3-2-1 Blastoff

One thing Jim and I wanted to do during one of our Florida trips was to see a shuttle launch. November 14 seemed to be the day. We drove for 3 hours to Titusville, just across the river from Kennedy Space Center. We took our positions in Kennedy Power Point Park for an unobstructed view of the night launch. This is a daytime view of the assembly building. We believe we were located about 5 or 6 miles from the launch site.


This picture shows the ignition of the engines just before liftoff. Double-click on the image to expand it to full-screen. You will be able to see the flames on either side of the clearly visible shuttle.






Just as the shuttle begins to rise, the flames diminish. We were fortunate to have another observer with a radio tuned to a broadcast of the countdown so we were prepared with cameras in hand and video rolling. The small dot in the upper picture just left of center is the moon.






Here he have liftoff. The sky was brightly lit by the engine plumes. Once the shuttle was a few hundred feet in the air we heard the roar of the engines. We followed the shuttle up into the night sky as it soared away and watched as the fuel tanks dropped off. What an experience!! Unless you are there you don't have an appreciation for the power of what is happening.


In just a few minutes it was all over. As we packed up our cameras and our chairs, the moon continued to rise and located itself just behind the water vapor trail left by Endeavour. Where the launch demonstrates power and force, this portrays calmness and serenity. There were many other observers like us. With only one major roadway connecting Orlando with the east coast, traffic was a nightmare. We arrived back in Punta Gorda 6 1/2 hours later at 3:30am. Still, the trip was worth it.