MIR was a non-event....but a SHUTTLE TAKEOFF.... Who else has seen one?

[DesignDawg]

Hey all,

I was thinking a huge fireball plummeting toward earth and splashng into the sea would have been cool. As it turns out, the TERRIBLE computer animations of what it SHOULD have been were much more exciting.

BUT....Who's seen a space shuttle takeoff in person?
I got to see one last year (actually, it may have been at the end of '99.) I was visiting with my parents in the St. Pete area, and EVERY NIGHT for a week, we drove over to the cape (long drive to do every night) only to have it postponed until the next day. Weather was the factor. But FINALLY, one night, the weather permitted, and they launched that badboy right on time. IT WAS AMAZING. Truly one of the most breathtaking things I have ever seen. It made the daily drives across the entire width of the state worth it. THE LIGHT that sucker puts off. Wow. Amazingly, my parents watch the launches from their dock at their home in ST. PETE. They say you can CLEARLY see it for several minutes. I've heard you can even see the shuttle launch from New Orleans! Nothing beats being there, though. What memories.

Ricky
DesignDawg

 

[DesignDawg]

Oh yeah...

Another cool thing about it... My dad and I, wandering around through the crowds of people sitting in/on/around their cars, found a man with a HAM radio who was listening to the entire communication between the astronauts aboard the shuttle, mission control in Houston, Kennedy, and ALL of the space centers. SO cool. We got to hear all fo the systems checking, and countdown stuff, all the weather reporting, basically everything EVERY PERSON involved with a shuttle launch has to say. We have all heard the stuff on TV, but there's something very powerful and overwhelming about hearing it in person.....makes one feel very patriotic.

Ricky
DesignDawg

 

[Yzzim]

I remember getting out of class to watch the shuttle take off. Never seen one in person though, I imagine it'd be quite the experience.

 

[Emos]

I live in SW FL so I have the good fortune to see many a space shuttle launch (YES you can see it from the other side of the state! :Q) One of these days I want to travel to the Space Center to see a night launch up close and personal.

 

[Thegonagle]

I saw one once. It was bright but what surprised me was how incredibly loud it was. It was several seconds before we heard a thing, then wham! Wow! I need to go see that again sometime soon.

 

[DesignDawg]

Emos,

Yes, you surely can see it from the other side, like I said. And, you can clearly hear the sonic boom of the shuttle coming back. I got to witness that on the same trip. I actually saw the thing go overhead. By the time I got back into the house (in St. Pete), it was ladning. That sucker comes in FAST. BA-BOOOOM!

And, BTW, coming from someone who has taken that drive many times, I say GO for it. It's not as long a drive as you may think. Actually, it's pretty enjoyable. Just pick a night/day when you are SURE weather will permit.

Ricky
DesignDawg

 

[DesignDawg]

Garfang,

YES. The SOUND. It's pretty incredible. You can feel it in your chest. --Almost to the point of making you WORRY something might get messed up! It's awesome when the sound hits to see all the birds freak out. All those egrets and herons and spoonbills and others are all settled into their little habitat, and then BAMMMMMMBBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLB THEY'RE UP! The sky FILLS with birds, all in an instant. Awesome.

Ricky
DesignDawg

 

[Emos]

<< That sucker comes in FAST. BA-BOOOOM! >>



Yep...last fall I was awakened in the middle of the night with what I thought was a lightning strike....only to find out in the morning it was the Shuttle coming in for a landing!

 

[yakko]

I used to live a little south of the cape so I have seen one take off. I hate the landings though since I never remember until after the sonic boom freaks me out like it did the other night.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Yeah but yakko, even over here in Tampa you can't miss a Shuttle launch because the thing is so damn huge that if you just stand outside on the morning of a launch, you're going to see it off to the East.

Living in Vero during a launch was pretty cool though. Remember how we could make out almost every detail of the shuttle even thousands of feet up in the air? Damn. How could that thing fly???

 

[Kp99]

I live in Houston, TX so I see alot of shuttles landing here...MIR looked very similar...

 

[WolverineGator]

NASA has a summer intern program called SHARP. Years ago (1996) I had a summer internship with a semiconductor company in Orlando. We agreed to give each other tours of our facilities. NASA gave us passes to view a shuttle launch and a facilities tour--we got the best deal!

On the tour a few weeks before a launch we got to meet an astronaut and tour the facilities. I remember going into a hanger all excited about seeing the orbiter. I was disappointed when we entered this big empty room and I blurted out, &quot;So where is it?&quot; Our tour guide smiled and pointed up. Just two feet above my head were the black tiles of the underbelly! To my left was the forward landing gear. I was not allowed to touch, as the oil from my fingers could cause heat problems during reentry. Individual tiles were marked for replacement, and technicians were painstakingly working in bunny suits. I was in awe, just standing a few inches from this spacecraft.

On launch day, our passes took us to the closest VIP viewing location (I think this is 6 miles from the pad). It was a clear, warm, and very bright day. The shuttle's rockets seemed brigher than the sun and I had a hard time believing my eyes when the shuttle lifted off. The show got even better when the sound finally hit us. I could feel the sound shaking the ground and my body. It wasn't a harmonic roar like many movies portray... the sound seemed like something was ripping the air apart that came in waves of stuttering fits. Nothing beats a real live launch, but I still enjoy seeing them even hundreds of miles away in North Florida.

 

[ratkil]

I was down there during one unfortunately though, it blew up

 

[jonnyGURU]

Unfortunately, I was there for that too.

 

[SonicFlux]

That was a very sad day indeed. I was in science class in 6th grade when that happened. My science teacher almost made it through the final cut for the teacher in space program, and he cried when he told us... Similar to Kennedy's assassination for the older generations, my generation will always remember what we were doing when we heard that Challenger and its inspiring crew were lost.

 

[GTaudiophile]

I've seen one night launch and one day launch at the Cape. It's nice having astronauts as friends.

 

[yakko]

jonnyGURU,

I have never seen a day launch from Tampa since most of the time it is overcast. The only really clear one I had a chance to see kind of had an accident.


I have yet to see a night launch yet because I usually forget about them.

 

[Azraele]

I've never seen one take off, but I have seen one come in for a landing when I lived in TX.

 

[Drekce]

I live in Orlando, so all I have to do is walk outside and look east. It is really cool. But...nothing compares to a live night launch. The ENTIRE sky turns lights up, it looks like daytime for a minute. really cool.

 

[AmitPatel]

Shuttles landing in Houston??? What the heck are you talking about...I've lived in Houston most of my life and I know for a fact that shuttles do not land here.

 

[crab]

You should see one at dawn or dusk from another airplane...thats amazing..

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