It predates that. SpaceX has been the new kid in town since they first started launching Falcon 9's. I went on a bus tour there wearing a SpaceX shirt and hat before they had successfully landed any of their rockets and received some ribbing from the bus driver.

Keep in mind that the tours are all run by Delaware North in cooperation with NASA, not NASA themselves. They have to turn a profit to stay open, which means selling tickets to see NASA equipment, NASA rockets, and NASA facilities. They don't have the job security of a government employee, but they have to rely on the popularity of NASA for survival. From a business standpoint, SpaceX does bring in a lot of tourists especially for big events like Falcon Heavy, but I think the employees there feel like it's a threat to their main bread and butter by stealing the lime light from NASA missions. Atlas and Delta launches never caught the public's attention the way Falcon launches do, so they were never threatened by that.

Bottom line, they'll gladly host special events for SpaceX launches but I do get the feeling that the average employee at the visitor center is less enthusiastic about SpaceX than the average space enthusiast. The shirts they sold at the Falcon Heavy event were a perfect example; they had the slogan "I was there" printed on them, but the picture on the shirt was from an Atlas V launch, not even a SpaceX rocket. They also gave away champagne glasses that were supposed to be souvenirs for those who bought the $200 tickets to see Falcon Heavy launch from their viewing area at the Saturn V center. It had a Falcon logo on the glass, only it wasn't a Falcon. Whoever was responsible for creating that souvenir used a parody version of the Falcon Heavy logo which looked more like a rooster than a falcon. Check it out:
[link to pbs.twimg.com (secure)]

No one caught it, and it was on all the glasses they handed out at the launch. It was originally posted on a thread of a site that is dedicated to humorous SpaceX memes and parodies. It only has 9 comments and 63 upvotes even today, and 2 of those comments are discussing how someone used it on the champagne flutes. So it strikes me as rather obscure and deliberate. It never went viral, yet some rogue employee found it and used it.

If they were smart they'd capitalize more on people's interest in SpaceX launches and landings. It's the return of sonic booms and reusable spacecraft to Florida, it ought to be celebrated. Instead they seem to fear it, I guess because SpaceX owns the trademarks on their own stuff and they sell their own t-shirts and other items. The visitor center can't merchandise it as hard as they can with NASA related items, so you rarely see SpaceX stuff for sale (and when you do I guarantee 90% of the revenue goes right back to SpaceX - the champagne flutes were technically "free" with the tickets so that didn't count).


The Atlantis exhibit is honestly the most impressive display of a spacecraft I've ever seen. Highly recommended.