From the archive: Clive James at the Space Center, 1983

Our reporter visits the Florida launchpad and wonders if he has the right stuff

For the 25 September 1983 issue of the Observer Magazine, Clive James began a series on modern monuments - those buildings that had taken on a 'peculiar and enduring significance' even though they weren't designed as monuments. His first choice was the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Rockets go up with no more delay than an InterCity 125 from Paddington to Bristol, and about the same sense of adventure