Star quest starts at ground level

Human space flight began 45 years ago when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin blasted out of the Earth’s atmosphere to orbit around the globe on April 12, 1961. It may be awhile before most buffs can book a flight into outer space, but there are plenty of destinations around the country where astronauts-at-heart can touch aviation history or learn if they’ve got the right stuff.

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington

The mother ship for space buffs. This collection contains more than 30,000 aviation and 9,000 space artifacts, from the Wright Flyer to the Apollo 11 command module. The IMAX and planetarium presentations are fabulous. Besides the museum on the Mall, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center -- near Dulles International Airport in the Virginia suburbs -- houses an impressive collection of helicopters, ultralights, experimental flying machines and other artifacts not exhibited previously because of a lack of display space. Both facilities also have cool flight simulators you can pilot, if you’re willing to stand in line. Admission is free.

Contact info: Check out www.nasm.si.edu, or call (202) 633-1000.

Getting there: LAX flights go to Dulles International, Reagan National or Baltimore-Washington International. American and United offer nonstop service to Dulles. Alaska offers nonstop service to Reagan National. Southwest and United fly nonstop to Baltimore. Connecting (change of planes) and direct (stop, no change of planes) flights are frequent as well. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $300 (into Baltimore)

Travel tip: Try the freeze-dried ice cream, available in the gift shop. It looks like Styrofoam but tastes good even if it’s at room temperature.

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U.S. Space Camp and U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Ala.

The closest a wannabe astronaut can get to real training can be found in the Space Camp program. Here, adults and kids can attend one-week sessions designed to give a taste for what blasting into space feels like. You can spin like crazy in the G-Force Accelerator, which lets you experience three times the force of gravity, or feel weightlessness in the neutral-buoyancy water tank. Or if you just want to stroll through the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, where Space Camp programs are held, you can examine a great collection of actual NASA and military rockets, try your hand at various interactive exhibits, or take in an IMAX film at the Spacedome. Camp cost for adults and kids ages 9-14 is $899, plus a $50 nonrefundable registration fee. For older teens, who have more activities in their program, the cost is $999, plus a $50 nonrefundable registration fee. Admission to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center only is $18.95 for adults, $12.95 for children ages 6-12; kids 5 and younger are admitted free.

Contact info: Check out www.spacecamp.com, or call (256) 721-7150.

Getting there: Flights are offered from LAX into Huntsville International Airport. American, Continental, Delta, Northwest and US Airways offer connecting service (change of planes). Restricted round-trip fares begin at $304.

Travel tip: Weeklong camps for students who are visually or hearing impaired are also offered, great proof that the future excludes no one.

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Space Center Houston

The official visitors center of NASA’s Johnson Space Center gives a peek into some of the astronauts’ training facilities, plus the New Mission Control Center. You won’t get to see any of the actual training, but if you book the behind-the-scenes Level Nine Tour, you may run into an astronaut in the Building 3 cafeteria, where the space jockeys eat every day. The museum part of the center offers more activities for children, with interactive exhibits pegged to the space shuttle and the International Space Station. Space Center Houston is 25 miles south of downtown in the NASA/Clear Lake area, so if you’re going out for the day, try to avoid rush hour. Admission prices are $18.95 for adults; $17.95 for seniors 65 and older; $14.95 for children ages 4-11; children 3 and younger are admitted free.

Contact info: Check out www.spacecenter.org, or call (281) 244-2100.

Getting there: Continental flies nonstop from LAX to George Bush Intercontinental. American, America West, Delta, Northwest and United offer connecting service (change of planes) Restricted round-trip fares begin at $300.

Travel tip: Only 12 individuals are allowed on the Level Nine Tour each day, so be sure to make reservations. Participants must be 16 or older.

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Biosphere 2, Oracle, Ariz.

A walk through Biosphere 2 is a fun way to see what humans might require to survive off-planet. Built in the late 1980s, Biosphere 2 was designed as an airtight replica of Earth’s environment -- complete with a rain forest, desert, agricultural areas and human habitat -- and used in an experiment to see how people might live on the moon or Mars. The experiment ended after three years, and no one has lived inside the sealed domes since 1994. The structure, however, has become a working research facility, and visitors can tour the three-acre ecological laboratory. You can see exhibits examining “Climate Change and Life on Earth,” as well as walk through areas where the Biospherians lived and worked. The tour price is $19.95 for adults; $12.95 for ages 6-12; children 5 and younger are admitted free.

Contact info: Check out www.bio2.com, or call (520) 838-6200.

Getting there: Flights from Los Angeles go into Tucson. Oracle is about 30 miles north of Tucson. United and Southwest have nonstop flights between LAX and Tucson. American, America West, Southwest and United offer connecting flights (change of planes) Restricted round-trip fares begin at $108.

Travel tip: The interior part of the tour is not wheelchair- or stroller-accessible; Biosphere 2 is a working research facility.

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Jet Propulsion Laboratory, La Canada Flintridge

Space exploration will go only as far as the machines we build can take us. JPL is the home of the scientists and engineers who designed the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn, the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on Mars, Earth-orbiting satellites and more. Run by Caltech for NASA, this research and development center offers tours for groups and individuals on a reservation basis several times a month. Wear comfortable walking shoes, and be prepared to climb a lot of steps because the grounds are in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Tours run two to 2 1/2 hours, and include an overview of the laboratory’s activities and a visit to the Space Flight Operations Facility and the Spacecraft Assembly Facility. Tours are free.

Contact info: Check out www.jpl.nasa.gov, or call (818) 354-9314.

Getting there: Exit 210 freeway at Berkshire Avenue/Oak Grove Drive. Follow signs to JPL.

Travel tip: JPL requires all U.S. citizens 18 or older to present a driver’s license or passport for entry. All non-U.S. citizens must show a passport or resident visa.