Tips for viewing a space shuttle launch?

Jackie J V

Jackie J V

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TECHNICAL Contributor
Feb 5, 2009
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King City, ON
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I am planning to be in the Orlando area for a couple of weeks in March and was delighted to find out that space shuttle Discovery is scheduled for launch on March 18th, in the middle of our stay. My kids and I would love to drive out to Kennedy to see this and I'm looking for tips from those who've been. What's the best vantage point? How bad is the traffic around these events (I'm assuming it can be a zoo)? How much time should I plan to be there (i.e., how far ahead of the launch)?

Any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Paul
 
We have driven over to see 2. Both were scrubbed. The beeline highway goes to Cocoa beach from Orlando. There are plenty of places to see the Cape from the side of the road. If you go on into Cocoa there is a pier you can walk out on that I've heard provides a really good view.
Hope they launch for you and enjoy your stay in O town.

Jack
 
You will get a great view anywhere in Cocoa Beach -- the city, the actual beach or the pier. Just a side note, the pier isn't marked very well and I think it's tricky to find if you're not familiar.

I would head to Cocoa Beach early in the morning and stake your claim on the beach and spend the day until launch. There are restaurants, bathrooms, etc. so you'll have plenty to do.
 
Thanks guys - Cocoa Beach it is! How's the traffic heading back after an event?
 
All the previous advice is great. I used to live there for most of my life and anything Cocoa Beach and north on the beach will be great. Traffic will vary depending on where you are, who's in town, etc. After living there a while, you hear the rumble and step outside if you live there, so visitor traffic is what you will be concerned with. I had an apartment in Cape Canaveral and couldn't leave anything close to the edges of the counters on launch day as the apartment would SHAKE!

Have fun. It's a great experience!
 
Thanks Ron. I can appreciate that if you're in the neighbourhood, it probably would get routine. We're really excited though...tourists, eh?:grin:

Paul
 
Paul ... You should be excited! It's a spectacular and majestic event to see live! Enjoy!
 
Not to disagree with the others, but Titusville is a much better place to see the launch, if you cannot get a ticket to the causeway and visitor complex. In the past, I have gone to a little park right across from McDonald in Titusville. It is right across from the complex (right across about 8 miles that is..) The neat thing about a night launch in Titusville is that you get the refelction of the lagoon to enhance the brightness, then the sound of the launch, which you can feel coming across the water about a minute or two after the launch. Of course my favorite launch, when I lived up there, was seeing John Glenn launch from my boat. I went up the river as far as the coast guard would let me go, then actually got in the water with my I/O trimmed up and pulled my boat ahead of some of the others to get a boat free look. I even got a bonus of seeing AirForce one on approach to the Air Force base with Hillary the witch on board.

Here's a link that might help
http://www.launchphotography.com/Shuttle_Launch_Viewing.html

By the way , for you east coasters, there is a launch this morning at 4:39AM (2/6/2010) if it is clear you can see the launch, though it might be faint in alot of coastal areas.. here's alink for that...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35259167/ns/technology_and_science-space/

Good luck, I hope they get off while you are there..... definitely leave Borlando way early... i've been caught several miles off the coast in traffic due to congestion.

John
 
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Thanks John. Great link. I've signed up for the newsletter and hopefully can catch the ticket sales when they come up in a week or so.

Paul
 
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+1 to what John said. My wife is a NASA fan and one of her dreams was to see a launch. So she and her mother went down specifically for that purpose. tI was dicey as the launch was pushed back once and she had to change her airline tickets.

Hopefully your are more flexible with your time! Get on the newsletter and make sure you know when the tickets go on sale and be on the web site early so that you can get a ticket if you want to do that, they sell out quick. My wife was on there at the exact open and she got tickets, they sold out shortly there after.

Enjoy, it is a wonderful experience!!!
 
Well that sucks! I was looking forward to it. When I started this thread, Discovery was scheduled to launch on the 18th of March.

Oh well...
 
Sorry Paul but as I posted earlier it seems just when you plan to go see it they scrub it. Your lucky, both the ones I went to were not scrubbed until just before launch as we sat anxiously awaiting them.


Jack
 
Four Suns said:
It's like government run health care... only cheaper.
Click to expand...


It all depends on how you do it. We've got the health care, just not the rockets...
 
I watched the launch last March from the banks of the river just off Indian River Ave in Titusville. I'm down here again for the month and was also looking forward to getting to show my kids another launch this year.

It is quite something to see.
 
I see that there's another rocket launch for the time frame. We'll continue to monitor and maybe check that out. Won't be the same but might be fun just the same.
 
were planning on taking the boats down there to see at least one this year. Only about a 2 hr trip via the intercoastal for us...so why not. Before they retire the entire fleet. Planning on May 14th launch
 
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