wow, my sis and 4 nieces are going to see an Atlas V launch today

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

JStarStar

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2009
Messages
2,552
Reaction score
78
They were down in Florida for spring break anyway and my sister decided Saturday or Sunday ago to go to KSC today so I guess they got tickets and everything all set up ahead of time.

I emailed her last night and told her the launch was scheduled for 1:45 p.m. today and she said, "awesome, I guess it was a good day to be there anyway."

Everybody will be shooting lots of iPhone videos I guess. :lol::lol:


Weather report looks perfect -- all they need to worry about is a countdown glitch.
 
Tell 'em to take lots of pictures... Throw the camera on burst mode and take as many pictures as you can... You only have 1 shot at taking the pictures, so... :)
 
Thank you for this post!! I'm in Orlando today so I'll be sure to be outside at that time and see if it's visible from here.

I wonder if I can get onto the roof of this building?
 
I hope the launch goes off as planned. This launch has been scrubbed already.

If this is their first launch, I suggest only taking one or two pics and just enjoy the launch. No picture you take will be as good as the ones in the gift shop, so if you really want a fantastic picture, buy one. You can't buy the experience.
 
Having your own pics of the launch is a nice feeling when you look back at them. But on the other hand being able to just watch the launch and focus on it without worrying about the tech is great.

I think the only solution is to go to two launches. That way you can focus completely on watching the first one and taking pics of the 2nd one. :)
I hope they have a great day regardless.

Here's one of my pics from the last shuttle launch at about T+40s

Small_T+40.jpg
 
The weather looks terrific for today's launch and a visit to KSC. The sky was completely clear and bright blue this morning.

Have fun!

-- Roger
 
Got text message updates: the launch went off without a hitch and they had a great view. My 4-year old niece said it was 'REAL LOUD.'

Earlier they met astronaut Ed Gibson and took the tour of KSC. Big fun for everyone.
 
I missed the launch but went out afterwards and could still see the smoke trail. It was a very nice day, weather wise.

I'm glad they got to see it go. It would have been a shame if they scrubbed again.
 
That is great. A real space launch is awesome to see. I saw one of the last shuttle launches, and it was amazing!
 
All morning, until about lunch time, the sky here was clear. But, by the time of the launch the clouds had moved it. From here in east Orlando, we spotted the rocket a couple of times, though, in the gaps between the clouds.

One nice thing. The launch kept an after-lunch meeting short. Half of the participants were monitoring the countdown and we called a close to the meeting at T-60 seconds.

-- Roger
 
It is a 'girls spring break' trip with my sister, her 4 daughters, 2 of her adult friends, and 4 (?? -- not sure) of THEIR daughters -- a total of 11 people in the party. (My nephew, who is 15 and quite a science-tech geek, stayed home for the week and is now seething with jealousy, heheh.)

I guess they spent about 9 hours at KSC overall -- arrived shortly after opening time in the morning and stayed until late afternoon. Took a great tour of the 'rocket garden' and of course got to see the Saturn V on display. Now I can show them my 1/100 Sat V and they have actually seen the real thing.

My brother and I were there 15 years ago but the weather was not too good (55-rainy) plus we only had about 4 hours we could spend there, so we were kinda rushed through. Yesterday the weather was great and they had time to see almost everything.

Sounds like they will all have plenty to talk about in science class when they get back to school next week. I think I will have a pretty attentive recovery crew next time they come out for a 'family picnic' launch. :wink:

Here's the ULA 'highlight video' of the launch. My sister's iPhone video wasn't quite at this level.

[video=youtube;Edk-0rnyxI8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edk-0rnyxI8[/video]

Incredible for them to see this. Heck, I have wanted to see a launch since the early 1960s and never got a chance. Maybe someday.


After they were done at KSC they stopped in HERE for an afternoon/evening snack which turned out to be a huge hit with the whole girlie bunch:

https://www.facebook.com/IDreamOfYogurt

:lol::lol:
 
Last edited:
What a great experience. Still one of my dreams to watch a launch from The Cape.

Sent from my SPH-M830 using Rocketry Forum mobile app
 
We lived in Lompoc CA for a year. I got to see 5 missle launches from Vandenburg. A Titan, an Atlas and some Minuteman flights.
 
I'm jealous. I was stationed in Cocoa Beach from July 1990 to late September 1990. There was a shuttle launch scheduled that summer but it was delayed until the week after I left.
 
Back
Top