I have never seen a launch live, and I am rather excited by it.
I am curious to see if any other members have been down here to witness a shuttle launch.
I swear we keep hearing this "last one" thing over and over.
I can't remember whether I was 10 or 20 miles away.
At that distance, it's a big ball of flame but no sound -- but then a bit like rolling thunder when you first hear it. Still fascinating.
I was reading that we are gonna pay $60M a ticket to get our guys to the space station on the Russian 'shuttle'. Seems like a waste to me.
Quote: odiousgambitI swear we keep hearing this "last one" thing over and over.
Sort of like Cher's "farewell" performances.
Quote: avargovSometimes my profession puts me in a location that I wouldn't have otherwise been. Today, for example, I am at Patrick AFB. Generally, this would mean nothing. However, today, as luck would have it, I will be in a pretty good position to see Endeavour blast off.
I have never seen a launch live, and I am rather excited by it.
I am curious to see if any other members have been down here to witness a shuttle launch.
I'm jealous, would be a very cool thing to see. My grandfather was a guest at a launch maybe 8 years or so ago and said it was amazing. Enjoy it!
I guess you're a truck driver.
But by labeling it "Stupid truck driver", I thought you were talking about someone else. Except that guy is, as I recall, a truck dispatcher....
Quote: DJTeddyBearI'm curious what the title of this thread means.
I guess you're a truck driver.
But by labeling it "Stupid truck driver", I thought you were talking about someone else. Except that guy is, as I recall, a truck dispatcher....
LOL that was the first thing I thought also when I saw the thread.
It gets very crowded near Kennedy and the fast-food places did a booming business after a scrubbed launch. People would turn their front lawns into parking lots for a nominal fee. The space program is great for the local economy, and cool to boot.
And, btw, I know I am not a stupid truck driver, but a man who happens to drive a truck, and is a small business owner. I am just playing along so the next puppet could see. I did shed a tear when I was mentioned in the farewell address ;-)
I only wish I would have been closer. Kinda eerie the low thunder sound and feel about 15 seconds after it took off.
I was in Orlando in 2006 and thought about driving to KSC again. But by then I was fully disenchanted with the space program and furious about Columbia. So I stayed in central Florida...
It is worth going to KSC once. the Vertical Assembly Building and the rockets displayed outside are very impressive, particualrly the Saturn V laying on its side. But what I'd like to see now is the SpaceX production line, or a Falcon I or Falcon IX launch. They, and other private companies like T-Space, SpaceDev, Scaled Composites, Bigelow Aerospace and others, are the cutting edge of space travel these days.
Quote: avargovLooks like this one, and then Atlantis in July, then they pull the plug.
I was reading that we are gonna pay $60M a ticket to get our guys to the space station on the Russian 'shuttle'. Seems like a waste to me.
A big waste. Yet another sign the USA is more and more trying to live off past successes than try for new ones and has given up on the hard stuff/anything that takes longer than a baseball-season to get done. We could use another JFK/Reagan.