About to be a launch @ 9:19.
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Rocket Launch
- Thread starter 4HAND
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dwhee87
GON Political Forum Scientific Studies Poster
I need to look up a launch schedule. Be fun to head down for one of those.
1eyefishing
...just joking, seriously.
Let's find a place to stay and take the boat !
5 day minimum...
5 day minimum...
Batjack
Cap`n Jack 1313
If it's one of the big ones.. it's life changing. My Dad took me down for the last Apollo launch and I made it down for the last shuttle launch.
We watched it from our front yard. It's cool, but not nearly as cool as the Shuttle launches were.
We went & watched the last daytime shuttle launch.
We watched it from a park across the intercoastal from Canaveral.
It was amazing!
We watched it from a park across the intercoastal from Canaveral.
It was amazing!
Big7
The Oracle
georgia_home
Senior Member
Only saw one launch, a night time liftoff. Extremely impressive. Before we got of the dock we were standing on, the rocket was over Europe! Saw a shuttle up close a year ago on display in LA. Impressive close up too! And it’s tech over 30 years old.
EAGLE EYE 444
King Casanova
My late Texas girlfriend actually worked for NASA for 17 years in Houston at Johnson Space Center.
For 9 years, she and I spent a huge amount of time together and we spent a lot of time at her work place as well. Unfortunately, her battle of breast cancer finally caught up with her as she passed away back in January of 2017.
She and I were able to go "behind the scenes" of so many projects there and I was just amazed at how many "Geniuses" that worked there. It amazed me that actual humans could possibly be that smart in developing such technology that just seamed impossible to work but it obviously worked excellent.
I quickly found out just why everything was SO EXPENSIVE for this program. Every detail of the manufacturing of any item to be used had to be tracked continuously and most every one of these items had a MINIMUM production run by that approved manufacturer. FAST FORWARD another 6-9 months and these same items had to be manufactured again (with the same minimum production run). ALL of those items that had been remaining in inventory could NOT be used again as they were appropriated for a certain JOB NUMBER ONLY and could NOT be used for multiple jobs as such. NASA still had hundreds of warehouse full of various components that WOULD never be used because of that stupid concept. I also remember a certain type of VELCRO that had 13 pages of specifications on it and no other specification type could be used as such. Unfortunately, the expenses meant nothing to the NASA program, as you and I as taxpayers ended up footing the bills.
It still amazes me that a "specially designed" tool-belt with some of the MOST expensive tools inside ultimately was lost in space while the female astronaut was outside of the cabin on a space walk of sorts while doing some maintenance work. The actual cost value of that tool belt along with the tools inside was valued at over $100,000.
https://www.space.com/7088-tool-bag-lost-space-meets-fiery.html
For 9 years, she and I spent a huge amount of time together and we spent a lot of time at her work place as well. Unfortunately, her battle of breast cancer finally caught up with her as she passed away back in January of 2017.
She and I were able to go "behind the scenes" of so many projects there and I was just amazed at how many "Geniuses" that worked there. It amazed me that actual humans could possibly be that smart in developing such technology that just seamed impossible to work but it obviously worked excellent.
I quickly found out just why everything was SO EXPENSIVE for this program. Every detail of the manufacturing of any item to be used had to be tracked continuously and most every one of these items had a MINIMUM production run by that approved manufacturer. FAST FORWARD another 6-9 months and these same items had to be manufactured again (with the same minimum production run). ALL of those items that had been remaining in inventory could NOT be used again as they were appropriated for a certain JOB NUMBER ONLY and could NOT be used for multiple jobs as such. NASA still had hundreds of warehouse full of various components that WOULD never be used because of that stupid concept. I also remember a certain type of VELCRO that had 13 pages of specifications on it and no other specification type could be used as such. Unfortunately, the expenses meant nothing to the NASA program, as you and I as taxpayers ended up footing the bills.
