Sorry for the OT post, but I just can't resist.

Yesterday, flying home (via EWR) from NAU on CO 698 I actually saw the space shuttle launch!

Pilot annouced before we left the gate that due to STS-129 launching at 2:28 Eastern, we would need to hang back at the gate and then take an inland route to EWR. He followed that by saying, "But the good news is, if this thing gets airborne, we will have one heck of a view."

Sure enough, the pilot was true to his word. Even dipped the wing so we could get a better view out the window! I can't believe I have scratched that one off the bucket list already!

Sorry, no pics. TV does not do it justice, though. That fireball is BRIGHT!

And in other news...miles have posted already for the outbound (which was on the 13th).^

"That is SO cool!"

Kind of like this?

EXACTLY like that! Funny, that flight was from NAU as well, although a couple of years ago. My POV was slightly better...just outside the window, so to speak, as opposed to that far behind the plane.

Wish I could find that certificate I once had from AC confirming that I had a booking on one of their first flights to the moon! Back when Armstrong did his moon walk -- later copied by one MJ -- most airlines actually took reservations for flights to the moon. Even issued certs to confirm the bookings. Like those square inches of the Yukon we used to get in Shredded Wheat boxes back in the 50s...

I went to Disneyland in August and while I was there I heard they were lauching the Space Shuttle. I was so excited! Then I found out they were launching at midnight so I was 10 times more excited. I've heard the night time launch was amazing so I couldn't wait.
I put my husband in the car and told him we were going for Ice Cream ( If I told him the REAL reason I was going to drive an hour in the middle of the night in a strange city, he wouldn't of came)

It was AMAZING! we went to a place called Titus and watched it launch at 11:59pm. I even filled with tears as I watched it soar into the sky. The sound of the fuel was amazing and I could feel the vibrations in my lungs. After a very short time the shuttle just looked like a star in the night sky. We got back in the car and drove back to Orlando with a big smile on my face the entire ride back.

AMAZING. I'm glad you got to see it as well.

Saw it from Leesburg - about 120 miles NW of launch. This is my second launch I've seen but the skies were much clearer then when I saw a launch earlier in the year from Disney.

Folks,

I've worked in the space program since 1976, a lot of that time being in the launch operations area. I NEVER get tired of launches. If you ever get a chance to watch a launch of any kind from the Cape or Vandenberg, it's something you won't forget.

I'll tell you, though, whenever I watch a Shuttle lift-off, I still count up in my head from 1-132. (132 is the number of seconds the solid rocket boosters burn.) As we all saw during the Challenger launch failure, the crew cannot escape while the solids are burning. Several years ago, I was talking to a senior NASA official I know fairly well who had a console position for Shuttle launches. When I told him I still counted to 132, he said, "Me, too."

Night launches are amazing. But to be picky,

Disneyworld, perhaps?

Titusville

This never gets old. I live in Mass and timed a few vacations around Shuttle launches.

I've had the pleasure of seeing two day time and two night time launches. I don't think you can ever get the full appreciation of this experience until you see it live and feel the thrust reverberating through the air. Exhilarating.

The stunning part is when you walk back to your car (once it's out of eye site < 5minutes) and turn on the NASA channel and find out the Shuttle 5k miles down range approaching the African Coast.

Amazing.

Way back in 1992, I drove out towards KSC to try to watch the morning launch of Atlantis flying STS-46. the road from Orlando to the KSC area was still a country highway then rather than the expressway that it was now. Slow traffic meant I got to see the shuttle after liftoff from the car still a few miles out.

Is there a radio station at the Cape that broadcasts the NASA audio feed? I'm asking because I think I'll be down there for a shuttle launch in March.

It's been a while, but I found it.

Local radio station WMMB provides launch coverage on AM 1240 and AM 1350.


http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/...w_shuttle.html

As a native Floridian, I never get tired of seeing launches. I've been fortunate to get as close as 2-3 miles from the pad (due to working as a member of the local media) to see a launch. Truely spectacular.

For anyone who hasn't seen a launch yet but wants to, you'll need to make plans within the next year as there's only 5 launches remaining if NASA doesn't get funding to extend the current program.

You can also hook up to the NASA TV streaming broadcast from a laptop. Another great website is Spaceflightnow.com. They have a running blog of the countdown as well as their own streaming video.

FYI, all of the launches are going to the ISS, which is at a 53 degree inclination. The Shuttles launch northeastward at about 53 degrees. So, if you hang out in Titusville, and watch it from across the river, it will fly from right to left during ascent, so you will see it for a longer time. If you're in Cocoa Beach or Cape Canaveral, it will fly away from you and you'll be looking up the business end of the solids watching smoke.

I watched a night launch from Daytona a few months ago. That was pretty amazing. I was shocked it went from right to left... I just assumed straight up.