STS 131 Discovery Launch from Today
Click to viewThis was the first launch I was able to watch from our new condo (which is amazing by the way!) And actually the first shuttle launch since we had moved in there, there had been a rocket launch a month ago, just about.
I got up, thanks to Eric and my alarm and we watched Spaceflight Now for the countdown until there was a minute and a half left, then went outside. It was an utterly gorgeous view. The video really doesn't do it justice, I wish I had a better camera. The sky was only slightly lit in pre-dawn, just that deep deep tinge of gorgeous blue. The launch lit everything up and was reflected in the water of the Indian River. As the shuttle started to turn, its contrail was lit by the sun and remained that way until the clouds dispersed. Since the night/morning was so clear, we could watch the shuttle as it continued heading up and eastward, which to us appeared as if it was coming back down to earth. As it hit the upper atmosphere it started to create almost a comet trail. I have never seen anything like it in a night launch before. It was utterly gorgeous.