Pete Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Just watched the shuttle launch from the front lawn. Followed more of the flight on NASA TV till external tank seperation. Just a flaming red ball from my side of the state, but fun to watch none the less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Just watched the shuttle launch from the front lawn. Followed more of the flight on NASA TV till external tank seperation. Just a flaming red ball from my side of the state, but fun to watch none the less. Yeah yeah. Rub it in. Don't be surprised to see me camped out on your front lawn some time Pete. Good to know things went well for the launch. I of course, forgot it was tonight. :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coooleeey Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 I'm glad the shuttle launch was successful or I'd be a work right now . Its risky business, but NASA gets the job done. I'd hate it if the astronauts were injured. to a safe mission and return home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coooleeey Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Oh and Pete, if you ever want to have a launch party I will fly down. I'd love to see a launch and have been working at meeting people who have passes to see at Kennedy. Maybe I can get a few and we could all see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted December 10, 2006 Author Share Posted December 10, 2006 Yeah yeah. Rub it in. Don't be surprised to see me camped out on your front lawn some time Pete. Good to know things went well for the launch. I of course, forgot it was tonight. :doh: If I was rubbin it in, I would have mentioned I had to get out of the 92 degree water of the spa to run up front to view it :laugh: Oh and Pete, if you ever want to have a launch party I will fly down. I'd love to see a launch and have been working at meeting people who have passes to see at Kennedy. Maybe I can get a few and we could all see it. The problem with tickets to see a launch is you have to have a lot of time on your hands. With launches being delayed more often then not, you can go there only to go home again. Tonights flight is a perfect example. At 10AM they announced the flight was scrubbed for tonight. At 6:45PM it was back on. It can easily work if you live near Kenedy, or have a two week block of time to vacation in the area. Me being over 4 hours drive time away, there was no way I could get there in time to see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 And it it's anything like the one I watched from KSC, you need to be there about 8 hours before launch so you can be part of the auto parade. (And, you'll be there for 4-6 hours after launch trying to get out.) If the weather's clear, the view from a hotel on the beach in Daytona is still really fine, without all of the traffic. (Or at least, it was from my parent's place in New Smyrna, which is the barrier island between Canaveral and Daytona.) (Only thing is, from that far away, the noise doesn't get there until about a minute after the launch. Really surprised me the first time I watched from there. OTOH, having it rattle the windows after you've already lost sight of it is really impressive, too.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsOrlando Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Just got back from the launch, absolutely incredible how it lights up the sky, this was my first time viewing a night launch. It's almost like daylight when that thing goes up, it was so bright it disrupted the picture on the digital video, got a nice blue line through the whole thing. edit: The rumbling is awe inspiring as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryBrownsFan Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Fantastic! To the crew... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsOrlando Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 They have the video already up at www.nasa.gov for anyone whose interested Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted December 10, 2006 Author Share Posted December 10, 2006 The first night launch I caught was back in 94 /95. It was at like 3:30 am, so I set an alarm to catch. It was a perfectly still, clear night. I was actually able to hear the rumble very faintly from across the state. Some day, I will get to seea launch from close range Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 On the subject of an ES "Shuttle Tailgate": Anybody ever seen it land? I'd think that your odds of making the trip and then not seeing anything would be a lot lower, since I don't think they have as much leeway as to when to schedule the landings. (I think, if it's scheduled to come down on, say, the 20th, then if there's a problem, they'll aim for the 21st, and maybe they can postpone till the 22nd, but that's about as much wiggle room as they've got. I think that after delaying things a day or two then they have to come down.) (Although, that doesn't mean they have to come down in Florida. I could see a bunch of folks heading for the Cape, spending a day or two in hotels, then having the thing land in Nevada.) But I don't know how much you can actually see of the landing. I know that, for a launch, NASA's definition of a "close but safe" viewing site is three miles away. Now, three miles away from a launch is really close. Heck, you can watch a launch from a hundred miles away. But if they make you watch a landing from three miles away, then I don't know if you can even see the thing. Anybody ever done it? Good idea for a Road Trip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TorresA Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 friends were thinking bout going down to watch, but that is long way to go for them to scrub a flight. Saturday morning they said it might be scrubbed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-O-G Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 I saw it too. I loved how it was pitch black sky, then all the sudden the whole horizon was a bright orange and looked as if a sun was raising into the sky. Amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsOrlando Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 I saw it too. I loved how it was pitch black sky, then all the sudden the whole horizon was a bright orange and looked as if a sun was raising into the sky. Amazing. Did you drive down to Kennedy? If not, do it next time, it's freakin awesome. As far as the shuttle landing all I've ever heard is the sonic booms upon return(normal flight return pattern is right over my house). I've done the tour where the runway is but it's way out there, not sure you'd be able to see much, since it's going so fast and the distance is pretty long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 That tank cam video was awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashburnskinsfan Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Neat photos of STS-116 launch: http://www.pbase.com/rod_ostoski/image/71431141 Gallery at: http://www.pbase.com/rod_ostoski/sts116 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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