Rocket Launch

[Little Flower]

Has anyone ever headed up to Cape Canaveral for a rocket launch. We are debating on going for our December 08 trip but are wondering

a) Can you do it?

b) is it worth it?

If anyone can help it'd be appreciated:)

[crux]

Yes you can and YES it's worth it. We saw a Shuttle launch at night and it is one of the top ten moments of my life - maybe I'm just a little 'sad'!!

We went quite a few years ago and it was an organised trip (by Virgin I think) - basically it was a coach tip to a viewing point on the coast a few miles from the launch site. When the Shuttle went up it was much brighter than daylight, even from a few miles away.

If you do go then take some bug spray with you.

Ian

[Neoshoegal]

yes it is worth it! We did on on our last trip. The launch was at 5.02pm. We did a tiny bit of research and decided to head for Titusville. We arrived there 2 hours before the launch and it was already really busy. We parked our car on the side of the road (Indian River Lagoon Scenic Highway, near the intersection with the "50" road, there's a walgreens on the corner). It cost us $20 to park there and it was an excellent viewing location. There were loads of people, many with radio scanners so you could hear mission control. Most people had brought a cooler with drinks and folding chairs, we weren't that prepared. We just brought 2 bottles of water and some snacks.
Anyway the launch went ahead as scheduled and it was amazing.
http://www.everaftervideos.com/disney08/images/spaceshuttle02.jpg

Driving back though was hell though, it took us 3 hours to get back to Orlando due to the amount of traffic. We should have just stayed behind and have dinner there somewhere. Be warned!

[orangetiggs]

we saw one in feb and went to Titusville as its a free park and it was fantastic well worth the trip down there. The traffic was not that bad when we drove back

[jjk]

yes its definatly worth it, we had an amazing time :goodvibes

[Happy Tappy]

Does anyone have a link to the launch schedules?

[Neoshoegal]

Does anyone have a link to the launch schedules?
http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html
always subject to change though!

[jharrowell]

Do it, it's a truly amazing experience, as seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clj_w_Rk-1E

(this is my footage of the shuttle launch in Feb.)

And here's the launch schedule page from kennedyspacecenter.com:

http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/launches/scheduleStatus.asp?intPage=2

[Neoshoegal]

Do it, it's a truly amazing experience, as seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clj_w_Rk-1E

(this is my footage of the shuttle launch in Feb.)

And here's the launch schedule page from kennedyspacecenter.com:

http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/launches/scheduleStatus.asp?intPage=2

nice clip! where did you view from?

[jharrowell]

nice clip! where did you view from?

I paid to watch from the NASA Causeway, the closest a visitor can get I believe. It was expensive, but it was worth it. :)

[nursetibs]

Yes you can and YES it's worth it. We saw a Shuttle launch at night and it is one of the top ten moments of my life - maybe I'm just a little 'sad'!!

We went quite a few years ago and it was an organised trip (by Virgin I think) - basically it was a coach tip to a viewing point on the coast a few miles from the launch site. When the Shuttle went up it was much brighter than daylight, even from a few miles away.

If you do go then take some bug spray with you.

Ian

We did the same and it was amazing - as you say, brighter than day, when it was actually pitch black :cool1:

Funny, weird, scarey moment was when we were sat waiting for the launch and a crocodile/ alligator was spotted swimming close to shore. The security people were issuing warnings to move immediately if we were told to do so :scared1:

[Deedee]

Last time we went our friends took us out on their boat which is by port canaveral to see a rocket launch that was awesome. We weren't allowed to go out too far until after but it was still something a bit different.

[Deedee]

Last time we went our friends took us out on their boat which is by port canaveral to see a rocket launch that was awesome. We weren't allowed to go out too far until after but it was still something a bit different.

<a href="http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x88/Deedee1809/?action=view&current=619.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x88/Deedee1809/619.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[BPCooper]

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html
always subject to change though!

Yes, it is well worth it. Here you can find information on viewing each specific type of rocket in detail:

http://www.launchphotography.com/Launch_Viewing_Information.html

You should bookmark this site for following and keeping track of launch dates:

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking

The NASA launch schedule does NOT list all launches at Cape Canaveral, only those with NASA payloads (not everything space is NASA). In addition, the schedule on kennedyspacecenter.com is copied from spaceflightnow.com and not always updated or correct. If it says "noon" for a launch time, it means no launch time has been announced yet for that launch.

So, if you are in town when there is a launch, head on out.