STS-133; Discovery!!

OK, Theresa seems to think this is toooooooo long.  So, First Theresa's version:

"We came.  We saw.  It was cool.  Bill took too many pictures.  We went home.  Pictures below!"

Now Bill's version! (You can vote on who's version you like better!)

I think it has always been a latent dream of mine to see a shuttle launch, but in the last couple of years it became more of a goal.  About August of 2009, we made an attempt with a coworker/friend (Diego) and his family.  We got as far as Tampa, staying with very good friends (Mike & Mary Anne) from Houston, but retired to (near) Tampa.  Tampa, and a nice picture of the shuttle on their TV (NASA Channel), were as close as we got that time.  The launch delayed from Saturday to Sunday, and Sunday to later in the week.  Our hosts took our place to go watch it about Thursday or Friday of that week, when it finally went!

Then, in early November of last year, 2010, we tried again.  We took some vacation, and mistakenly told Mike & Mary Anne we were coming.  We stayed with Theresa's grandmother near Orlando (so, closer) as the launch went from Tuesday, to Wednesday, to Thursday, to Friday and beyond.  We left on Thursday to limp home.  It was pushed to the end of the month, and we considered trying after we got back from the cruise.  But, we didn't have enough time, and it was pushed off to early February.

So, we scheduled a week vacation to go see it then.  It moved.  Fortunately, we were able to push our vacation to the end of the month, with the launch, and went for broke!!

We flew out to Tampa, rented a car, and drove to Orlando (or a little outside).  This time, we did not tell our Tampa friends!  We bought the Grayline tour, which picked us up in a restaurant parking lot (in Orlando) at 6:15AM.  After a long boarding process, we were on our way at 7AM!  We arrived at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) about 9 or so, and found throngs of people!  Perhaps my idea to see the shuttle launch was not unique?  Anyway, we looked at a few exhibits, and tried a few times to touch base with another coworker/friend, Michelle, who was also coming to see the launch.  KSC is really out in the boondocks, so cell phone coverage is sparse.  Regardless, I actually found her walking by (amongst thousands of people) and she joined us for lunch.  Having found someone else (Ron & Judy) in St. Peter's Square for Easter Mass, and then on the streets of Rome a few days later, I can hardly say I'm all that surprised.  Somehow finding people in crowds seems like our 'thing'?  :-)

Anyway, after lunch we got in line for the busses to the Causeway.  There are a few ways to see the shuttle launch.  The best way is to be a NASA VIP, and be invited to watch from just outside the control center, a mere 3 miles from the pad.  Good luck with that!  Skipping over the Press area, then you get to the "Causeway".  This is a strip of land added to the alligator populated marsh and estuary enough to support a roadway, with some berm on each side.  Fortunately, the shoulder area is about 100-150 feet wide, and tens of thousands of people cram on it.  You get to the causeway either by winning a NASA Lottery for a causeway ticket, having a good connection or friend, or buying a tour (as we did).  (I think there were about 100-200 busses, with about 50 people each, so 10,000 people is a good guess.)  The causeway is about 6 miles from the pad.  It is close enough to see, hear, and feel the heat of the launch. 

You can also catch the launch from the KSC Visitor's Center, about 8-10 miles away, but you can not see the first 15 or 20 seconds of the launch or you can go to Titusville, where there is a free park from which you can watch it.  That site is about further miles away, but, it's free, and you will find 100's of thousands of your closest friends.  I think the last one was supposed to have had 250,000 people.  We saw a little news in the morning, about 5:30AM, and they were interviewing people who had been in that park for a few hours already (some 12 hours before the launch), and it was already crowded.

View of Pad from our spot on the Causeway

Anyway, our bus was near the front of the line, so when we got to the causeway (about 1PM), we found an unoccupied spot, and set up our blanket right by the rope!!  No one in front of us, and a clear view of the pad.  At the same time, two other parties set up with their tripods, nice cameras, and 18" zoom lenses.  Nice guys, but I hinted at charging them "rent" in the form of pix.  A couple of hours later, we decided to go for a food run, and found Michelle.  

Our View with a little "Zoom"

 So, she joined us for the rest of the afternoon.  I give her credit for a few of the pix, because some of these are hers.  Also, one of her friends works for NASA, so we got the lowdown on what was happening.

"Security" Helicopter

During the wait, a T-38 jet flew around (not sure what he was doing), then a helicopter came through.  We could all see what HE was doing with the machine gun poking out of the window!!

They build in a few holds, so the countdown doesn't really make sense until the last ten minutes.  But, I noticed it was 4:45, and the launch schedule at 4:50, we needed to start getting ready.  We had two cameras, so I was going to do the video, and Theresa do the still  shots.  I had previously tried to set up the tripod (pathetic next to the others!), and had a 2.2x zoom for the camera.  But, the tripod would not support the camera with the zoom, so it kept bowing forward.  Probably just as well.  I inteded to start recording at the final ten, but never heard it.  Suddenly, everyone started cheering, and yelling, and I hit record, pretty close to T-0.  About 3 seconds into it, Theresa gave up on the camera and just watched.  Then I found I could record with one eye on the viewfinder and one on the action.  It wasn't as great as just watching, but pretty great, still.  Everyone was yelling and going wild, which was neat.  But, listening to the recording, was funny, as some guy was yelling, "Go Baby!  Go!" like the shuttle needed that extra morale boost.

Anyway, after about 25 seconds of recording, I felt a warmth on my face, that sort of felt like a breath.  I did not notice it but for a moment, and barely warmer, but realizing that I was feeling the heat from an event 6 miles away was noteworthy!  About 40 seconds into it, the rumble kicks in.  That was also pretty cool.

I don't know how well the video will work on this format, but if it doesn't work well, I'll try to add it You-tube with a link.  The video is 90 seconds long, and, well, it's amature.  But, you didn't pay for this, so you got your money's worth!!  :-)

After the shuttle reaches the jetstreams (high altitude air currents), the contrail bends.  From that far away, we can still see the bright spot from the engine.

After the launch, and a bevy of pictures, the busses were to leave ASAP.  So, when we couldn't dawdle, and got going right away.  Halfway back to the bus, the anouncement came that the shuttle was in space.  They made it to SPACE before we made it to the bus!!  But, they didn't have any traffic in their way, so I guess that's why!

The bus ride home was about 3-4 hours, but with the waning excitement of the launch, people didn't seem to mind.  It made for a long day, but was certainly worth it!!  Someone later likened it to waiting in line for a couple of hours to ride a roller coaster for less than a minute.  Sort of.  But it is waiting for MANY hours to watch someone ELSE ride the coaster!  (But, still worth it!).

Column of water and a little Hydrochloric acid

All but blown over.