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Watching a Space Shot?
Gramie2 asks: "I was toying with the idea of throwing my son in the car and driving for two days to watch the latest shuttle launch. I didn't, but it occurred to me that I don't know the logistics of going to watch a launch. Where is the best place to stay near the site? Where do you view from? I imagine that there are restrictions, so do you have to get tickets or make other arrangements ahead of time? How do you find out the launch schedule? What about smaller launches? How do they compare? Is there one time of year that is better than another? Does anyone have other recommendations for the whole experience?"
From my childhood the best place was at the beach somewhere locally... you can't really get up-close anyhow. I remember it quite a bit from when i was 5 (now 29).
Although I beleive once can get closer as I've seen press much closer, but I don't know what the policy is on that.
Good luck and post some pics (on a STRONG server) if you get any good ones.
THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!!!! eventually.
Agreed. If it's a night launch, try to watch it from the beach. The Port extends out into the Ocean, and when it goes up it reflects off the ocean and lights the sky up bright white.
I grew up down there, and I've seen a few night launches. Night launches are _extremely_ impressive.
Also, don't get your hopes up too high. You won't see astronauts waving out the windows or anything. At best, you'll see a small object with a huge flame coming out of it.
Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.
When I was a kid, my brother worked at the center (tour bus mechanic) and he got us passes to an area directly across a waterway to the launch pad. It was still a LONG way away from the pad, but you could make out the shuttle on the pad. It was an AMAZING experience. I remember sitting on top of our van, and feeling the ground shake for a minute or so as the blast-off took place. Worth going, even if you don't get in that close. P
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I don't think you can really go wrong. It would be cool to be close enough to see the launch tower etc. but it's a pretty good show from anywhere. I was at Disneyworld with my wife in 1997 and the night of a launch we hopped in the car and headed east, hoping we'd find our way to a good vantage point. Well we got behind schedule and were still an hour away when the time came, so we pulled over (so did a lot of other cars) and turned on the radio so we'd know when to squint and look for a bright dot in the distance. Yeah right, it was like the rising sun!!! It was great. And just when the radio said they were dumping the external tanks we saw a couple of dots drop away, very very cool. So anyway after that I started to suspect that the US space program may not be a hoax after all, they sure as hell launched something and if it wasn't going to space, it wasn't for lack of trying.
If you are in the DC area you can always try Wallops Island for launches of some smaller vehicles.
Sig? What if I prefer Glock?
Last time I went to see a shuttle launch I called my state senators office several months ahead of time and after a lot of holding and a little convincing I got a pass to get closer in. I'm not sure exactly how close since it was several years ago but that's what I would do, it was worth it.
Although it's about 5 miles from the pad. Went several years ago with my wife, and parents (X-Mas present sending them to FL from us kids) Worked out well, my Mom was able to get a good view, and they had elevator access to the roof deck. Watching from the KSC Visitors Center would have been OK, but you can't see the pad, so you only see the shuttle once it's in the air. AHF roof, you can see the pad.
I think to get closer (media area or Satrun V building), you need to either be related to someone on the shuttle, or maybe brown-nose your senator/congress people. Even those areas are around 3 miles away from the pad.
Only downside to AHF is the tower is just a little spike on the skyline, nothing like what you'd see from the media area. Price when we went down was basicly, buy an admission to the AHF, you could get up on the roof. They even had a projector showing NASA TV coverage on the wall of the Space Camp building....
Do you see the FNORDS? I refuse to post anonymously, as I am fireproof!
Seriously. They'll get you pass to see the launch closer. The one launch I went to (STS-26), my friend wrote/called our congressman, and got a pass. There were three level of passes back then, in order of closesness they were badges, orange car passes (we had this), and yellow car passes.
I remember two things about the launch. First we saw liftoff and then several seconds later we felt the blast and the heat, and heard the roar of the engines. It was amazing how quickly the environment changed. It was like a wall of heat rushing over you. The second thing I remember is that on the way back to the car, it rained. I've always thought that it had to do to all the water vapor that injected into the air by rocket engines.
Would a boat in nearby water be in any danger from the shock waves?
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... is to get lucky. While on vacation in Florida, I took my family to Kennedy Space Center and there just happened to be a lauch scheduled for later that day. We bought tickets, watched the shuttle go up and toured the space center.
So, there you go. Just show up and maybe they'll launch a shuttle for you like they did for us.
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I remember as a child visiting Cape Canaveral twice, and being there for one shuttle launch. I don't remember the details too well, as it must have been about 15-20 years ago, but I remember standing behind a fence probably about 1.5km from the launch pad. I do remember feeling like I was really close, and being able to clearly see the launch pad without binoculars or anything like that. It was truly magnificent watching the shuttle launch from that close.
