There is a SPACEX FALCON 9 launch scheduled for Wednesday, June 29.
I will be in Florida during the launch.

Has anyone viewed the launch from the LC-39A Observation Gantry at the Kennedy Space Center? Experiencing the launch 2.3 miles away from the launch pad seems INSANELY COOL.

90 min drive (3 hours round trip). $75 Space Center ticket + an additional $50 ticket for a transport and admission to the close-up observation area.

WORTH IT? ...or Ehhh?

---

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/2022 03:05PM by d4.

Saw a Shuttle launch from Space View Park in Titusville once, but I have certainly never watched a launch from 39A, that sounds awesome.

A business partner of mine lives on the water in Melbourne, and can watch launches from her balcony. She texts out nyah-nyah pictures of them occasionally...

January 2020, I was at an RV event near Cape Canaveral. One night, at ~ 9PM, Space X had a launch. Although it was a clear night, it was pitch black. The only thing we could see was the fiery thrust. Quite anticlimactic.

Watched a night time shuttle launch in December 1990 just parked along the river in Titusville across from the launch pad. Lots of flood lights at the launch pad and even though I was a few miles away you could clearly see the shuttle on the pad. Given that it was at night (around 1AM) you couldn't miss the ball of flames to follow. I was in Orlando for a conference and there was a launch scheduled and it luckily made it off that day after numerous delays leading up to this.

This was one of the most delayed launches of the Space Shuttle program.
[en.wikipedia.org]

I covered 25 Space Shuttle launches, they were incredible. A few seconds after liftoff the shock wave from the engines rolled across us and you could feel it in your chest. A coworker had begun working launches with Mercury. he said the shuttle launches were like nothing he had ever seen before.

But we were at a sight that was only three miles away. The nearest public viewing was seven miles away and the experience was far less dramatic. There were no shock waves, the visual was like seeing a jet flying overhead only with a much larger contrail. The Falcon is not the space shuttle, its engines are smaller than the shuttle's main engines (much less with the shuttle's boosters).

Given all that, I would not expect much of a show from the visitor center. You can see essentially the same thing from the Titusville waterfront for free.

---

“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/2022 05:35PM by Ombligo.

Quote
GGD
Watched a night time shuttle launch in December 1990 just parked along the river in Titusville across from the launch pad. Lots of flood lights at the launch pad and even though I was a few miles away you could clearly see the shuttle on the pad. Given that it was at night (around 1AM) you couldn't miss the ball of flames to follow.

Ditto for me during the first post-Challenger return to flight launch. We brought along a small hibachi and cooked out.

I tried for years to get sent for work. never got them to spring for it.

---

********************************************
“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.” Seneca the Younger

The police have no duty to respond. See Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005) or Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981)

Judge Lee wrote that “we cannot jettison our constitutional rights, even if the goal behind a law is laudable." 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

[www.youtube.com]

....no one wears capes anymore.....except the phantom of the opera....

---

_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!

I saw one streak in from the side of the road and do the sonic boom. It was pretty cool, although over in about 30 seconds.

Awesome opportunity! I haven't seen one up close since Apollo 17 (and it was a lot easier to get good views back in the olden days for free) - but sure, why not go for it if you can! Of course there are sometimes delays; will your ticket be good for a while?

Quote
Racer X
I tried for years to get sent for work. never got them to spring for it.

About 25 years ago I went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, where I thoroughly enjoyed myself. On the tail end of it my cousin poured me out at the airport, and I flew directly from NOLA to Melbourne, FL for a work meeting at Harris; suffice to say I went to bed immediately upon making it to my hotel.

The next morning was... difficult, but I made it to the meeting barely on time. Everybody there was saying, "Hey, wasn't that great? We were so lucky to be here!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You mean you didn't see the Space Shuttle launch an hour ago?!?"

Me:




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2022 10:52AM by Will Collier.

Quote
Will Collier

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You mean you didn't see the Space Shuttle launch an hour ago?!?"

Seen several. Before 9/11, you could sign up to get a car pass to go on property to watch the launch. Saw Columbia go up on it’s ill-fated flight, and saw the last shuttle go up. Haven’t driven over for a Falcon-9 yet, but have watched them from home.

Yes, I worked in Orlando for a summer in college and saw Columbia launch from about 7-8 miles away. It was awesome.

.....have only seen Columbia......drug deal.....

---

_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!