NASA announces MAX POWER aerospace expo and airshow at Kennedy Space Center

Two-day November event will combine military and NASA aircraft, space hardware, emerging technology and behind-the-gates access to America’s busiest spaceport.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA will open portions of Kennedy Space Center to the public this November for MAX POWER, a new two-day aerospace technology expo and airshow designed to showcase the past, present and future of American aviation and spaceflight.

Scheduled for Nov. 7-8, the event will spread across several locations at Kennedy, including the Launch and Landing Facility, the Apollo/Saturn V Center and Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. NASA announced the event Aug. 14 as part of activities marking the United States’ 250th anniversary.

MAX POWER will combine traditional airshow performances with displays focused on spacecraft, autonomous vehicles, drones, advanced aircraft and other emerging transportation technologies. NASA says the event will bring together aerospace companies, engineers, astronauts, pilots, investors and members of the public at one of the nation’s most active launch sites.

“This November, we are opening Kennedy Space Center’s historic Shuttle Landing Facility to the public for America’s newest and most exciting aerospace technology expo and airshow, and we are calling it MAX POWER,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in the agency’s announcement. “There is no better place to celebrate that spirit than at NASA Kennedy, America’s gateway to the stars and the place where so many of our nation’s greatest achievements began.”

The United States Air Force Thunderbirds Demonstration Team will headline the airshow for this event.

The airshow portion is expected to feature NASA aircraft, military aviation demonstrations and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. Additional activities will include skydiving demonstrations, technology showcases, commercial aviation exhibits and displays of historic and current NASA hardware.

The event will also place a strong emphasis on spaceflight. NASA plans exhibits and presentations covering commercial space activity, the agency’s lunar exploration efforts and technologies intended to support future operations at the Moon and beyond. Astronaut appearances and talks with NASA experts are also planned.

For visitors, MAX POWER is being divided into three separately ticketed areas. The Air Dot Show portion will host the flying demonstrations, while an UP.Summit technology showcase will feature autonomous vehicles, drones, advanced aircraft and space-related technologies. A third option at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will include its regular exhibits along with behind-the-gates tours of Kennedy facilities. Complimentary shuttle buses are planned between the event areas.

Those tours are expected to provide access to locations including the Apollo/Saturn V Center, the Vehicle Assembly Building area and the Gantry at the visitor complex’s newly redeveloped launch-viewing attraction. The Launch and Landing Facility — originally built as the Shuttle Landing Facility and now leased to Space Florida — will serve as one of the central venues for the event.

The location gives MAX POWER an unusual backdrop for an aerospace show. Kennedy remains the center of NASA’s Artemis launch operations while neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station supports an increasingly busy schedule of commercial and national security missions. The event also provides Space Florida and participating companies an opportunity to highlight Florida’s growing role beyond rocket launches, including aerospace manufacturing, advanced aviation and next-generation transportation technologies.

“Florida has been part of some of the most historic moments in American space exploration,” Space Florida President and CEO Rob Long said, adding that the event will offer visitors “a front-row seat to that ongoing story.”

NASA is working with Air Dot Show, UP.Summit, Space Florida, Delaware North and Purpose Entertainment to stage the event. Tickets are required, with separate admission available for each of the three event areas. NASA says additional schedule, transportation and event information will be released as the November weekend approaches.