The only other shuttle launch I remember watching so vividly as a child was the Challenger explosion as seen from Tampa Bay. I can still remember the feel of grabbing the wooden picnic table I was sitting on when it exploded. As a child, I watched dozens of shuttle launches. Even 100 miles away, you'll still be able to watch them go up. However, closer is definately better and night launches are also great.
Any fool can criticise, condemn, and complain, and most fools do. - Benjamin Franklin
Now, something you might consider, while nowhere near as large as a real launch, but still a fun day out that you and your kids will enjoy, is to attend a high-power model rocket gathering in your area. Despite the name of "model rocket", these things are anything but models - don't expect Estes launches here (although some clubs run small launches for kids in between the main launches). These things are as big as and act the same way as a regular missle (and if you want a "thundering" launch, the hybrid liquid NOS/solid fuel rockets are very fun to watch). Flights of +10,000-20,000 feet are not unheard of. These are great events to go to, many of them have vendors selling smaller kits, but if you buy, be prepared for a very expensive hobby (a rocket costing $5-10,000.00 to build, then exploding on the pad, is also not unheard of). Also, you need to be mindful of all warnings and such of the launches, and watch/listen to everything - I have seen large rockets lawn-dart not too far from crowds, and if you aren't looking, you could have a painful lesson.
But don't let that put you off - it can be a fun occasion for the entire family - bring some lawn chairs and binoculars, maybe a barbeque or a picnic basket. Lasts for a few hours, and you will have a great time, and meet some interesting people (at one I attended, I met a guy who successfully launched a homemade rocket he made out of PVC pipe and some two-by-fours - no kidding!)...
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I think that if you read through some of the responses people have posted here, you can see the value of asking a community. I for one really appreciate hearing personal accounts.
Where I Grew Up.
e ,+Cape+Canaveral,+FL
;-)
I grew up ('68-'74) in Cape Canaveral. I lived longest just South of Cape View Elementary, which I attended, in the 500 block of Adams Ave. http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=559+Adams+Av
Back in the day, the whole school would go out to watch "public" launches. Amazingly enough, everyone new when less public launches went up too!
Titusville is just West of the launch pads for the shuttles. You should be able to see the launch well from the coast looking east anywhere. Today, the launch sites are harder to see from where I grew up. It's like everything swelled!
From the Jetties you will see the rocket go up, but I am not sure you will see the shuttle on the pad from that place. But as mentioned above, a night launch is best close to the water.
But if you are going for another rocket launch or just want the beauty of being on the ocean and not the Banana River, go to the Jetties, get there a day ahead so you can drive around and see what you can see. If that is still a good spot and there is a crowd, you could walk down to the Jetties from Cape View - looks like there is more parking now. Make a day of it and just picnic. The Pier in Cocoa Beach (off Meade Avenue) is another good place to go. It juts far enough out into the Ocean for you to see down the coast.
Enjoy! I was 6-12 when I was there and it never occurred to me then how important and world altering the Apollo project was. As ignorant as I was then, I remember perfectly, standing in awe as Apollo 11 went up.
We camped out at the Jetties. The mosquito plane flew over and dumped orange stuff in my cereal that morning. When 11 finally went up, people cried. They were joyous and amazed. And then it was gone. Prior to launch it was like a party, after, it was quite and everyone was listening. All we had was the radio and TV to tell us if those three made it into space.
Days(?) later, when the Eagle touched down, I had just walked into the Laundromat with my mom and sisters. It was (is?) located at the confluence of Atlantic and Astronaut and Monroe. The black and white TV had interrupted the soap opera. The Lunar Lander was out of fuel. No one was in the place but us. The news guy was scared. Mom and I just starred at the box with our arms full of laundry. She cried again when it landed. Safely.
That night, she woke me up. She did not want me to miss the rocket's passengers, walking out onto the lunar soil, into history. The first man walked on the moon. I was a foot from the screen. I had no idea how far they had gone.
As the TV screen cut from scene to scene all over the world, people were starring at TVs. Men had landed on the Moon, and everyone paused. I was moved by this event like nothing before. Everyone, not just the folks in Cape Canaveral where it all started, were holding their breath too, stopping their lives to watch three very brave men (and for those who know of Apollo 1, the host who toiled and sacrificed to lead the way before them) do something as simple as exit a vehicle.
One guy had to stay behind. Alone, orbiting the Moon, going completely dark from humanity for a time, over and over, until his buddies finally got back into their ride home.
I guess until now, I never thought of these days. But I remember the parade, sometime later, down Astronaut Blvd. with the three in a convertible and all the people that had worked behind the scenes to put them there, waving in joy at their safe return. It never seemed that anyone took the time to thank all the folks that never got there name in the spot light; who did their jobs to put men on the moon. But that day, I think the three were thanking the many.
Wow - where the hell did all that come from??? Hope I answered your question in there somewhere.
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