Shuttle Endeavor Launch
I'm in Orlando for the Microsoft Convergence conference this week. I landed today around 4:30 and got checked into the hotel. I decided to make a quick run out to the beach just to see it and went over to Cocoa Beach due East from Orlando. By the time I made it there, it was dark and the beach was deserted. I walked around in the water for a little while and sat in the sand. The cool wind felt great and the sound of the ocean is one of my favorite things. I'm nuts for ocean beaches...
Anyway, as I was heading back to Orlando I stopped at a 7-11 to get some water and snacks for the hotel and the clerk asked me if I was stocking up for the shuttle launch. I asked if they were doing one sometime soon, he said they were doing one tonight and that it was supposed to be the last night launch before they retire the shuttles. I thought, cool! I can do that. He told me that it was at 2:28 AM. Well, that's only 11:28 Seattle time so I found a place where they were announcing the launch, that's what you hear in the background and parked the car. I walked around a little while, called Lindsey to wish her a happy birthday and talked to Christine for a while. I had a Baby Ruth and promptly fell asleep.
When I woke up, it was about 45 minutes from the launch. I walked around and spoke to different people. There were some blokes from the UK, Manchester. Ken, David, Adrian, and John that let me look through their scope to clearly see the shuttle up close and personal. There was a huge spotlight shining on the shuttle that you could see for miles but couldn't see the shuttle without a scope.
So, I took the following video with my little camera. I was shocked at how much the launch lit up the surrounding area. It moon was waxing and it was very dark outside. The video doesn't really show the extent of it, but for a brief moment, it looked like it was day. One of the statistics I heard was that the total shuttle with boosters is 4.5 million pounds and the solid rocket boosters burn 11,000 pounds of propellant a second for roughly 20 seconds before flaming out. They then continue up for another 45 miles before they start to fall to the ocean at a speed of 230 miles per hour. As I was driving out of the area, I overheard the announcer say that the Shuttle was traveling over 4000 MPH. OK, I'm duly impressed. Yes, that's me saying "Judas Priest". An old habit from my high school days that slips out once in a while when I'm very suprised or impressed. I was both.
Here's the video clip.
Anyway, as I was heading back to Orlando I stopped at a 7-11 to get some water and snacks for the hotel and the clerk asked me if I was stocking up for the shuttle launch. I asked if they were doing one sometime soon, he said they were doing one tonight and that it was supposed to be the last night launch before they retire the shuttles. I thought, cool! I can do that. He told me that it was at 2:28 AM. Well, that's only 11:28 Seattle time so I found a place where they were announcing the launch, that's what you hear in the background and parked the car. I walked around a little while, called Lindsey to wish her a happy birthday and talked to Christine for a while. I had a Baby Ruth and promptly fell asleep.
When I woke up, it was about 45 minutes from the launch. I walked around and spoke to different people. There were some blokes from the UK, Manchester. Ken, David, Adrian, and John that let me look through their scope to clearly see the shuttle up close and personal. There was a huge spotlight shining on the shuttle that you could see for miles but couldn't see the shuttle without a scope.
So, I took the following video with my little camera. I was shocked at how much the launch lit up the surrounding area. It moon was waxing and it was very dark outside. The video doesn't really show the extent of it, but for a brief moment, it looked like it was day. One of the statistics I heard was that the total shuttle with boosters is 4.5 million pounds and the solid rocket boosters burn 11,000 pounds of propellant a second for roughly 20 seconds before flaming out. They then continue up for another 45 miles before they start to fall to the ocean at a speed of 230 miles per hour. As I was driving out of the area, I overheard the announcer say that the Shuttle was traveling over 4000 MPH. OK, I'm duly impressed. Yes, that's me saying "Judas Priest". An old habit from my high school days that slips out once in a while when I'm very suprised or impressed. I was both.
Here's the video clip.
posted by Kirk at
2:35 AM
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