It still amazes me that a "specially designed" tool-belt with some of the MOST expensive tools inside ultimately was lost in space while the female astronaut was outside of the cabin on a space walk of sorts while doing some maintenance work. The actual cost value of that tool belt along with the tools inside was valued at over $100,000.
https://www.space.com/7088-tool-bag-lost-space-meets-fiery.html
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John Cooper
?Now I Got One A Them Banner Things
I watched it just outside of Orlando, was working on a Land Survey crew back then.
gobbleinwoods
Keeper of the Magic Word
I saw it from the beach in Daytona
GunnSmokeer
Senior Member
I was on a cruise ship on the way to the Bahamas off the coast of Florida when they launch the Space Shuttle that went directly over our heads. Now granted it was very high in the sky, too high to see the spacecraft itself but we sure could see the fire and smoke coming out of the rear and we could hear the crackling and popping of the exhaust.
It was awesome. The highlight of the cruise, in my opinion.
It was awesome. The highlight of the cruise, in my opinion.
Capt Quirk
Senior Member
I grew up in a little town called Melbourne, about a half hour south of the Cape. We watched the Apollo rockets from our back yard, and then the shuttles.
I was working at a body shop when Challenger went up. I was out in the lot, and everybody was running into the office to watch it on TV. I remember saying "if you've seen one launch, you've seen them all. Unless it blows up, it isn't anything new". And I watched it as it blew up.
I also remember the first time my wife heard the BOOM BOOM in the middle of the night. I told her it was just the shuttle coming home, go back to sleep.
I was working at a body shop when Challenger went up. I was out in the lot, and everybody was running into the office to watch it on TV. I remember saying "if you've seen one launch, you've seen them all. Unless it blows up, it isn't anything new". And I watched it as it blew up.
I also remember the first time my wife heard the BOOM BOOM in the middle of the night. I told her it was just the shuttle coming home, go back to sleep.
redeli
"Useless Billy Coach"
Saw it while fishing on Lake Woodruff
Jeff C.
Chief Grass Master
Went to watch The first Columbia shuttle launch in '81. Amazing experience, we got as close to the pad looking across a bay as they would allow the public. There were 100's if not thousands stretched down that long road. Everyone's radios in their car tuned to the station that was broadcasting it live with countdown, hearing NASA, the astronauts, etc., It was an amazing experience to say the least.
One thing that stuck out in my mind though over all these years was the sound. It was probably the most obvious time in my life other than an echo that by the time the sound from the actual launch reached us the Shuttle was already over something like 25 miles high(IIRC) and traveling @ Mach 5, I believe.
The thing that blew my mind is we could hear the sound wave coming and getting not only louder, but you could actually feel the rumbling in your body as the sound raced across the water and ground before it actually hit your body.
I've never felt that since then.
One thing that stuck out in my mind though over all these years was the sound. It was probably the most obvious time in my life other than an echo that by the time the sound from the actual launch reached us the Shuttle was already over something like 25 miles high(IIRC) and traveling @ Mach 5, I believe.
The thing that blew my mind is we could hear the sound wave coming and getting not only louder, but you could actually feel the rumbling in your body as the sound raced across the water and ground before it actually hit your body.
I've never felt that since then.
BluewaterFever
Senior Member
I work on the Cape working for one of the launch contractors for close to 30 yrs. The launches never get old, even the competitors rockets, it is still very cool to be involved in this industry. The anticipation of T-0, lift off, the sound and and rumble of a launch give me goose bumps. I have lived on the Space Coast since 1968. I have seen the Apollo, Delta, Atlas, Shuttle and Space X launches and landings. They all are COOL!
The science and technology we learn helps mankind every day! Also supporting the soldiers in the field, at sea or in the air is great knowing that I do what I can to help to serve our country and the men and women in uniform keeping us safe.
The science and technology we learn helps mankind every day! Also supporting the soldiers in the field, at sea or in the air is great knowing that I do what I can to help to serve our country and the men and women in uniform keeping us safe.
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