I'd like to go see STS-117 launch Dec 7.

Greets, me brudders.

I am thinking of flying out to Florida to catch the Dec 7 STS-117 liftoff.
I've never been out to the cape, but I bet some of you have. Any tips on
the best places to watch a shuttle launch in person? How close can you get?
A friend who was an AP photographer shot an Apollo liftoff. He said you
could feel the pressure from the engine noise in your lungs. Is that true?
I figure there aren't going to be many more shuttle launches, so I might
as well catch one while they're still flying. Do you need ear protection?
Diapers? Sedatives?
Your advice is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Uncle Bob
Fairfax, CA.

Oops--
Make that STS-116. STS 117 is scheduled for Feb 07. Sorry for the
brain fade. It's late.

Uncle Bob

Uncle Bob wrote:
Greets, me brudders.

I am thinking of flying out to Florida to catch the Dec 7 STS-117 liftoff.
I've never been out to the cape, but I bet some of you have. Any tips on
the best places to watch a shuttle launch in person? How close can you get?
A friend who was an AP photographer shot an Apollo liftoff. He said you
could feel the pressure from the engine noise in your lungs. Is that true?
I figure there aren't going to be many more shuttle launches, so I might
as well catch one while they're still flying. Do you need ear protection?
Diapers? Sedatives?
Your advice is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Uncle Bob
Fairfax, CA.

Uncle Bob wrote:
Greets, me brudders.

I am thinking of flying out to Florida to catch the Dec 7 STS-117 liftoff.
I've never been out to the cape, but I bet some of you have. Any tips on
the best places to watch a shuttle launch in person? How close can you get?
A friend who was an AP photographer shot an Apollo liftoff. He said you
could feel the pressure from the engine noise in your lungs. Is that true?
I figure there aren't going to be many more shuttle launches, so I might
as well catch one while they're still flying. Do you need ear protection?
Diapers? Sedatives?
Your advice is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Uncle Bob
Fairfax, CA.

I've never been to a launch, but it's about even money for any launch to
be delayed / re-scheduled due to poor weather or mechanical problems.
Better plan to be in the area for at least a week and there's still a
chance a launch delay could be longer than that. (Disney World and
Universal Studios are about an hour away if you also like amusement parks.)

See sci.space.shuttle - someone just posted the Unofficial launch
guides and shuttle manifest - they are full of good info. KMM

-------------------------------------

http://groups.google.com/group/sci.s...adb6243af6f982

Unofficial Space Shuttle Launch Guide
Rev 18 Jul 2005 The following is the Unofficial Space Shuttle Launch
Guide. This file contains information on how to get a launch or landing
pass, and if you can't get one, where to view the shuttle for launch,
re-entry or landing. This file also contains the distances to the pads
from the various viewing sites,... more »
by Steven S. Pietrobon - Oct 1 - 1 new of 1 message

http://groups.google.com/group/sci.s...29a7cff14d0410

Unofficial Space Shuttle Manifest
Rev 2 Oct 2006 The following is the Unofficial Space Shuttle
Manifest. This file gives the launch dates, orbiter, and payloads for
upcoming shuttle launches. The launch time and orbit parameters are
also given where available. Note that the launch date and time are
officially set about two weeks before launch at the... more »
by Steven S. Pietrobon - Oct 1 - 1 new of 1 message



Uncle Bob wrote:
Oops--
Make that STS-116. STS 117 is scheduled for Feb 07. Sorry for the
brain fade. It's late.

Uncle Bob

Uncle Bob wrote:
Greets, me brudders.

I am thinking of flying out to Florida to catch the Dec 7 STS-117 liftoff.
I've never been out to the cape, but I bet some of you have. Any tips on
the best places to watch a shuttle launch in person? How close can you get?
A friend who was an AP photographer shot an Apollo liftoff. He said you
could feel the pressure from the engine noise in your lungs. Is that true?
I figure there aren't going to be many more shuttle launches, so I might
as well catch one while they're still flying. Do you need ear protection?
Diapers? Sedatives?
Your advice is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Uncle Bob
Fairfax, CA.

Hello, Bob.

I went to STS - 110 (Atlantis) and STS -107 (last launch of Columbia).
Atlantis scrubbed too many times and I had to leave the Cape but
Columbia's launch went perfectly up until the foam strike. I must say
that watching a manned space fight launch is well worth the effort.
Here are a few tips that helped me:

Be extremely flexible. Chances are that with a 10 minute launch window
per day that it will take a few days to get it off the ground. Make
your return flight as far past the launch date as possible and buy the
type of ticket you can transfer to another date without restrictions.

