Final shuttle launch
Discussion
I happen to be hitting the big 50 in September. It has long been an ambition to see a launch. Anyway, bugger the party for relatives and hangers on I fancy heading to Florida to see the launch. SWMBO says that's ok, as it will be hot!
I know you can see it from anywhere nearby but how does one sort out getting as close as possible and all that stuff? Suppose I should find out the date too!
I hesitate to ask anyone who has seen one from close if it's worth the effort, but I don't really care as I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it.
I know you can see it from anywhere nearby but how does one sort out getting as close as possible and all that stuff? Suppose I should find out the date too!
I hesitate to ask anyone who has seen one from close if it's worth the effort, but I don't really care as I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it.
When STS-47 launched the tour company we booked with ran a special trip into the space center and the coach was parked up on one of the causeways - I suppose about 5 miles away from it.
Fantastic experience - not so much the visuals as you see that, and more, on the TV, but the NOISE!! All the pops and crackles - oh, and the cloud of unburnt fuel that meant we had to get back on the coach PDQ!!!!
Not sure if the tour companies can still get that close though, after September 11th.
Another time I booked into the Holiday Inn, Titusville and you can see the launch complex from the balcony - rate was 60 bucks a night if the shuttle didn't go - and 130 if it did - unfortunately it didn't.
Organised trips would get you closer, but as you said, you can see it from pretty much anywhere, even downtown Orlando, but don't forget downrange is out over the sea.
Cocoa Beach would be good - have seen a few Delta rockets go from there, but for a shuttle launch you need to get there very early, and for the last one, it will be manic.
And I don't think you'll be the only one with this cunning plan either
I've always been south of actual launches - north may be OK, but depending on the launch time you could be looking into the sun.
Fantastic experience - not so much the visuals as you see that, and more, on the TV, but the NOISE!! All the pops and crackles - oh, and the cloud of unburnt fuel that meant we had to get back on the coach PDQ!!!!
Not sure if the tour companies can still get that close though, after September 11th.
Another time I booked into the Holiday Inn, Titusville and you can see the launch complex from the balcony - rate was 60 bucks a night if the shuttle didn't go - and 130 if it did - unfortunately it didn't.
Organised trips would get you closer, but as you said, you can see it from pretty much anywhere, even downtown Orlando, but don't forget downrange is out over the sea.
Cocoa Beach would be good - have seen a few Delta rockets go from there, but for a shuttle launch you need to get there very early, and for the last one, it will be manic.
And I don't think you'll be the only one with this cunning plan either
I've always been south of actual launches - north may be OK, but depending on the launch time you could be looking into the sun.
16th September 11:57am, i shall be there also.
I'm visiting my father in South Carolina for 3 weeks and we're driving down on the 14th for a few days. Looked at staying in Titusville but even the Super 8 Motel is $110 a night so we're staying in Sanford which is about 35 min drive away for $37 a night.
Best place to view is from Space View Park in Titusville, this gives you unobstructed views across Indian Lake to the launch pads although they are still about 12 miles away, even so people say you can still feel the ground shake as it takes off
I'm visiting my father in South Carolina for 3 weeks and we're driving down on the 14th for a few days. Looked at staying in Titusville but even the Super 8 Motel is $110 a night so we're staying in Sanford which is about 35 min drive away for $37 a night.
Best place to view is from Space View Park in Titusville, this gives you unobstructed views across Indian Lake to the launch pads although they are still about 12 miles away, even so people say you can still feel the ground shake as it takes off
ks, we left Jim up there!'...As mentioned above, unmanned resupply is not that big a problem.
The big problem is sending humans. The only manned system that will be operable following the retirement of the Shuttle will be the Soyuz. If any of the free-enterprise commercial programmes, such as Falcon and its Dragon capsule, work as planned, they may be able to start carrying people to the station in three to four year's time (at the earliest).
In the meantime, in a deft bit of free-market capitalist thinking, the Russians have just increased their charge to NASA for carrying American personnel to the Space Station from $51 million per passenger to $56 million.
NONE of the exsiting (i.e. Soyuz) or planned manned spacecraft can carry as many passengers as the Shuttle. Souyuz is jammed with three on board.
There is a chance that the Orion capsule may have got a reprieve from Obama which would help restore Shuttle type human capacity. Unfortunately, Orion cannot be launched without a 1 million pound thrust launch vehicle. At the moment, NASA has no such launch vehicle in the pipeline and even if a new one was authorised tomorrow it will be the best part of ten years before we saw it fly.
The big problem is sending humans. The only manned system that will be operable following the retirement of the Shuttle will be the Soyuz. If any of the free-enterprise commercial programmes, such as Falcon and its Dragon capsule, work as planned, they may be able to start carrying people to the station in three to four year's time (at the earliest).
In the meantime, in a deft bit of free-market capitalist thinking, the Russians have just increased their charge to NASA for carrying American personnel to the Space Station from $51 million per passenger to $56 million.
NONE of the exsiting (i.e. Soyuz) or planned manned spacecraft can carry as many passengers as the Shuttle. Souyuz is jammed with three on board.
There is a chance that the Orion capsule may have got a reprieve from Obama which would help restore Shuttle type human capacity. Unfortunately, Orion cannot be launched without a 1 million pound thrust launch vehicle. At the moment, NASA has no such launch vehicle in the pipeline and even if a new one was authorised tomorrow it will be the best part of ten years before we saw it fly.
