So, the trilogy comes to a close. The rocket launched and everything was great. The end.
Actually...
This third attempt to see something launch from NASA/ second trip over to Kennedy Space Center was actually not nearly as adventurous as the previous two trips. Things went pretty much exactly as planned.
I woke up at around 8:30, got ready, and left the house at approximately 10am. The launch was at 5:15, but KSC always seems to have a few tricks up their sleeves- this time, the last bus to go out to the viewing site left at 2:15.
However, I decided to get their early because there was a 12:30pm IMAX showing of Star Trek, and if I had to be there early, I was at least going to take advantage of a 100ft. Zachary Quinto. But, because KSC seems to thrive on bad-decision making skills (note- Kennedy Space Center is NOT affiliated with NASA), they moved the afternoon showing from 12:30 until 4:30. I really wanted to ask the person who was responsible for this decision if they really expected anyone to choose Star Trek in IMAX over a rocket launch.
So, I get into the park at around 11:30 and now have about 6 horus to essentially kill before the launch- almost 3 hours before I got on the bus. At noon, however, there was a briefing about the LCROSS program, which was actually really neat. In his introduction, this guy was called a "real life Spock," at which point the man rolled his eyes- he must have been a Star Wars fan, or just tired of those analogies. The real-Spock's presentation was really interesting. He explained how the LRO and the LCROSS would separate and then the LCROSS would be propelled by this tin can known and the Centaur. After about four months in orbit (the target date is October 9th) , the LCROSS and the Centaur will separate, and the Centaur will then hurtle itself into the Moon's south pole at a very steep 85 degree angle at very high speeeds. This will allow the LCROSS to see if there is any ice or water on the moon somehow. Four minutes after the Centaur hits the surface, the LCROSS will also hit the surface, but no data will be able to be gathered from that impact because at that point NASA will have just hurled their $79 million computer into the Moon's surface. Well done. The whole point of this is to see if water is on the Moon and if so, can it be used to sustain life for astronauts who will hopefully someday return.
So, after Dr. Spock briefed us on the whole point, I wandered around a bit, got some lunch, and then, because I had already exhausted the activiites at the main complex the previous morning, decided to go ahead and get on the bus over to the Saturn V/Apollo Center viewing site.
So, at the Saturn V/ Apollo Center, there is a lot of stuff about traveling to the moon-an appropriate site for the viewing of this launch . Inside the building is the actual Saturn V rocket and you can walk right underneath it. It is pretty cool and very very large. There is a piece of Moon rock that you can touch (I highly recommend bringing your own Purell or Germ-X for after you touch it...hundreds of people touch it EACH DAY), a shop, and a bunch of little displays about astronauts and going to the moon and so on and so forth.
At around 2:30, I decide to take my seat in the bleachers outside. Yes, there was nearly 3 hours until the launch, but seeing as there were already a bunch of people seated, I didn't want to dally too much and miss the chance to see the launch from a good spot. I'd tried too hard to end up getting stuck in the grass with a poor view. So, upon the bleachers I sat. And sat. And sat some more. Occasionally, mission control would make an announcement, usually having to do with "well, there's this thunderstorm, so we're not sure if we are going to launch...we're sitll watching that storm...looks like the storm is just north of us..." to which the whole crowd responded with signs, glances to the north, and prayers. After about twenty minutes of sitting on the bleacher, a family from Canada came up and sat next to me. They were all very nice and were quite enjoying their time in Florida. They had the cutest little girl, too. She was about 2 or 3, and was just so facinated by my blue tank top and blue nail polish (her mom told Her grandmother told her to tell me who they were going to see tomorrow and she said "Mickey!" She was so precious. I wanted to keep her. Having people there to talk to was actually really nice and made the wait much shorter.
Finally, mission control gave the all clear on the weather and we began at T minus 4 minutes after a twenty minute hold. 10...9...8...everyone stood up...7...6...5...cameras begin rolling 4...3...2...here we go! 1...Lift off!
In the distance, we see this little speck of light and then we can kind of see something that might be a rocket shoot into the air, and then it disappeared behind the clouds. At this point, there was a general mood of "oh, that's it?" That was it. After a Three part chase, two trips to the cape, and waiting for over 3 hours that day, it was all over in about twelve seconds. Not to sound ungreatful for the whole experience, but that launch was seriously the most anti-climactic moment of the whole adventure.
I did get a good picture but I cannot upload it until I get back to Boone due to the fact that I left the cable at home...whoops. But it's a pretty awesome picture. You will like it, I promise.
After the high excitement of the launch, it took about 50 minutes to get back onto a bus and back to the parking lot. Even though we had been separated in the crowd, the little girl and her family found me on the bus and sat next to me. The little girl wanted to sit on my lap and look at the pictures of planets and the moon and the rockets they had handed out. She was so adorable.
So, off the bus and back in the car- I drove home and the adventure was over. On October 9th, people will be able to go outside and watch the impact if they have 10-12in telescopes. Hopefully I'll be able to watch that as I expect seeing something smash into the Moon will be quite exciting.
