Shuttle launch viewing?

[50bear]

If we were going to watch the Shuttle launch where would be the best viewing point on or near the coast?

 

[isyt]

Did you hear an exact date of the launch? I keep hearing date ranges.

 

[50bear]

But that could change again. They have got till the 3rd of June, the day we leave for home (Scotland)

 

[palmetto]

The best place to see it is at KSC itself--though I think tickets to their viewing platform are sold out. You can still watch it from the visitor complex. Other than that, somewhere like Satellite Beach.

 

[jeannej]

Since I can actually see the flames from the shuttle down here in Coconut Creek, I am sure a person , on a clear day can see the shuttle from some balcony in WDW. Look east.

jeannej

 

[simba928]

When we watched the Columbia launch (the best and most spectacular thing I have ever seen in my life), we stood on the beach right outside of our hotel. I believe it was the Hilton on Cocoa beach. I would reccomend anywhere along the beach.

 

[jasonpicken]

hey 50bear, we were in scotland for 2 weeks last october. beautiful country, my mom was born there, linlithgow bridge to be exact. curious as to the area you're from.

 

[plutospup]

Cocoa Beach is a great area for viewing a launch. Another good place is in front of the Cocoa Beach Radisson.

 

[KBennett]

A few years ago it launched at night. It was like they held off the fireworks at MK until after it passed over. We had a great view from Main Street.

 

[qtwns]

Does anyone know the proposed time of the launch?

 

[notnothin]

Does anyone know the proposed time of the launch?

I believe it's 1:03:49 PM May 22 at this point.

 

[goofyernmost]

I could see the flame from a Denny's parking lot on 197 near the junction of Route 4. All you need is a relatively unobstructed view of the sky.

 

[JLTraveling]

Well, you can see the launch from anywhere in the Central FL area, even from clear across the state. Obviously the closer you are the better the view. I think if you have the time, and the shuttle launch is important to you, it would be worth making the drive over to KSC, and watch from the grounds. When the shuttle program was pretty new, we drove over from Lakeland one night for an early morning launch. There was me, age 7, my parents, my uncle, and my 8 1/2 mo pregnant aunt, all crammed into a Toyota Tercel, sleeping right there in the KSC parking lot. When we woke up in the morning there were about 50 other carloads of people doing the same thing. It was great fun, and the launch was spectacular from that close range. Everyone should see a launch from there at least once.

Just promise me one thing...if you don't end up making special arrangements for viewing, and you happen to be driving down I-4 at launch time, and you want to stop the car to watch....PLEASE pull off the road. You have no idea how many times us poor central FL people will just be trying to get to work on time on launch day... and traffic will suddenly come to a dead stop as people stop their cars right in the middle of the travel lanes to watch. Very disconcerting!

 

[qtwns]

I hear the roads get jammed with shuttle viewers traveling east for the launch. Given that and the fact that we hadn't planned on a shuttle launch during our visit in the first place, should we just stay put in WDW and look up at the right time or rearrange our plans and head east for a closer look? I know there is no comparison to actullay being there, but...

 

[JLTraveling]

It really just depends on how you want to prioritize. You will definitely get the experience of the launch just looking east at the right time from WDW. That's what I normally do. You can see it well assuming atmospheric conditions are with you and there's no big buildings in the way. Of course being there is an event like no other, but it does take a pretty sizeable time commitment. Just depends on how flexible your schedule is and how important the launch is to you compared to how important having those extra hours at WDW is to you.

 

[DMRick]

Hi, my family plans to be one of those heading East on shuttle day, over to Titusville. Those in Florida..will it be impassable with everyone else that has the same idea? For "the guys" this is a once in a lifetime thing, and they hope to get close enough to see it. Can someone who has done this give some info as to just how bad to expect the traffic? Thank you

 

[Maverick Mike]

Back in 2001, I watched the launch of STS-105 from KSC. Luckily, I was on the grounds with a special pass due to spending my summers working in the Educators program at Space Camp in Alabama. It was the most amazing thing that I have ever seen! We were as close as people are allowed to get, which is 2 miles from the launch pad. When you are in the Titusville area, you see the launch, then you "feel" the sounding heading toward you like a tidal wave. If you have made it as close as WDW, I would recommend the 45 minute drive to get even closer! It is truly amazing!

But, do understand that the traffic in Titusville is a mess about 4 hours before and 3 hours after launch! And this launch will be the "Return to Flight" mission, so there will be more media coverage than normal, so expect larger than normal crowds!

I'm hoping Atlantis launches while we are down there in Mid-July!

 

[ReggieB]

My DH will be excited to hear that we may catch a glimpse from WDW. He keeps trying to get me to visit the Space center every year (I'm "no this is Mickey time only")

 

[TCwest]

We saw it accidentally, in Feb. 2001, while waiting for a shuttle bus right in front of All Stars Movies. The bus pulled up and none of us wanted to board! We finally did board, and watched it all the way to MGM. It's just this amazing kind of cloud thing, and the contrails hung around for hours, it seemed like...I don't think you can miss it, if you are outdoors at the time. Good Luck!

 

[leebee]

GO TO TITUSVILLE!!! We watched the Columbia launch from the backyard at the Holiday Inn and it was absolutely the most awe-inspiring thing! You are directly across the Banana River from the launch pads. KSC and the visitor's complex are closed on launch day (prior to launching), and the only on-site tickets left are for launch/dinner with an astronaut. The KSC website clearly states that viewing will be from the Visitor's Complex and you will be able to see the shuttle "once it clears the treeline", from about 6-8 miles away. This is how close you will be if you are in Titusville, and I KNOW we saw the lift-off, not just the shuttle "once it cleared the treeline". I would LOVE to be there for this launching. After the Columbia didn't come back, we made a family vow to go back for Return to Flight, never forseeing that both DH and I would be out of work within a month of RoF. So, I'll watch from home, and keep DD home from school to see it also. How I wish we could be there...