Wednesday, May 13, 2009

STS-125

I left Clewiston for Titusville on Sunday morning... Everything went well except for when I was pulling out of my driveway I realized I'd forgotten my camera... That would have sucked. Anyway, the drive up was uneventful and the traffic was light. Got to the hotel, checked in and went out to see the shuttle. From the back of the hotel was the Indian River, and right across that was the launch complex.

About a half hour before the lift-off clouds moved in, and somehow the zoom feature on my camera decided not to work, so these are the best pictures I could get.
They really don't do it justice... To actually be there when it goes up is a sight to see. I'd really recommend watching at least one before they retire the program.



The most amazing thing was it took almost a full minute for the sound to get to us standing on the shore of the river... loud as it was you could still feel the ground shake at five miles!


I did take a bunch more pictures but these were the best of the bunch, thanks to my malfunctioning zoom lens. There's a few more launches this year but I'll watch them from Hoover Dike here in Clewiston. Next year after the sugar crop is over I'll go up for another one and I should have a new camera by then.
Photos & senseless drivel Copyright 2009 Thomas J Wolfenden

7 comments:

weatherchazer said...

I'm green... lucky devil!

Thomas J Wolfenden said...

No need to be green! There's a few more launches scheduled for this year and next... You and hubby should take the kids down and watch one!

Big Daddy said...

That's just way cool! I'm over in St. Augustine and the last few I could see from my house but this one was obscured by clouds. Looks like you had a great time! May I'll go over and check out the next launch!

cmk said...

When we were in Florida in February, we visited some people who live in condos right across the water from the launch site. They said their view was BETTER than the view you can get from Kennedy!! Unfortunately, there wasn't a launch while we were there. We saw pics they have taken at other times and they were amazing.

Thomas J Wolfenden said...

Big Daddy: You should go! I'll email you the NASA launch schedule. There's another one coming up next month.

CMK: There was a marina and a high-rise condo complex right next to my hotel in Titusville... Might have been where you were. I met a lot of locals during the launch and it's like a big party every time one goes up. They love it!

Anonymous said...

Nothng like a piece of equipment going south on you just when you need it the most. Still, nice shots.

What can you hear from there?

Thomas J Wolfenden said...

Leazwell: It took almost a full minute after lift-off, but the sound finally arrived... Including the ground shaking like a mini-earthquake! It was unbelievable!