Miss Jasmine
Time for something new!<BR><font color=limegreen><
- Joined
- May 23, 2001
- Messages
- 16,869
I thought this might be of interest to some DISers.
http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/localstoryA31113A.htm
Brevard offers great launch-viewing sites
Popular spots on land as well as water
By Chris Kridler
FLORIDA TODAY
Space fans in Brevard County have a luxury that visitors do not: a dazzling array of choices when it comes to seeing a space shuttle launch.
Instead of having to pick one bon-bon from the box and discovering it's some kind of icky jelly-filled thing, they get to sample all flavors of sites, from the great free viewing in Titusville to an exclusive spectacle from the middle of the Indian River.
"We've got the best seat in the house, bar none," said "Captain Ron" Thorstad, whose boat takes 49 passengers out on the Indian River Lagoon to a prime spot west of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. He'll be leading a trip for Wednesday afternoon's launch of Atlantis.
"When that baby lights off, you can see it with the naked eye," said Thorstad, who also runs Space Coast Nature Tours twice daily, except Sundays.
The boat ride lasts an hour and 20 minutes each way. He provides beverages, and visitors can bring snacks, if they like. The boat's radio is tuned to NASA's countdown.
Besides pretty reflections and wildlife encounters, the water offers other intriguing effects when the shuttle blasts off.
"The wall of sound, you can really see it coming across the water on a calm day or a calm night," Thorstad said. Fish literally jump out of the river, and "the whole boat shakes for about 12 seconds."
The boat books up fast near launch day, he said.
Details and reservations: (321) 267-4551.
If you want a premium spot on land, you have to buy a bus pass from Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Complex. In the old days, regular folks used to be able to get car passes for the NASA causeway, which lies within the center's secure property. Not anymore.
For security reasons, visitors who want to ride the bus from the Visitor Complex to the NASA causeway will have to park at the Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville and ride a shuttle bus to the Visitor Complex, spokeswoman Susan Miller said. The practice is new with this launch.
Prices for a bus pass to the launch and full admission to the center are $51.50 for adults, $41.50 for children 3-11, plus tax and fees. It's free for children younger than 3.
A launch bus pass only is $30 plus tax and fees and includes limited admission to the Visitor Complex, Miller said.
Tickets, once reserved, must be picked up at the Visitor Complex.
For details and reservations, call (321) 449-4444 or visit www.kennedyspacecenter.com
The good news for the cheap of wallet is that there are plenty of fabulous free viewing sites. Just remember to go early, be patient when parking, and be really patient when leaving, because there will be a traffic jam.
"As a recent lifetime resident of Brevard County, I would say that the best place to view a shuttle launch is at the Astronaut Memorial Park in Titusville," Melissa Robertson, who now lives in Alabama, wrote to Florida Today. The reflection in the Indian River Lagoon of the shuttle's main engines firing was "breathtaking," she said.
The Astronaut Memorial actually is in Sand Point Park, where U.S. 1 meets the Max Brewer Causeway. Also in the area are the Space Walk of Fame and Veterans Memorial Park. There's a great view looking east toward the shuttle launch pads and the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Also popular are the area's causeways. The view gets better as you go north. The north side of State Road 528 is a top choice, but, as said before, get there early and be careful. Some drivers tend to leave their brains behind and make a lot of sudden moves.
Many people like the areas around Port Canaveral, whether it's the restaurants at the port; Jetty Park, on the ocean side; or the banks of the Banana River, up State Road 401. The latter used to draw cars on both sides of the road, but it's now complicated by a lot of highway construction and probably isn't the easiest choice.
Jetty Park and the adjacent beaches of Cape Canaveral, on the other hand, provide lots of elbow room. You probably aren't going to see ignition, but you'll get a good view as the shuttle clears the ground.
Some folks who wrote to the newspaper said their favorite sites were in areas accessible only to space workers, from outside the Vehicle Assembly Building, where the shuttle's roar bounces off its monumental walls, or the Mission Control Center, where the view is of data streaming by on a computer screen, enhanced by the tension felt by everyone in the room.
Others were nostalgic.
