Watching launches at KSC

There are two launches scheduled at KSC this week, and I couldn’t be more lucky. I have tickets on the LC-39 viewing area for the SpaceX launch tomorrow night (from SLC-40). This is the best place to watch a launch. Tickets were sold out for this site for the Atlas V launch early Thursday morning (from SLC-41), so I bought tickets for the Banana River site.

So the question is....Has anyone witnessed a launch from the Banana River site? Is it worth the money, or could I have as good of a view from a beach or causeway nearby?

Both launches are from Cape Canaveral - pads 41 and 40. The LC-39 viewing area is the closest viewing area for the general public to both pads. It's about 3.4 miles from pad 41 and 2.3 miles from pad 40. The LC-39 viewing area is so close to the Atlas V pad that there's a possibility of it becoming off-limits at the last minute due to wind speed and direction.

As far as the Banana River site … I assume you mean the tickets offered by the KSC Visitor Complex. That viewing area is at the Saturn V center about two miles further away from the pads. So, you'll be less than a mile further away for the Atlas V launch than you were for the SpaceX one. That shouldn't make much difference.

In both cases, you'll be just about as close as any of the general public is allowed to be to the launch pads. And, you'll have easier access to amenities like restrooms. And, you won't have as much trouble parking and getting from and back to your car. So, I think you'll find that the cost was worth it (at least for a couple of launches.)

Have fun! Take lots of pictures … but not of the launches. Let the pros do that. Instead enjoy the experience of watching the launches in person. You can see the photos and videos on the web later.

-- Roger

All good advice. To that I'll add that launches often slip, so don't be too disappointed if one or both do. But fingers crossed for you.

May be some useful info at https://www.launchphotography.com/Delta_4_Atlas_5_Falcon_9_Launch_Viewing.html though some of that could be dated.

Thanks, Roger and Mike! That’s exactly the advice I was looking for. I knew TRF would have plenty of rocket-geeks like me who had seen launches at KSC.

When we booked the vacation last month, I was disappointed that there were no launches planned. I was so excited last week when two of them popped up on the schedule! The weather is really hit-or-miss right now, but my daughter and I are bubbling over with anticipation.

How much do those tickets run?

I was lucky enough last year to be on a business trip to Orlando when there was a night launch (shortly after sundown so it wasn't a very late one). I got there in daylight and drove around for about an hour looking at a map on my phone trying to find a good spot and pulled into a place just north of the Carnival Cruise line property. I parked on the edge of the water with about 6 other cars around me and waited a few hours for the launch. By that time there were about 60 cars down in that little area and nowhere else to fit another one, and most of us were streaming the YouTube feed to know when it would launch.

It was the most amazing thing I've seen regarding rocketry in my life.

I saw 3 launches when we went to florida a couple years ago. one at the Banana river site, one at KSC and one from CoCoa Beach. All of them were awesome to watch.

Thanks everyone. We’re waiting to get one the bus to the LC-39 viewing area now. Only a 40% chance for ‘Go.’ Fingers crossed!

Saw a Titan IIIC launch as a kid and will never forget it for as long as I live. My bucket list includes a return to the Cape to see another launch or two.

Hey, they launched on time, congrats. Hoping you are two for two after the Atlas!

Well, I suspect that your view of the launch was better than ours! Hope you had a memorable time.

We are just northeast of Orlando and watched from our front yard. We only saw two seconds of the flight as the rocket rose above the trees then disappeared into clouds.

-- Roger

Helps to have a friend who works for NASA and who’s able to sneak one in .

It was awesome!!!!
Here's a pic that my wife took with her iPhone. I watched everything through binoculars. The flame was so bright, I had spots in my eyes.

Nytrunner said:

How much do those tickets run?

Click to expand...

Tickets to get into KSC are $57 for adults; that lets you see and do most everything there. AAA has a 30% discount, but you have to buy through them ahead of time--I learned that the hard way this morning. Viewing from the LC-39 gantry costs an additional $50, but that included a good meal at the gantry and a NASA hat. It was an incredibly good view, particularly with binoculars, but still good without them. Definitely worth every penny.

(a pic of me wearing the hat with SLC-40 in the distance)

The Atlas V launch was awesome too! Because the launch happened a few minutes before sunrise, it was still dark on the ground, but the sunlight reflected off the high altitude exhaust. It was a really cool effect. The launch looked like a fireball in the darkness, we felt the rumble even though we were 3 miles away, we then watched it break the speed of sound, and we could watch the exhaust plume clear until the engine cut off and it was in orbit. It was incredible.

A few non-professional pics, taken with my iPhone. If you want to see some really amazing pics of arguably the coolest launch of the year, just google “Atlas V launch.”

So here’s my summary for anyone trying to view a launch at KSC.

LC-39 viewing area - Has a great view of launch pad 39A and 40 (both Space X) and the best place to view pad 41 (ULA) though it was closed for the ULA launch that we just saw due to safety concerns (b/c it is so close).

Banana River / Saturn V Center viewing area - This was good for viewing the launch from 41 (ULA) and would probably be ok for launches from 40 (Space X). It is a very good place to watch launches from 39A (Space X) and it will be a GREAT place to watch SLS launches from 39B whenever that finally happens.

View of the 39B launch tower from the Banana river viewing area (taken by me with an iPhone 8 while waiting for the Atlas V launch):

I don't know why TRF was bungling the photo uploads in the previous two posts from my phone, but I just fixed them.