So I just got home from my first ever NASA Space Shuttle launch. It was just an amazing sight to behold. This launch was also the first to occur at night in nearly 4 years if I remember correctly. The drive there wasn’t too bad. Took about 35 to 40 minutes.
As I got closer and closer to the coast, the night sky became clearer and clearer, and I could once again see the beautiful starry night that I missed so. Feels like it has been ages since I have seen such a clear sky and actually been able to fully see the night sky and the stars above. Its such a wonder to see.
I parked my car on the side of the road in front of the Astronaut Hall of Fame (like the 10,000+ other people that were there parking on the sides of the road). In front of the Astronaut Hall of Fame, is what appears to be either the Enterprise or a replica of the Enterprise. For those that don’t know, the Enterprise is the prototype of the Space Shuttles that was built before the final production line of shuttles were built. The Enterprise is not space worthy in case you are curious.
So from where I was parked, I only had to walk about 50 to 100 feet to get to the end of the line where police wouldn’t let anyway pass beyond that point. From where I was standing you could barely see the shuttle since it is about 11 miles away from my current position. So as I stand and wait, I look at the time and its 30 minutes left before launch. I can’t remember ever standing still in the same spot for, to me, what seemed like such a long time.
As the time quickly approved, Space Shuttle Discovery was given the final go and the 9 minute count down began. Right as the countdown got to 10 seconds, the enormous crowd started to yell out the countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…LIFT OFF. From there it was just amazing. Underneath the shuttle, a large flame exploded outward and abroad. Then the shuttle slowly began to lift off.
It was the most amazing sight to see at night. It lit up the sky so much to the point that it was practically day time again. Thats just how bright the thrusters from the shuttle are. About 40 to 50 seconds after take off, you could slowly hear the sound of its engines finally making its way toward us. It shook the ground slightly as the noise fully reached us.
The shuttle climbed and climbed until it started to reach the limits of our atmosphere. And as the the shuttle reached space, the once orange-yellow flame turned a bright white-blue. It was truly an amazing sight to see and I’ am glad I was finally able to experience it. I can’t wait till I have the opportunity to travel out into space among the stars. Seeing a shuttle launch is definitely something everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. Until you see it up close, I don’t believe one can truly appreciate it and understand what an amazing feat it is to be able to put man in space.
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