Kennedy Space Center hosts Rocket Revolution on 9 October
Published on 09/27/2026 at 08:40 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will host the 2026 World Space Week Expo in Merritt Island on 9 October 2026. The event, also called Rocket Revolution, will bring NASA and space-industry partners to the bottom floor of Space Shuttle Atlantis; the site is also known locally as the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
The programme is included with admission and gives the October visit a specific focus on the changing landscape of space launch. World Space Week runs from 4 to 10 October 2026, placing the expo inside the international celebration rather than adding a separate festival outside the complex.
Rocket Revolution brings the 2026 expo to Atlantis
On Friday, 9 October 2026, visitors can enter the bottom floor of Space Shuttle Atlantis for the expo. The official programme says the presentation will connect guests with NASA and space-industry partners, using the orbiter as the setting for a discussion of how access to space is changing.
The programme covers private launch companies, reusable rocket programmes, university groups, emerging start-ups and new national space programmes. Listed participants include Amentum, Lockheed Martin, Gen H2, Ortega Observatory, The PINK Team, Airbus, the Astronaut Memorial Foundation and NASA KSC Exploration Station. The official expo programme names both the date and the venue.
Atlantis gives the space-launch programme its setting
Space Shuttle Atlantis is not simply a backdrop for the Rocket Revolution programme. Its presence links the event’s discussion of changing launch access with a spacecraft that represents an earlier phase of human spaceflight, while the partner list points towards current commercial, academic and national participants.
The event’s central subject is therefore tied to a named part of the visitor complex. Rather than presenting World Space Week only as a general celebration, the 9 October programme uses Atlantis to frame the contrast between the shuttle era and the wider launch ecosystem described by the organisers.
The expo also sits within the wider history of World Space Week. The official event page records that the United Nations initiative began in 1999 and is held annually from 4 to 10 October. That period includes the 2026 expo date and supplies the international context for the Merritt Island programme.
Visiting Kennedy Space Center: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The World Space Week Expo takes place on 9 October 2026 at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, on the bottom floor of Space Shuttle Atlantis.
- The programme is included with admission, so the expo is presented as part of a visitor-complex visit rather than as a separate ticketed event.
- The complex is in Merritt Island, Florida, USA. The event listing gives Space Commerce Way, Merritt Island, Florida 32953 as the venue address.
- The operator lists opening hours of 9am to 5pm for 10 October 2026. Entry ends one hour before closing, and the last bus tour runs 2.5 hours before the complex closes.
- English is the working language for the programme, and the currency in the United States is the US dollar.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
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Frequently asked questions about Kennedy Space Center
When does Rocket Revolution take place at Kennedy Space Center?
Rocket Revolution takes place on 9 October 2026 at the visitor complex in Merritt Island. The programme is part of the 2026 World Space Week Expo.
What is included in the World Space Week Expo?
The programme includes access to the bottom floor of Space Shuttle Atlantis and meetings with NASA and space-industry partners. It is included with admission.
Where is Kennedy Space Center and how do you get there?
The visitor complex is on Space Commerce Way in Merritt Island, Florida, USA. The listed venue is the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
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