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01-18-2010, 08:13 AM   #1
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Get Me To A Shuttle Launch!

I know there are a few members on the forum that have witnessed a launch of the space shuttle so I seek your assistance.
I'll start with an open topic and may send some personal messages to those who respond to this thread.
We hope to drive to Florida for the scheduled March launch and make the event a primary target. We will plan to go to a launch on one of the first days so that if there are delays we still have opportunities on other days.
I will get information through the NASA website but would really appreciate personal experience and suggestions from some of you who have witnessed a launch. Help me plan where I can watch a launch and how to get there.
Thank you in advance and please feel free to share your stories and images of any of the shuttles here.

01-18-2010, 08:46 AM   #2
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I hope you have some luck in your mission. Nasa's so paranoid about these things blowing up that they never launch on schedule anymore. I had taken two weeks off work, drove 1500 miles to Florida only to have the thing delayed, delayed and delayed again. After running low on money, I was 1000 miles toward home crawling around in Kentucky caves and they launch the darn thing.

I've seen one as a child (too young to remember detail), but never as an adult. With only five launches remaining, I really want to see one but I don't think it's going to happen. Gasoline has tripled in cost since I took the trip previously, and I dislike fascists to such a degree that I refuse to fly anywhere. Not to mention the difficulty in taking several weeks off work!
01-18-2010, 09:03 AM   #3
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Matt , it's been quite a few years so I'm not sure of the current feasabillity but we used to stay at a campground outside CoaCoa Beach and watch launches fro Canaveral Pier.. The shuttle launches are big. You can actually see them from a long way off. A buddy and I were at Boynton Inlet way to the south when the Challenger blew up and could see that something bad had happened.
01-18-2010, 09:27 AM   #4
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Matt,

Happy to assist, just not sure how relevant my comments would be. The launch I worked on was way back in Jan 1986, and I able to view from the vvip area....3 miles from the pad.

I would recommend seeing one though. Heck of a sight.....you wont forget it. I still remember feeling the ground shaking under my feet. I think I posted a picture of the Columbia on the pad the night before one of our attempted launches (another thread somewhere). We set a record for scubs....something like 7 or 8. Not sure if its still the record or not. I do recall one attempt getting down to 9 seconds before it stopped......

Fact check: STS-61C: 6 scrubs before finally lifting off. Still tied for the record with another Columbia flight.
mark

01-18-2010, 10:04 AM   #5
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Here's a couple of pictures taken from Cocoa Beach (look it up on Google Earth and it will make sense)....Just to keep you motivated

I believe this is the launch - late 2008 - where a female astronaut a few days later lost her toolbox into space


(Overexposed on purpose...)




Here's a launch from 2007 - seen from Kissimmee/Orlando (50 miles away):




A good tip, is to leave as soon as it's over. Many(!) people have come a long way, and they all leave at the same time. It took us 4 hours to drive to Orlando (50 miles)...

Last edited by Mr.Turnip; 01-18-2010 at 10:16 AM.
01-18-2010, 10:14 AM   #6
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Very cool shots.

Good luck on your attempt when you go down to the Cape.

Jason
01-18-2010, 12:50 PM   #7
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Flying to visit my inlaws in Florida once we had the good fortune
to witness a Shuttle launch from a very unique perspective - above!
Our flight was diverted to make a sweeping arc around the launch area,
but from one side of the plane we could all clearly see the Shuttle rising.
A low blanket of thick white clouds reflected the ships fiery exhaust.
The colors were indescribable. Truly a breathtaking experience!

Chris

01-18-2010, 05:28 PM   #8
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I live 45 minutes south of the Cape.
I typically watch from Titusville. It is about 10 miles from the launch facility.
Arrive early and you can usually get reasonably good viewing.
Bring a lawn chair and bug spray.
This is just south of the Max Brewer Causeway that leads to the Merritt Island NAWR. Unfortunately, the refuge is closed for 3 days before a launch.
The traffic is bad after the event. The best bet is to stay south of the Cape and head south down US 1. Leave the Interstate alone.
This is from last August's launch at midnight.
01-26-2010, 02:21 AM   #9
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I lived in Orlando back in the mid 1990's.

I used to go to the coast for every launch.

I second that Titusville is a super place to watch the launch from. There are even a few hotels in Titusville, but if I remember correctly, they raise there rates quite a bit in anticipation of the launches.

