The Shuttle Launch Experience, the NASA tourist attraction that recreates a ride aboard the space shuttle, was officially opened today at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Joining Florida Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp and key officials for the attraction's premiere were NASA veteran astronauts including Charlie Bolden, Rick Searfoss, John Young, Robert Crippin, Buzz Aldrin and Al

Worden.

The culmination of three years of development by veteran Space Shuttle astronauts, renowned attraction experts and a design team under the guidance of NASA, Shuttle Launch Experience sends visitors through a simulation of launching into Earth's orbit from Kennedy Space Center.

The venture was funded with visitors center admissions and private financing, not taxpayer money. The cost of a ride is included in the price of admission to the space center _ $38 for adults, $28 for children.

Through sophisticated motion technology, special effects seats and high fidelity presentations, the unique experience immerses visitors in the sensations of launching into space -- going fully vertical in the process. NASA consulted a handful of space veterans to ensure the ride was authentic.

Kennedy Space Center Director Bill Parsons and Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Chief Operating Officer Daniel LeBlanc joined first Space Shuttle Commander John Young and Pilot Robert Crippen for the inaugural launch of Shuttle Launch Experience. Astronauts and visitors embarked on the new attraction, becoming the first crews of terrestrial explorers to feel the effects of the Space Shuttle's rush to Earth's orbit.

''You obviously can't get to three G's in here,'' said former shuttle pilot Roy Bridges for AP. ''But they do make the initial feelings of each of the events feel very realistic.''