Video by Irene
During the winter of 2009 we scheduled a stop at Jetty Park campground at Cape Canaveral to see the space shuttle launch, but it was scrubbed due to a fuel tank leak. This winter we were lucky to get another reservation at Jetty park for the May shuttle launch, but Irene had three conflicting events come up on her calendar, so we decided to make a quick trip to Titusville for the April launch. At 6:21 am this morning we stood between US #1
and the Indian River as shuttle Discovery blasted off in a fiery yellow light which seemed to rise slowly from the earth and was well above the ground before its boom and crackle reverberated across the river and reached us. Despite it’s high speed, Discovery appeared to be in a slow motion arc as it shot northeast into space leaving behind an almost florescent white contrail. As the sun rose, a swirl of deep rose mixed with the white cloud adding to the show. It all was over quickly and the mass of people gathered to view one of the last launches gradually departed, having seen Discovery blast off carrying a crew of seven and an 8-ton stockpile of supplies destined for the International Space Station (ISS). NASA called the predawn launch "spectacular," "picture-perfect" and its
"most visually beautiful launch ever." Today’s launch was the 35th and final time NASA launched a space shuttle in complete darkness which added to the dramatic effect. The Discovery crew included three women astronauts joining one already on the ISS, thus setting the record for the most women in space simultaneously.We had parked our motor home in a shopping mall parking lot across the street along with many others. Apparently the authorities are pretty tolerant of RV’s during launches. Parking there the night before was very convenient as we didn’t have to get up so early. After breakfast we drove to The Great Outdoors to visit Walt and Joyce whom we met in the mid-90’s through the Overland Trailblazers, our previous RV club, and with whom we visited briefly in January when we were at The Great Outdoors for the Southeastern Country Coachers rally.
They had arranged for us to park our coach in their absent neighbor’s RV port while we were there for the launch, but we decided to move to the mall in Titusville for a better view once we saw others RV’ers parked there. It was great to see Walt and Joyce, and it was especially interesting to visit with them today after seeing the launch since Walt worked as an engineer in the space program over a long period of time. He worked with Werner von Braun at the US Army Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, and his office was next to von Braun’s. He
told us that von Braun told his team of engineers that if they had a better idea that worked, do it; they didn’t need to get his approval. While working at Redstone Arsenal, his work frequently took him to Cape Canaveral and he moved to the area in the mid-60’s. He also explained the source of the halo effect we had seen at the launch. After the solid rocket boosters were jettisoned – after about 2 minutes – we saw a halo effect surrounding the shuttle which Walt said was the main rocket actually consuming the atmosphere as the hydrogen/oxygen rocket engine doesn’t emit any visible light.Later in his career, Walt worked for Morton Thiakol as an engineer
designing and developing the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters. We could hear a note of American pride as he commented on the solid rocket boosters. He pointed out that the shuttle’s main engine starts first which is no big deal, but that “when those solid rocket boosters light, you’re going somewhere.”We enjoyed our visit with Walt and Joyce, and the time to leave and head north toward Rome came way too soon. All in all it was a short trip, but one that satisfied a long-held desire to see a shuttle launch before the program ends in September.
No comments:
Post a Comment