Quote:
Originally Posted by bugstrider
Wow Baz,
I wish I could have been there for that... Last time we visited the Cape, I was hoping to see any type of launch. Fantastic place to tour.
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Hey Bugs - sorry you were not able to see one in person. It's a very unique experience and one that I will always remember with pride and awe. BTW, I went back and corrected my comment about STS 125 - it was the final mission to the Hubble - not the ISS.
Most of the shuttle launches I watched from my front yard (see pic below) or the beach a couple blocks away. That one STS 125 i was able to get a pass to get closer and watched with a good friend of mine from Michigan and his son.
I actually have some slides somewhere of the very first shuttle launch, which I took from the roof top of our family's Winnebago, which we drove down to Cape Canaveral on that very special occasion. They came out pretty good.
Yesterday, the 16th, you know, marked the final launch date in 2003, of the Columbia, doomed to disintegrate 16 days later upon re-entry due to a piece of foam breaking off of the external fuel tank and striking and damaging the left wing of the orbiter at launch. You may remember they shut the shuttle program down for two whole years afterwards (similar to when the Challenger blew up) until re-starting back up.
Here's Atlantis (STS 129) from my front yard.....