Try and get a press pass. This will get you 3 miles away as opposed to
6 miles away for the paying crowd or 10 miles for the folks that watch
in Titusville. Contact your representatives in Washington and ask if
they can get you one. Contact the local newspapers to see if they'd
like an article for their paper and can get one. If not, just bag it
and buy a ticket from kennedyspacecenter.com. At 6 miles you can't
feel the launch. Maybe at 3 miles.

Wait to see the Hubble launch information. ISS rendezvous missions
typically have 10 minute launch windows and will scrub if a big anvil
clouds passes nearby during that time. Non-ISS launches used to have
2.5 hour launch windows (the most NASA will allow the astronauts to lay
on their backs) and made it much easier to launch in a single day.
I'm not sure if the - soon to be announced - Hubble mission will have
a longer launch window or not but it may make things easier.

Arrive early. Show up a day early and check out the area you'll be at
on launch day. Take the tour, talk to the bus drivers, ticket takers
and information staff. Try and find out as much as possible about how
the launch day will be run. Find out where you'll be parking on the
next morning and how to get there. Show up two hours before the
information tells you too. The idea is to get ahead of the 3000 other
people doing the same thing as you.

Watch the launch. Don't photograph it. You just went through all that
work to see the shuttle launch, don't watch it through the viewfinder
of a camera. There will be thousands of professional photos of your
launch online. Make sure you see the launch with your eyes. I took
along a pair of 20x80 Celestron binoculars and a tripod to watch as
Columbia as it sat on the launch pad and as it cleared the tower. Once
that happened, I stepped back and watched her roar into space at 1x. No
need to worry about tracking it, centering the shot, or shutter speed.
Just you and the shuttle. You'll be glad you did.

A couple of other things: Bring wireless access if possible (cell
phone, PDA). Try and get access to spaceflight.com or the other live
launch feeds. It's nice to know the status of the launch while
you're waiting in line or to augment the NASA sound system at the
viewing area.

Be advised that the surrounding hotels fill up quick and jack up the
price for launch days. The one I stayed in had a two day minimum for
launches. Book early.

I hope this helps. Please contact me through my website if need be.

http://www.sungazer.net

Best of luck,
Greg P.
Rockville, Md

"Will Parr" wrote in message
.. .
Uncle Bob wrote:
Greets, me brudders.

I am thinking of flying out to Florida to catch the Dec 7 STS-117
liftoff.
I've never been out to the cape, but I bet some of you have.
snip

I've never been to a launch, but it's about even money for any launch to be
delayed / re-scheduled due to poor weather or mechanical problems.

I think your even money odds for a launch are generous. ;-)
--
Rick Evans
----------------------------------------------------------------
Lat +42° 11' 07"
Lon -71° 04' 35"
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http://www.chempensoftware.com
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http://mysite.verizon.net/hiltonevan...troimaging.htm

Sun_gaz_er wrote:
Hello, Bob.


Hey, thanks a bunch for all the details. I'm looking forward to seeing
this spectacle first hand.
Football may be better on TV, but nothing beats being there for
pyrotechnics.
Your kind reponse is most appreciated.
Regards and Clear Skies,
Uncle Bob
Fairfax, CA

Hay, as the two parts are being built up in Mojave, I'm sure I'll get to see
not only White Knight II but the maden flight of Spaceship II also.


--
The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond

Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
Sidewalk Astronomy
www.sidewalkastronomy.info
The Church of Eternity
http://home.inreach.com/starlord/church/Eternity.html


"Uncle Bob" wrote in message
oups.com...

Sun_gaz_er wrote:
Hello, Bob.


Hey, thanks a bunch for all the details. I'm looking forward to seeing
this spectacle first hand.
Football may be better on TV, but nothing beats being there for
pyrotechnics.
Your kind reponse is most appreciated.
Regards and Clear Skies,
Uncle Bob
Fairfax, CA

Want to know how I got my launch site pass for a launch? I called up
the office of my representative in Congress. (Thank you, former US Rep.
Sam Gedjenson). It was on a Wednesday, and we were leaving for Florida
on Saturday morning.

They had the pass sent overnight from KSC to Washington, and then
overnight again from Washington to my place of work in Connecticut. The
pass arrived Friday morning at work.

Site pass lets you bring a vehicle into the base and they direct you to
the public viewing area. I went with my sister and her husband, and my
monster-in-law.


Saw the launch at 4:55 AM from the public viewing site. Launch window
was only 6 minutes, so we were either gonna see it or not - right away.

A great experience, and highly recommended.

Gil

P.S. She's really not a monster.