STS-134 LAUNCH!

Part II of my saga to witness a shuttle launch… In the first week of May, the launch of Endeavor STS-134 was postponed to May 10. At that time, I rescheduled with Florida Dolphin Tours (FDT) for a mere administrative fee of $25. When we scheduled the first time, we received a blue ticket and a green ticket. The blue ticket was good for getting into the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex (KSCVC) and the green ticket was for getting the “better” (but much harder to get) tickets on the causeway. This was a mere ~6 miles away from the launch pad. Click below for more… 

(Images link to nearly full resolution photos) The launch was due for at least a few more delays until May 16. I learned my lesson from the first scrub to wait to book hotel, flights, and rental car until the last few days. I also booked with jetBlue, which has a slightly cheaper fine for changing flights than US Airways (not to mention blue potato chips!). My itinerary this time was also more mindful on minimizing price and less considerate on my stamina. I also pack very light: (North Face Surge Backpack, Canon XSi, and 100-400mm lens).

I had to waste some time in Orlando until the 11PM pickup time on May 15, so I decided to check in my hotel early in the afternoon just so I had someplace to sit and not fall asleep. Catching FDT’s bus from Orlando went without a hitch, and we arrived at the KSCVC early enough that we were queuing outside the main gate for them to open. We milled about the rocket park and the exhibits waiting to board the bus for another trip to the causeway. Everyone was anxious and many had been there before, so they immediately started to line up at the bus area. There was a beautiful waxing gibbous moon that night, so I grabbed some photos of the rocket garden with the moon in the background. I’m still terrible at night shots.

Finally, we boarded the buses and hurried up to wait some more on the causeway! We arrived when it was still night around 4:30AM. If you squint, this photo is in focus (Click for the bigger one, it looks better.)

Behind us there were tents for memorabilia, food, portable toilets, and a USPS tent for mailing letters to get that unique stamp cancellation. I still had my ICOM handheld with me, but I didn’t need it since there was a loudspeaker close enough to hear updates.

Everyone was a little apprehensive of the launch throughout the morning as twilight broke. First, it was announced at 7:00AM that a tile on the hatch got chipped during closeout procedures. This was repaired in time. However, bad cloud cover was threatening until the last 10 minutes prior to the launch window. The release of the final countdown hold at 9 minutes went by in an instant. I had been waiting for this for a few months, and was working on very little sleep since 3AM the previous morning. The orbiter access arm retracts first, then the oxygen vent arm, then main engine start at t-6.6 seconds…

T-0,  Launch!

 

Absolutely worth the time, the money, the effort to see this. The sound is difficult to describe. It hits with a roar that has a a hundred bass drums on it. Well, I’m not a poet. It’s close to this, except you can feel it in your stomach.  We lost sight of Endeavor much too quickly into the low cloud cover, but you could still see the glow as it raced through our atmosphere.