Last night Jenny and I drove out for a second time to Titusville to see if the shuttle would be able to take off. The news had predicted all day that the probability of launch was about 30%. All day long Jenny and I ran errands and the weather outside was breezy and sunny, but we didn't see anything that looked harmful. Apparently the issue was clouds that were near the coast.
After Jenny and I ran our errands, we got ready to head out about 7:30 to Titusville. It was abou a 35 minute drive out. Traffic wasn't bad at all and as we drove east, we could see plenty of stars in the sky. We figured that being able to see stars was a good thing.
We went back to our viewing point in Titusville from our friend's sister's home. It was a great view as the location sat right on the Indian River and had a direct view out to Kennedy Space Center, the VAB, launchpad 39A and launchpad 39B. So we watched the countdown on NASA TV there and looked out from the patio across the water to the lit up launchpad. It was the coolest thing. Once it lifted off, we saw a great ball of fire and the night sky lit up. Jenny said it was like a sunrise and then a sunset all in fast forward. We saw the reflection of the fire in the water and in a matter of seconds after launch, we heard the rumble and felt it from the take off. It was our first night launch and it was very cool. We had some folks taking photos from where we were at, so when we get them, we'll post them up here for you to enjoy. For now, enjoy the photo from the Orlando Sentinel's, Kenneth D. Lyons.
On the way home back to Orlando after the launch, we had it on ESPN radio and caught the coverage of Troy Smith getting the Heisman Trophy Award. It was soo cool. Two great events in one awesome evening.
- Gabe
