Kennedy Space Center hosts space expo on 9 October
Published on 10/04/2026 at 02:12 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Kennedy Space Center and the 2026 World Space Week Expo come together in Merritt Island on 9 October 2026. The one-day programme, titled Rocket Revolution, brings NASA and space industry partners into the bottom floor of Space Shuttle Atlantis.
The event is part of World Space Week, an international celebration running from 4 to 10 October 2026. Its focus on changing access to space gives visitors a current view of launch technology alongside the historic spacecraft.
Rocket Revolution brings the space sector to Atlantis
The 2026 World Space Week Expo is scheduled for Friday, 9 October 2026, at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Merritt Island, Florida. The official programme places the expo on the bottom floor of Space Shuttle Atlantis and lists it as included with admission to the complex.
Visitors can engage with NASA and industry partners during the event. The published list includes the NASA Technology Transfer Program, United Launch Alliance, Lockheed Martin, Blue Origin, L3Harris, Airbus and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum.
The programme examines the changing landscape of space launch. It covers private launch companies, reusable rocket programmes, university groups, emerging start-ups and new national space programmes as participants in a sector once dominated by a smaller group of government-led organisations.
The event page states that the visitor complex is open from 9am to 5pm. It gives the venue as Space Commerce Way, Merritt Island, Florida 32953, and identifies the World Space Week Expo programme as part of the visitor complex calendar.
Space Shuttle Atlantis links launch history with Rocket Revolution
Space Shuttle Atlantis is the permanent home of the orbiter at the visitor complex. The spacecraft carried astronauts to space and back for thirty years, launching like a rocket and returning to Earth as a glider.
Atlantis made its first flight on 3 October 1985 and its last flight on 8 July 2011. It completed 33 flights, a history that gives the 9 October discussion of new launch participants a direct setting inside a real vehicle from the earlier era of human spaceflight.
The exhibit includes more than 60 interactive displays, including material about the shuttle programme, life in orbit and the spacecraft's engineering. The official attraction page also records that Atlantis is displayed with its payload doors open and Canadarm extended, presenting the orbiter as it appeared in space.
NASA records that Atlantis travelled 125,935,769 miles during 33 spaceflights and that its final flight closed the Space Shuttle Program era in 2011. The agency also documents the spacecraft's move to its visitor complex home, where the expo will use the lower level as its meeting area.
Visiting Kennedy Space Center: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The 2026 World Space Week Expo takes place on 9 October 2026 at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Space Commerce Way, Merritt Island, Florida.
- The programme is located on the bottom floor of Space Shuttle Atlantis and is listed as included with admission to the visitor complex.
- The published event information lists the venue as open from 9am to 5pm on the event date and names NASA and private space industry partners among the participants.
- Atlantis is an indoor museum exhibit with interactive displays, a suspended orbiter and a lower-level event area.
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Frequently asked questions about Kennedy Space Center
When does the 2026 World Space Week Expo take place at Kennedy Space Center?
The expo takes place on 9 October 2026 at the visitor complex in Merritt Island. It is part of World Space Week, which runs from 4 to 10 October 2026.
What is shown at the 2026 World Space Week Expo?
Rocket Revolution presents NASA and space industry partners on the bottom floor of Space Shuttle Atlantis. The programme examines private launch companies, reusable rockets, universities and emerging space organisations.
Where is Kennedy Space Center and how do you get there?
The visitor complex is on Space Commerce Way in Merritt Island, Florida. The event page identifies the venue as Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
