STS-123
In February, I was lucky enough to go to Florida with my family to visit my brother, nephew and sister-in-law. The second night I was there, there was to be a Space Shuttle launch a few (five) hours north. I thought to myself "there are only a few more of these left before the shuttle is retired in a couple of years, I need to do this." And so, I drove very far on very little sleep to watch a night-launch of the space shuttle. It was worth every second of the exhausting, lonely drive. I give many thanks to Amber for talking to me on the phone while I was driving.
For about an hour or two while driving on the interstate to get there, I could see the giant search lights shooting up miles into the sky from where I thought the Space Center would be.
Arriving in Titusville, I was amazed at the number of people that were there -- thousands! The streets in this tiny town were packed tight with cars and RVs. I quickly found a parking spot ($5) and set off to find a good viewing spot. Titusville is possibly the closest you can get to watch the launch without being on the Space Center's property. Here's the view:
And it is here that I waited . . . and waited. I actually spent quite a bit of time reading in my brother's car as I waited for the hours to tick by. It was this night that I finished Neil Gaimon's Stardust.
About an hour before the launch, I moved on to the side of the Indian River Lagoon. I set up my film camera and had my digital camera at the ready. And then it was just waiting. Listening to the others on the bank chatting, and watching the chase planes fly around the Space Center.
And then, after receiving a text-message saying that everything was GO, a flicker of light came from the island . . . and then night turned to day. It was a cloudy night, but the light from the rockets was amazing. It was almost like watching the sun rise.
The light grew brighter and then lifted into the sky. Three seconds later the shuttle was above the clouds. Bright smoke lingered in the sky while the clouds glowed orange. Then the sound hit. First a low rumble, then a loud roar that lasted long after the clouds darkened.
After a few minutes I received another text-message saying the shuttle had entered orbit.
I sat in my car and read Stardust as the cars piled out onto the highway. I finished the book, I took an hour-long nap. I awoke and then journaled for another thirty-minutes. Deciding traffic had finally died down completely, I drove out -- only to find the traffic jam two-miles down the road. I pulled off again and wrote for another thirty minutes (sadly I left my Moleskine on the plane coming back to Phoenix, never to be seen again). Convinced that everyone was gone, I drove down the street again, turned onto the main highway and sat in traffic. It was another forty-five minutes in traffic before I hit the interstate and was able to drive back down to Ft. Lauderdale.
I arrived at my brother's at close to eight AM, took a nap until 10:30, and then took trains to Miami, but that's another story.
For about an hour or two while driving on the interstate to get there, I could see the giant search lights shooting up miles into the sky from where I thought the Space Center would be.
Arriving in Titusville, I was amazed at the number of people that were there -- thousands! The streets in this tiny town were packed tight with cars and RVs. I quickly found a parking spot ($5) and set off to find a good viewing spot. Titusville is possibly the closest you can get to watch the launch without being on the Space Center's property. Here's the view:
And it is here that I waited . . . and waited. I actually spent quite a bit of time reading in my brother's car as I waited for the hours to tick by. It was this night that I finished Neil Gaimon's Stardust.
About an hour before the launch, I moved on to the side of the Indian River Lagoon. I set up my film camera and had my digital camera at the ready. And then it was just waiting. Listening to the others on the bank chatting, and watching the chase planes fly around the Space Center.
And then, after receiving a text-message saying that everything was GO, a flicker of light came from the island . . . and then night turned to day. It was a cloudy night, but the light from the rockets was amazing. It was almost like watching the sun rise.
The light grew brighter and then lifted into the sky. Three seconds later the shuttle was above the clouds. Bright smoke lingered in the sky while the clouds glowed orange. Then the sound hit. First a low rumble, then a loud roar that lasted long after the clouds darkened.
After a few minutes I received another text-message saying the shuttle had entered orbit.
I sat in my car and read Stardust as the cars piled out onto the highway. I finished the book, I took an hour-long nap. I awoke and then journaled for another thirty-minutes. Deciding traffic had finally died down completely, I drove out -- only to find the traffic jam two-miles down the road. I pulled off again and wrote for another thirty minutes (sadly I left my Moleskine on the plane coming back to Phoenix, never to be seen again). Convinced that everyone was gone, I drove down the street again, turned onto the main highway and sat in traffic. It was another forty-five minutes in traffic before I hit the interstate and was able to drive back down to Ft. Lauderdale.
I arrived at my brother's at close to eight AM, took a nap until 10:30, and then took trains to Miami, but that's another story.