Edited by Eric Mc on Saturday 17th April 10:18
Eric Mc said:
The only manned system that will be operable following the retirement of the Shuttle will be the Soyuz.
That quaint bit of 1960's Russian technology.. it's funny how the 1960's stuff seemed to work better than the fancy software-ridden low-budget kit that came afterwards.Eric Mc said:
There is a chance that the Orion capsule may have got a reprieve from Obama which would help restore Shuttle type human capacity.
I heard that he has announced a Mars plan - just like all the other plans that made it about as far as a bog roll and some sticky-backed plastic before being scrapped.We went in November to see the launch of STS-129. An absolutely unforgettable experience.
For viewing you've got 3 options. Closest is the Kennedy space centre at 3 miles or so I think, but there's no direct view of the launch site so you only see the shuttle when it's cleared the trees and buildings. We decided against that one pretty quickly. Next closest is the causeway at 5-7 miles. We were going to go for that but when the tickets went on sale the website showed them as sold out within seconds! It was only much later that we learned that the web site was broken and they still and tickets if you called!
Downside of the causeway is that it's fairly expensive and if the launch is canned after you get on the bus there's no refund so you have to pay again if you want to try for the next launch attempt. Also they don't ship the tickets internationally so you'd have to get them sent to your hotel and hope they don't get lost.
Due to the website cock-up we went for the Titusville Space View Park option. At 12 miles it's further so the shuttle will be smaller and not quite so loud, but the view is direct across the water. We got there 5 hours before launch, at which point the front row (by the water) was full but we found a nice spot just behind. Don't leave it till an hour or two before launch because it will be packed! There were TV crews around interviewing people, and the atmosphere was electric, especially during the "go" check list bit (the NASA audio is played over a sound system) and of course during the final countdown and the launch itself.
To give you an idea of what the view is like here's a video that my wife took, and here are some of my (many!) photos!
For viewing you've got 3 options. Closest is the Kennedy space centre at 3 miles or so I think, but there's no direct view of the launch site so you only see the shuttle when it's cleared the trees and buildings. We decided against that one pretty quickly. Next closest is the causeway at 5-7 miles. We were going to go for that but when the tickets went on sale the website showed them as sold out within seconds! It was only much later that we learned that the web site was broken and they still and tickets if you called!
Downside of the causeway is that it's fairly expensive and if the launch is canned after you get on the bus there's no refund so you have to pay again if you want to try for the next launch attempt. Also they don't ship the tickets internationally so you'd have to get them sent to your hotel and hope they don't get lost.
Due to the website cock-up we went for the Titusville Space View Park option. At 12 miles it's further so the shuttle will be smaller and not quite so loud, but the view is direct across the water. We got there 5 hours before launch, at which point the front row (by the water) was full but we found a nice spot just behind. Don't leave it till an hour or two before launch because it will be packed! There were TV crews around interviewing people, and the atmosphere was electric, especially during the "go" check list bit (the NASA audio is played over a sound system) and of course during the final countdown and the launch itself.
To give you an idea of what the view is like here's a video that my wife took, and here are some of my (many!) photos!
Edited by daveake on Saturday 17th April 22:12
Edited by daveake on Saturday 17th April 22:17
worth mentioning that they are frequently cancelled/rescheduled. We were in orlando last year and one was scheduled whilst bwe were there, checked the night before - all ok - got up at the crack of dawn 9i think it was a 7am ish launch) - cancelled! Even tho i hadn't planned it before the trip etc I was gutted.
a boardman said:
I have booked my holiday to florida in a hope to catch the last flight, I have signed on to the kennedy website for launch tickets, what is the other way to get tickets to a closer viewing area.
That is the best option - just make sure you get on the website PDQ once the tickets are available, and if it shows "sold out" then call them!rix said:
worth mentioning that they are frequently cancelled/rescheduled. We were in orlando last year and one was scheduled whilst bwe were there, checked the night before - all ok - got up at the crack of dawn 9i think it was a 7am ish launch) - cancelled! Even tho i hadn't planned it before the trip etc I was gutted.
Indeed. I planned our flights to give us the biggest "window", by flying out the day before the schedule launch date. Even so, between booking the tickets and going the launch was put back! Fortunately when that day came it all went smoothly with no more delays.
daveake said:
a boardman said:
I have booked my holiday to florida in a hope to catch the last flight, I have signed on to the kennedy website for launch tickets, what is the other way to get tickets to a closer viewing area.
That is the best option - just make sure you get on the website PDQ once the tickets are available, and if it shows "sold out" then call them!First two were with a cheap 500mm mirror lens, on a Canon EOS 400D, so that's equivalent to 800mm on a 35mm SLR. I've had the lens for years and this was pretty much the only time I've used it. Manual focus but that's not a problem. Handheld as it was plenty bright enough, though I had a bunch of people with tripods just behind me some with some very expensive glass.
I have 2 camera bodies and had the mirror lens on one which I used for the first few seconds till the shuttle and plume filled the frame, then I switched to the other body with an 18-200mm lens. The last photo was at 18mm (28mm equivalent).
Unless you're closer than we were (12 miles) the 140mm is going to be too short to get close-ups of the early stages of the launch.
Dave
I have 2 camera bodies and had the mirror lens on one which I used for the first few seconds till the shuttle and plume filled the frame, then I switched to the other body with an 18-200mm lens. The last photo was at 18mm (28mm equivalent).
Unless you're closer than we were (12 miles) the 140mm is going to be too short to get close-ups of the early stages of the launch.
Dave
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