some folks online will sell their blue tickets as they have extras but on launch day you must have a car pass to get to the Visitor's Center. Without it they will turn you away at the check points. I think some folks online are just saying anything to unload their extra tickets.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have other questions.
I have bid on orange causway tickets on-line with ebay. I would like to know if this will be a problem when we show up, or does NASA not care how the tickets are attained? Also, would someone selling the causway tickets include what ever blue tickets you mentioned earlier. Were hoping to be there for the last launch. Thanks
ReplyDeleteNo, NASA does not care how you get them. They don't assign tickets by name, they only care that you have tickets whether you buy them directly from KSCVC or from eBay. They also expect this to happen especially when launches get delayed and rescheduled.
ReplyDeleteAs for the blue tickets you need to make sure any orange tickets you buy online include a blue ticket for each orange ticket. The orange ticket only gets you on the bus to the Causeway. The blue ticket is required to get into KSCVC so you can get to the buses and use the orange tickets.
You also need to make sure it comes with a car pass. The only way to use the orange tickets is from KSCVC so you have to get there and the parking pass is the best way to do that.
Thanks for the post! The logistical nitty-gritties are ridiculous, but I guess it works well from a security standpoint. (to be pedantic - I think you haven't mentioned the difference between orange and purple LTTs?)
ReplyDeleteMore importantly though - What I don't understand is this. Once the tour operators have left NASA property - why are they committed to go back to their origination points? I mean if someone wanted to spend the rest of the day at KSC - would they be able to get off the bus once outside the premises and then go back to KSC for the normal tours? (Also - does this depend on if there's been a scrub or if the launch actually takes place?)
A shout out to the Launch Wiki for pointing me to this page
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Reflective rambling...
I guess it took the end of the shuttle for forums etc. to sprout detailing these differences and making it easier for the public to get to KSC. Augurs well for future launches though.
Also - how does the re-sale/issue of the LTTs work? To be more blase - is there a sneaky chance of swapping green for orange/purple in the event of a scrub? :P
Sorry for the delay in responding. For some reason I've got a lot of online communicating to do lately.
ReplyDeleteThe difference between the orange and purple LLTs is how important you are. I think in another post I mentioned the difference is how you acquire the tickets. The orange tickets are for sale to the public by KSCVC. The purple tickets can only be acquired through connections at NASA with family involved in the mission. Both tickets take you to the Causeway, the orange to the east end which is slightly further away and the purple to the west end which has more public seating, tents, and is slightly closer.
As for why the tour operators are committed to going back to their origination points when they leave NASA property is related to security. The public buses are only cleared to leave, they are not cleared to return to the visitor's center.
I think the primary reason has to do with the logistics and traffic flow of that mean people. You are right, if you want to spend the rest of the day at KSCVC you can't. That's why I recommend folks get tour buses from Merritt Island or Port Canaveral. The bus ride then is short enough you could easily drive back to KSCVC for the rest of the day.
Another reason might be related to getting all those folks out of KSCVC at the same time and back to their cars at the origination point without leaving someone behind. Remember where their cars are?
Very nice that the Wiki pointed you here. I agree that the information is hard to come which is why I'm trying to put as much of it out there as I can for this and future launches.
Re-sale of the tickets isn't an issue. NASA only cares about the ticket, not who has the ticket. They don't link the tickets to ID regardless of color. If someone sells you their purple ticket's NASA doesn't care. A lot of people upgrade on scrubs as NASA only checks that you have a ticket, not specifically who has a ticket.