Karen and Lee Duquette (and their children)
went to Kennedy Space Center
at Cape Canaveral
1975-1981-2003-2007

Cape Canaveral is the home of the Kennedy Space Center, the hub of the nation's space program. From here, American astronauts confronted and overcame the challenges of space flight, conquered the moon, and set out aboard scores of shuttle flights to launch and repair satellites and build the International Space Station. It is located midway between Jacksonville and Miami along Florida's Space Coast.

Below: In 1975, The Vehicle Vertical Assembly Building was the 3rd largest building in the world. 4-1/2 Empire State Buildings will fit inside this building. The flag is equal in size to a 21-story high building.

The Vehicle Vertical Assembly Building is at Kennedy Space Center is designed to assemble the large pre-manufactured space vehicle components, such as the massive Saturn V and the Space Shuttle and stack them vertically onto one of three mobile launcher platforms used by NASA. The future Space Launch System (SLS) will also be assembled there.

At 129,428,000 cubic feet it is one of the largest buildings in the world by volume. The building is at Launch Complex 39 at KSC. It is the largest single-story building in the world, by volume. It was the tallest building in Florida until 1974, and was once the tallest building in the United States outside an urban area/

Below: There are 5 engines on the rocket shown below. Each engine uses 3-tons of fuel per second. In 1981 this was the USA's largest and most powerful rocket - 123 feet x 33 feet.

Launch Pad

Below: Brian Duquette in a space suit  in 1975 and again in 1981.

Brian Duquette 1981

Below: In 1993- 2008, Karen Duquette worked at Broward Community College in Davie, Florida. Once a year, she went to the Florida Association of Community Colleges (FACC) Convention. At one such FACC event, April 9-11, 2003, the FACC Convention was held at Kennedy Space Center. The highlight of this trip was meeting and talking to Jerry Carr.

Gerald "Jerry" Carr, (August 22, 1932-August 26, 2020) was born in Denver, Colorado. He was an American Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineer, United States Marine Corps officer (Colonel) , naval aviator, and NASA astronaut. He was Commander of Skylab 4, the third and final crew to visit the Skylab Orbital workshop, from November 16, 1973 to February 8, 1974. Total time in space - 15 hours, 51 minutes. He retired June 25, 1977. Karen Duquette was honored to have met him.

Below: September 22, 2007, Karen and Lee Duquette took their son Brian Lee Duquette and his friend Greg Jenkins to the Kennedy Space Center. Brian was very smart and loved history, so this was a place of high interest for him because it is full of a variety of exhibits, displays and history.

On this date, the Shuttle Launch Experience (a ride) was closed.

Below: Brian Duquette and his friend, Greg Jenkins.

Below: In 2012, Karen Duquette saw a Space Shuttle fly overhead