The space shuttle launch scheduled for this morning was set for 5:04 am local time, which meant that the buses that would take us out to the viewing site on the center's causeway would be leaving at around 2 am. And that meant I would need to be there at around 1 am if I didn't want to be at the back of the line.
So I got there around 1 am and we were herded onto those buses and taken out to the viewing site. Did I mention it was humid? I don't think it can be much more humid than it was and what with it being the middle of the night, the temperature was fairly near the dewpoint. This caused things to change consistency that normally don't... Anyway, the vantage point was about the same:
On the left in the floodlights is the orbiter Atlantis, almost ready for launch on Pad 39B. On the right is the orbiter Discovery, which is being prepared for an August launch on Pad 39A. In the foreground are some people camped out at the ropeline in front of the Banana River. Aside from the vantage point being about the same, it seemed that everything else had changed.
Below is the one good still I got (the mission is STS-104, which is a construction mission to the International Space Station). I got much better visuals and sound from my video camera which was also rolling for the launch. At some point, I will post a clip that can be viewed...
How things have changed. This has become big business. If it wasn't before, perhaps it's just obvious now to me. A lot of people were out in the haze and humidity to watch the launch. Most of the people around me didn't speak English. And because there are so many more people, we are now given the farther vantage point and we have to wait the longest to get out afterwards.
This was the fourth launch I have viewed in person and the spectacle is still unique. But having seen launches over the past two summers, the way that we were treated today subtracted from the experience. The price of admission has increased and the value has decreased. Instead of increasing staff to handle the logistics of more people, there were less and it was a disorganized affair with poor service. Pretty soon, it will be another amusement park ride.
It's still worth it and I still enjoy being here for the launches. I am still trying to see one from the closer launch pad and hopefully I will get the chance next month. After that, it may not be worth coming down here anymore...
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Last Revised: 14 July 2001
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