[Jims5543]

For 10 years (1987 until 1997) I worked right outside the South gate of Kennedy Space Center, I just had to lean back from my desk to see the Shuttle go up. I typically went outside it was awesome to feel the ground shake and the sound waves hit you.

For part of that time I lived in Cape Canaveral, the night launches were awesome. Light the place up like daytime. You would go out in your underwear or pajamas then realize once the place light up like daytime you and your neighbors were all dressed the same. LOL!!

I tried to take my kids up to see one of the last Shuttle Launches, I cannot remember exactly now how it all went down but we never got to see one. 2 trips and both times scrubbed launch. I was taking them out of school for this so I had to stop.

I did get to bring them up for a Space X launch, my younger son thought it was awesome. It was. It just did not rock the place the way the shuttle or even the Atlas or Titan rockets did. It was dainty compared to them.

Fresh out of high school I was working in a aviation machine shop on Long Island, I actually worked on some tail section parts for the shuttles. Moving to Florida, then landing a job at a Land Surveying company on Merritt Island, I got to work with NASA again as a subcontractor, we did a lot of support work for Brown and Root surveying in and around both Shuttle pads.

My entire young adult life was intertwined with the Shuttle program. So yeah, when they retired it, I was bummed.