What do you do when you don't have a job and brain fried from searching all possible job hosting sites.................

After 20 years of living in Florida I finally made it to a Shuttle launch that commenced as planned, Monday the 16th (made a great anniversary present).:nuts: Made it to the June night launch earlier this year, only to have it been rescheduled while I was out of state.:(

The Minolta w/ great zoom lens was still in for repairs, so the best I could do for pics was the Canon S3IS.:red:
Pics from my vantage point at Space View Park in Titusville, about 15 miles from launch pad 39A.....................

The VAB.....largest building in volume........

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m66/trip_j/shuttle%20launch/IMG_3027.jpg

Same building at extreme zoom to give an idea of scale for the rest of the pics........

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m66/trip_j/shuttle%20launch/IMG_3029.jpg

The launch pad w/ the Shuttle Atlantis (it may not actually be visible but I know it was there!)........

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m66/trip_j/shuttle%20launch/IMG_3032.jpg

Lift off................

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m66/trip_j/shuttle%20launch/IMG_3037.jpg

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m66/trip_j/shuttle%20launch/IMG_3039.jpg

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m66/trip_j/shuttle%20launch/IMG_3042.jpg

About 30 other photos hosted in PB.........

http://s101.photobucket.com/albums/m66/trip_j/shuttle%20launch/


I definitely plan on making the next launch, which is scheduled for the early AM in February!! Also going to make sure the Minolta is on hand!!!

Watching a launch is always a trip... Living in Orlando, I see them all the time from my house... I've been to a few in the past.. I went to a night launch about 15 years ago, and it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen..

With the VAB building, the american flag that is on the building is like 200+ feet long and the red and white stripes are as wide as road.


Great pictures...

If I had a bucket list,, that would be at the top..not watching,but riding!After skydiving I don't think theres anything else...

Very cool! :thumb: I would love to see that sometime. I can imagine it would be breathtaking... Especially a night launch. Someday I'll have to plan a vacation down to FL to make a launch...

Very cool! :thumb: I would love to see that sometime. I can imagine it would be breathtaking... Especially a night launch. Someday I'll have to plan a vacation down to FL to make a launch...

You only have about a year left. Only 6 or 7 missions left for the Shuttle program.:(

When I first move to Florida I lived in Cape Canaveral about a half a block from the beach. I used to walk down to the beach and watch the launches. Today I can see the launches from my driveway as the cape is 40 mile north of me. They are a site to see.

I was down there too and judging by the pic's we were close by each other, I forget the road name but we were standing on a bridge thats under construction and looking across the water.

So you are one of the ones causing all the traffic problems on launch day

What an awesome sight! :thumb:

I've been to two of them over the last 15 years... one mid morning and one early 5:30 am launch...

I got to see the Challeger launch in '83? It was cool.

What amazed me was how the roar of the engines only lasted a couple seconds, after it took half a minute to get over to Titusville. I guess sound can't go downhill.

I was down there too and judging by the pic's we were close by each other, I forget the road name but we were standing on a bridge thats under construction and looking across the water.

I was at Space View Park. Communications from Shuttle and ground are piped into the park.

So you are one of the ones causing all the traffic problems on launch day

:D:D

I will have to find that park next time if I do go down for another launch. I took my ham radio with me but no one was simulcasting the audio from NASA that I could find.

I can see the launches from my drive way about 40 miles away