Actually...
This third attempt to see something launch from NASA/ second trip over to Kennedy Space Center was actually not nearly as adventurous as the previous two trips. Things went pretty much exactly as planned.
I woke up at around 8:30, got ready, and left the house at approximately 10am. The launch was at 5:15, but KSC always seems to have a few tricks up their sleeves- this time, the last bus to go out to the viewing site left at 2:15.
However, I decided to get their early because there was a 12:30pm IMAX showing of Star Trek, and if I had to be there early, I was at least going to take advantage of a 100ft. Zachary Quinto. But, because KSC seems to thrive on bad-decision making skills (note- Kennedy Space Center is NOT affiliated with NASA), they moved the afternoon showing from 12:30 until 4:30. I really wanted to ask the person who was responsible for this decision if they really expected anyone to choose Star Trek in IMAX over a rocket launch.So, I get into the park at around 11:30 and now have about 6 horus to essentially kill before the launch- almost 3 hours before I got on the bus. At noon, however, there was a briefing about the LCROSS program, which was actually really neat. In his introduction, this guy was called a "real life Spock," at which point the man rolled his eyes- he must have been a Star Wars fan, or just tired of those analogies. The real-Spock's presentation was really interesting. He explained how the LRO and the LCROSS would separate and then the LCROSS would be propelled by this tin can known and the Centaur. After about four months in orbit (the target date is October 9th) , the LCROSS and the Centaur will separate, and the Centaur will then hurtle itself into the Moon's south pole at a very steep 85 degree angle at very high speeeds. This will allow the LCROSS to see if there is any ice or water on the moon somehow. Four minutes after the Centaur hits the surface, the LCROSS will also hit the surface, but no data will be able to be gathered from that impact because at that point NASA will have just hurled their $79 million computer into the Moon's surface. Well done. The whole point of this is to see if water is on the Moon and if so, can it be used to sustain life for astronauts who will hopefully someday return.
So, after Dr. Spock briefed us on the whole point, I wandered around a bit, got some lunch, and then, because I had already exhausted the activiites at the main complex the previous morning, decided to go ahead and get on the bus over to the Saturn V/Apollo Center viewing site.
So, at the Saturn V/ Apollo Center, there is a lot of stuff about traveling to the moon-an appropriate site for the viewing of this launch . Inside the building is the actual Saturn V rocket and you can walk right underneath it. It is pretty cool and very very large. There is a piece of Moon rock that you can touch (I highly recommend bringing your own Purell or Germ-X for after you touch it...hundreds of people touch it EACH DAY), a shop, and a bunch of little displays about astronauts and going to the moon and so on and so forth.
At around 2:30, I decide to take my seat in the bleachers outside. Yes, there was nearly 3 hours until the launch, but seeing as there were already a bunch of people seated, I didn't want to dally too much and miss the chance to see the launch from a good spot. I'd tried too hard to end up getting stuck in the grass with a poor view. So, upon the bleachers I sat. And sat. And sat some more. Occasionally, mission control would make an announcement, usually having to do with "well, there's this thunderstorm, so we're not sure if we are going to launch...we're sitll watching that storm...looks like the storm is just north of us..." to which the whole crowd responded with signs, glances to the north, and prayers. After about twenty minutes of sitting on the bleacher, a family from Canada came up and sat next to me. They were all very nice and were quite enjoying their time in Florida. They had the cutest little girl, too. She was about 2 or 3, and was just so facinated by my blue tank top and blue nail polish (her mom told Her grandmother told her to tell me who they were going to see tomorrow and she said "Mickey!" She was so precious. I wanted to keep her. Having people there to talk to was actually really nice and made the wait much shorter.
Finally, mission control gave the all clear on the weather and we began at T minus 4 minutes after a twenty minute hold. 10...9...8...everyone stood up...7...6...5...cameras begin rolling 4...3...2...here we go! 1...Lift off!
In the distance, we see this little speck of light and then we can kind of see something that might be a rocket shoot into the air, and then it disappeared behind the clouds. At this point, there was a general mood of "oh, that's it?" That was it. After a Three part chase, two trips to the cape, and waiting for over 3 hours that day, it was all over in about twelve seconds. Not to sound ungreatful for the whole experience, but that launch was seriously the most anti-climactic moment of the whole adventure.
I did get a good picture but I cannot upload it until I get back to Boone due to the fact that I left the cable at home...whoops. But it's a pretty awesome picture. You will like it, I promise.
After the high excitement of the launch, it took about 50 minutes to get back onto a bus and back to the parking lot. Even though we had been separated in the crowd, the little girl and her family found me on the bus and sat next to me. The little girl wanted to sit on my lap and look at the pictures of planets and the moon and the rockets they had handed out. She was so adorable.
So, off the bus and back in the car- I drove home and the adventure was over. On October 9th, people will be able to go outside and watch the impact if they have 10-12in telescopes. Hopefully I'll be able to watch that as I expect seeing something smash into the Moon will be quite exciting.
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