The night launches are breathtaking!


Kind of off topic. But I remember talking with guys who lived and worked in Orlando during the Saturn V launches. They said that they could actually feel the the ground shaking from Orlando.

That Saturn V is one heck of a monster rocket. They have a Saturn V indoors on its side that you can see in person if you take the NASA bus tour to the space center. The tour starts just outside the actual space center, there is a welcome center with a "rocket garden" and stuff. There are lots of photo opportunities on that tour.
01-26-2010, 10:12 AM   #10
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I saw all of the Saturn V launches.
A different beast it was for sure.
The first launch, unmanned, almost blew down the blockhouse with the TV people in it!
The new ARES rocket is similar in length but being solid fueled lack the sheer audacity of the V.
01-26-2010, 12:10 PM   #11
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I had the good fortune to go with the then First Lady of California Sharon Davis back in high school. We drove right up to one of the launchpads; few ever get to go there. It was an amazing experience. Obviously you can't be there when the shuttle launches, but I'm hoping to one day go back and see a launch from the usual media locations.

Fun story they told me: they have 500 pound cameras on bolted tripods next to the launch pad. One time, one of the bolts was either old or missing, and after the launch they found the camera had ripped out of its bolts and was launched something like 100 meters away due to the force of the rockets...
01-27-2010, 02:05 PM   #12
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Thanks everyone for their suggestions and stories. Keep them coming please.
We are still a few days away from narrowing down our options. They sell Launch Viewing tickets on limited availability four to six weeks before a launch. This sounds like something we would be very interested in as it may be some of the closest points of view and certainly would enhance the event. Places like Jetty Park, somewhere along Cocoa Beach and Titusville are certainly great suggestions that merit consideration.
I would not be opposed to camping someplace very good to watch a launch as well but we have many factors to consider along those lines as well. My parents may go with us. My mother has always supported my interest in the shuttle program and I would love for her to be able to go along with me and my children to see a launch in person.
It seems my wife sometimes likes her job a little too much also. I am trying to get her to be very flexible due to launch schedules often being written with a pencil rather than a pen and the fact that launches do get "scrubbed". She wants to take advantage of building the vacation around weekends to use less vacation time away from work. I would hope that the launch be the priority and maybe even see a launch or die trying! She wants the launch to go as scheduled and if not then she will fly back home leaving me with our two kids to stay as long as we want before driving home. I just don't know if I could allow my wife to not be witness when we came that far only to miss it by a day or two so she can go back to the office. Ahhh! I don't know.
Thanks for reading and offering help.
02-05-2010, 04:36 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by Nowhere Matt Quote

They sell Launch Viewing tickets on limited availability four to six weeks before a launch.
I live about 100 miles south of the Cape and have been able to get up there for a dozen or so launches. I've see them from both the Beachline Expressway (about 12 miles away) and from the NASA causeway public viewing area (Previously, they issued passes to the public, but there was no ticket cost involved.) which is at about 6 miles.

I prefer the Beachline Expressway viewing, especially for night launches when I try to go for a time exposure and the further distance is a benefit.

If you get tickets to the NASA public location, be prepared for a traffic jam afterwards. The shuttle has made it completely around it's first orbit before I've gotten back to the I-95 highway.

It's a pretty spectacular thing to see. Good luck!

Regards,
Tom
02-09-2010, 12:59 PM   #14
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Can a few people give suggestions towards prioritizing this list of locations based purely on overall view of the launch:

Causeway, Banana River
Kennedy Center Visitor's Center (may not offer view of launch pad)
Jetty Park
Beachline Expressway
Titusville

any I have neglected.

Limited access public launch view tickets are what I am hoping for as these seem to have the closest views but if I should fail to get Causeway or "Rocket Garden" access can someone offer rankings?
We have the resort and travel route set. Launch viewing tickets (or not) at week's end. Working out the comparisons of Disney World tickets from the website or resort.
I am going to borrow my cousin's "Bigma" this week to compare and consider taking it to the launch.

Thank you.
02-10-2010, 02:15 PM   #15
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If you can get to one do it. I have seen a couple from Titisville the night lift off was the best but the sound was terriffic. We actually turned around to see where the sound went. When an atlass rocket is sent up it is worth the chance to see it too.
Good luck and good viewing.
Gord
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