Before we went to Orlando, Rob was hoping that they launch would be delayed enough to coincide with our trip to Disney. It was and he contacted our senator's office asking for passes to see the launch from a NASA viewing area rather than a regular public access area - which we could have seen it from Orlando. You can even see it from Miami if they launch is at night. We were put on a list and had to meet up at a mall on Merritt Island.
They put us on buses, which was a real treat for out kids - who were excited not to be in carseats - and especially for Caleb who had been wanting to ride the Disney buses all week.
So we rode the bus onto the NASA grounds and the engineer who was our bus guide was answering questions and one guy way in the back asked, "Isn't this a wildlife preserve?" And the guide said yes it is...and at that exact second a large pink bird rose from the trees on my side of the bus and flew out toward the bus, the guy in the back yelled, "It's a FLAMINGO!" But it was not a flamingo - after all of Rob's wading bird research for his PhD I knew what it was and like some crazy bird lady I shouted out, "IT'S A ROSEATE SPOONBILL!" And it was!
Anyway, back at NASA - we were taken to the Banana Creek viewing site, which is 3-4 miles away from the actual launch site - basically 3 miles is the absolute closest you can get to the launch and see it outside. Even still there were 2 or 3 safety warnings about clouds of hydrochloric acid or debris in the unlikely event of an accident. Everything went off without a hitch.
Annalistronaut
9 minutes and holdingLift off...
You may be wondering, as I was, if it is so dangerous to be near the shuttle when it launches, are the astronauts the only people actually within 3 miles of the shuttle.A man sitting behind us answered this question - he said that there are people actually working on the launch pad until near the time of the launch. They wear special suits and ride a zip line down to a tank to get away just in time.
The launch was right at dusk, which made the line of clouds turn all sorts of colors in the sunset.
Pretty cool!
SRB separation. The SRBs (Solid Rocket Boosters) are the two narrower white rockets, the big red one is the external fuel tank. The SRBs were visible for several minutes.Right after the launch they herded everyone back on to all the buses (several hundred people) and back to the mall!
that bird story was hilarious. Ben and I both laughed. I wish I could see a shuttle launch. That's really neat for the kids.
ReplyDeleteI knew you would appreciate the bird story :)
ReplyDeleteI so wish I could have been there.
ReplyDelete