It features exhibits and displays, historic spacecraft and memorabilia, shows, two IMAX theaters, and a range of bus tours of the spaceport.

[2] The complex had its beginning in 1963 when NASA Administrator James Webb established self-guided tours where the public could drive along a predetermined route through the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and a small trailer containing simple displays on card tables.

In 1965, KSC Director Kurt H. Debus was authorized to spend $2 million on a full-scale visitor center, covering 42 acres.

[3] Even during the gap between the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs, attendance remained at over one million guests and it ranked as the fifth most popular tourist attraction in Florida.

[6] When nearby Walt Disney World opened in 1971, visitor center attendance increased by 30%, but the public was often disappointed by the comparative lack of polish at KSC's tourist facilities.

[8] The Visitor Complex has had a visitation increase in the 2010's, in part due to the addition of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on display, the decreasing popularity of nearby SeaWorld due to changing attitudes to welfare of animals in captivity as KSC was considered an alternative, and the increasing interest in STEM fields for children.

Heroes & Legends, which replaced the previous Early Space Exploration exhibit, houses the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame and several displays of artifacts.

Among them is the Gemini 9A spacecraft, as well as a recreation of the Mercury Control Center using consoles and furniture relocated from the original building at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

These were previously housed in the Mercury Mission Control facility, which was on the National Register of Historic Places, but it was demolished in May 2010 due to concerns about asbestos and the estimated $5-million cost to renovate the building after 40 years of exposure to salt air.

[10] In 2010, the center announced a US$100 million plan to house a retired Space Shuttle orbiter in a 10-story 64,000 sq ft (5,900 m2) facility.

[11] On April 12, 2011, the 30th anniversary of the launch of STS-1, NASA announced that Space Shuttle Atlantis would be provided to the visitors center for display after its last flight on STS-135 and subsequent decommissioning.

"Forever Remembered" includes personal artifacts from the astronauts, two recovered pieces of the Shuttles, footage of the physical and emotional recovery, and the return to flight.

Explorer was removed from the KSC Visitor Center on December 11, 2011, and relocated to the Vehicle Assembly Building's turn basin dock adjacent to the Launch Complex 39 Press Site.

In the attraction's early years, guests would enter from the outside and exit into a gift shop before heading back out to the Visitor Complex.

The United States Astronaut Hall of Fame is now located in Heroes & Legends, which replaced the previous Early Space Exploration exhibit inside the visitor complex's main entrance.

In the center of the hall is an interactive kiosk with an inductee database, a mission index, and a virtual photo opportunity with the Mercury 7 astronauts.

[19] The United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, located inside the Heroes & Legends building, is included with visitor complex daily admission.

The Hall of Fame was previously owned and operated by the U.S. Space Camp Foundation, but was purchased at auction by Delaware North Park Services in September 2002 on behalf of NASA.

Atlas-Agena rockets launched early probes to the Moon, Venus, and Mars, as well as the Agena target vehicles used in rendezvous and docking by Gemini spacecraft — a necessary technique for the following Apollo missions.

[25] Subtitled "The Deep Space Launch Complex", this attraction opened in the spring of 2022 and showcases hardware focused on future exploration.

The facility hosts a rotating set of three shows devoted to topics such as extra-solar planets, Mars or recent discoveries in deep space.

[3] The 100,000-square-foot[3] facility was built to house a restored Saturn V launch vehicle and features other exhibits related to the Apollo program.

Until the structure was built, the Saturn V was displayed horizontally for many years outdoors just south of the Vehicle Assembly Building and tour buses brought visitors to it.

In January 2017, "Ad Astra Per Aspera – A Rough Road Leads to the Stars" opened in the Apollo/Saturn V Center to commemorate the fallen astronauts of Apollo 1.

The attraction, which employs large-scale video projections, dimensional exhibits and interactive experiences, is designed to immerse visitors into the adventure and unsolved challenges of future space exploration.

SpaceX's space-flown Dragon capsule from COTS-2, which is the first commercial vehicle to dock with the International Space Station (ISS), is also featured.

It opened to the public on January 1, 2021, and features various amenities such as climbing structures, slides, interactive games, and light projections, with the intention of educating children on some of the technologies used in space exploration.

This IMAX theater, located inside the Planet Play building, shows two films: Journey to Space and Asteroid Hunters.

As its name suggests, this exhibit celebrates the early years of American space exploration, with TVs displaying news broadcasts from the 1960s that described the events of certain flights as well as other memorabilia commemorating the time.

[36] The visitor complex offers events all year, ranging from astronaut presentations and signing opportunities, special guest appearances, and anniversary celebrations.