🚀 go-pugleaf

When I was in Florida at the time of a launch, I went down to a little place
called Titusville (sp?) just up the coast from the space centre, and almost
directly opposite the launch pad itself. If you get there an hour or so
before the launch (before too many cars arrive) and park in the MacDonald's
car park you can have a burger while you wait; there will be lots of other
people there, all with radios tuned to the KSC broadcasts...

Then, when the time comes, you can stroll a hundred yards down the small road
beside the restaurant to the water's edge, where you have a clear view over
to the pad. I got a *great* view, and some nice pictures. Of course, my little
200mm lens was overpowered by folks with 1000mm lenses and tripods, but what
the hell, I saw it! And heard it (wow!)

Don't forget to have your car radio tuned into the local station which
carries the KSC stuff. If the launch is scrubbed before you arrive you can
always turn back or change your plans. Also, you can follow the progress
of the mission once the shuttle is way out of eyesight and you are back
in the traffic jam!

BTW - it's a good idea to park close to (or even on) the road ready for a
quick getaway as soon as the shuttle is out of view - those extra couple of
minutes getting back onto the road can make the difference between a one
hour and a three hour journey back to Orlando! Or you could always sit
around for an hour until KSC is open to visitors again, but I guess it would
be a bit crowded!

We did our trip to visit KSC *before* the launch date, and though you can't
get close to the pad with the shuttle on (fuel, explosives bolts, etc), you
do get a fairly good view of it from near the second pad. Again, a good
lens help!

I've a friend over there at the moment, who comes back home to England on
Wednesday 5th June, and he was *really* hoping to see a launch, but from the
latest scrub report I guess he will be very disappointed. I won't rub it in
too much when he gets back! :-)

I hope all this helps some other hopeful sightseers anyway. I don't suppose
there's an easy way to get a pass into KSC for a better view, if you ask in
advance, is there? It's just that I'll be back later this year...

Andre

Andre Willey                       |  Email: (1) andre%cix@ukc.ac.uk
7 Oaklands Road, Sutton Coldfield, |         (2) andre@cix.compulink.co.uk
West Midlands, B74 2TB, England.   |         (3) ...{mcsun}!ukc!cix!andre
Phone: (UK) 021-308-5251           |  "Il est mort, Jean Luc..."
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