Space Shuttle Launched

We were up early this morning to see the launch of the space shuttle. We drove over to the east side of the base where we had a pretty unobstructed view to the north.It was still dark outside as we waited for the rockets to flair.



Being on the side of the road with nobody else around we were surprised when we saw the bright glow over Titusville, it was the rockets fired up and them starting to push the space shuttle towards outer space.



Then we could see that the shuttle was on its way. We watched the bright light rise into the air. Although we couldn't distinguish the shuttle its self we knew what the bright light was.



We watched as the bright light got smaller and smaller, until it was completely out of our sight.



We had an insight as to what was happening this morning because we had visited the Kennedy Space Center a couple days ago. The first picture is as you walk from the parking lot into the space center through the ticket booths where you purchased your ticket or exchanged the ticket you had previously purchased for the one their card readers would read.



Here is one of the display signs.



This is a picture of the type of rockets that propel the shuttle into space. The smaller one on the outside has another one like it on the other side and these are the first ones to lift the shuttle. After they lift the shuttle so far up they are dropped off into the ocean where they are recovered, cleaned, and reused. The larger one is the big one that pushes the shuttle into space, and it is not reused, it breaks up as it returns to the earth. (I think that is what they told us)



A new attraction to the Kennedy Space Center is the simulated space paunch. You climb up a ramp and into the building where you are instructed to enter a room that has a set of about 30 seats simulating the seats in the shuttle. Once you sit down and strap in the whole room turns up on end, then the rockets are lit and things shake, and then you are off into space.





In the space center like most attractions they gouge you on food and drinks. We bought this cup filled with a drink for $5, but we did get free refills the rest of the day.


The I-Max movie was the most impressive thing I saw, it was a 3-D movie of the Hubble Space Telescope. They gave a lot of information about the Hubble, and showed some of the astronauts actually working on the Hubble in space.

The next impressive exhibit was the bots. As you walk into the building you are instructed to go from one station to the other via and intercom system. each station tells or shows you some of the robots used by NASA, and if you ever make it to the Kennedy Space Center be sure to visit the bots.







We are enjoying the east coast of FL, since this is our first time in this area everything is new and exciting for us. We will be spending more time in this area in the future....