"My favorite spot has always been the playground at Port Malabar Elementary in Palm Bay, where I saw my first launch when I was 12," wrote Matt Schafer, who is a newspaper reporter in South Carolina. "We had recently moved to Palm Bay, and it was one of the first missions after the Challenger explosion, and I'll never forget looking up and seeing this beautiful yellow and vanilla streak in the sky. As I look back, it was one of those watershed events in my life when I realized the wonderful things humanity could accomplish."
http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/localstoryA31113A.htm
Brevard offers great launch-viewing sites
Popular spots on land as well as water
By Chris Kridler
FLORIDA TODAY
Space fans in Brevard County have a luxury that visitors do not: a dazzling array of choices when it comes to seeing a space shuttle launch.
Instead of having to pick one bon-bon from the box and discovering it's some kind of icky jelly-filled thing, they get to sample all flavors of sites, from the great free viewing in Titusville to an exclusive spectacle from the middle of the Indian River.
"We've got the best seat in the house, bar none," said "Captain Ron" Thorstad, whose boat takes 49 passengers out on the Indian River Lagoon to a prime spot west of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. He'll be leading a trip for Wednesday afternoon's launch of Atlantis.
"When that baby lights off, you can see it with the naked eye," said Thorstad, who also runs Space Coast Nature Tours twice daily, except Sundays.
The boat ride lasts an hour and 20 minutes each way. He provides beverages, and visitors can bring snacks, if they like. The boat's radio is tuned to NASA's countdown.
Besides pretty reflections and wildlife encounters, the water offers other intriguing effects when the shuttle blasts off.
"The wall of sound, you can really see it coming across the water on a calm day or a calm night," Thorstad said. Fish literally jump out of the river, and "the whole boat shakes for about 12 seconds."
The boat books up fast near launch day, he said.
Details and reservations: (321) 267-4551.
If you want a premium spot on land, you have to buy a bus pass from Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Complex. In the old days, regular folks used to be able to get car passes for the NASA causeway, which lies within the center's secure property. Not anymore.
For security reasons, visitors who want to ride the bus from the Visitor Complex to the NASA causeway will have to park at the Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville and ride a shuttle bus to the Visitor Complex, spokeswoman Susan Miller said. The practice is new with this launch.
Prices for a bus pass to the launch and full admission to the center are $51.50 for adults, $41.50 for children 3-11, plus tax and fees. It's free for children younger than 3.
A launch bus pass only is $30 plus tax and fees and includes limited admission to the Visitor Complex, Miller said.
Tickets, once reserved, must be picked up at the Visitor Complex.
For details and reservations, call (321) 449-4444 or visit www.kennedyspacecenter.com
The good news for the cheap of wallet is that there are plenty of fabulous free viewing sites. Just remember to go early, be patient when parking, and be really patient when leaving, because there will be a traffic jam.
"As a recent lifetime resident of Brevard County, I would say that the best place to view a shuttle launch is at the Astronaut Memorial Park in Titusville," Melissa Robertson, who now lives in Alabama, wrote to Florida Today. The reflection in the Indian River Lagoon of the shuttle's main engines firing was "breathtaking," she said.
The Astronaut Memorial actually is in Sand Point Park, where U.S. 1 meets the Max Brewer Causeway. Also in the area are the Space Walk of Fame and Veterans Memorial Park. There's a great view looking east toward the shuttle launch pads and the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Also popular are the area's causeways. The view gets better as you go north. The north side of State Road 528 is a top choice, but, as said before, get there early and be careful. Some drivers tend to leave their brains behind and make a lot of sudden moves.
Many people like the areas around Port Canaveral, whether it's the restaurants at the port; Jetty Park, on the ocean side; or the banks of the Banana River, up State Road 401. The latter used to draw cars on both sides of the road, but it's now complicated by a lot of highway construction and probably isn't the easiest choice.
Jetty Park and the adjacent beaches of Cape Canaveral, on the other hand, provide lots of elbow room. You probably aren't going to see ignition, but you'll get a good view as the shuttle clears the ground.
Some folks who wrote to the newspaper said their favorite sites were in areas accessible only to space workers, from outside the Vehicle Assembly Building, where the shuttle's roar bounces off its monumental walls, or the Mission Control Center, where the view is of data streaming by on a computer screen, enhanced by the tension felt by everyone in the room.
Others were nostalgic.
"My favorite spot has always been the playground at Port Malabar Elementary in Palm Bay, where I saw my first launch when I was 12," wrote Matt Schafer, who is a newspaper reporter in South Carolina. "We had recently moved to Palm Bay, and it was one of the first missions after the Challenger explosion, and I'll never forget looking up and seeing this beautiful yellow and vanilla streak in the sky. As I look back, it was one of those watershed events in my life when I realized the wonderful things humanity could accomplish."
