Up and Away

With everything that’s happened lately, I haven’t had a chance to blog about my Space Shuttle adventure. It started at 10:30 pm on Sunday, April 5 in the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field.

Everyone met there and had the opportunity to take pictures with Neil Armstrong who traveled along with our tour group. It was an amazing opportunity and a big honor to shake hands with the first man to walk on the moon! I have the framed picture that they gave us proudly displayed in my living room. 🙂

We boarded the plane around midnight to travel to Melbourne Florida. It would be a quick, 2.5 hour flight and then we’d shuttle to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral to watch the Space Shuttle Discovery launch.

On the plane, we received backpacks filled with “goodies” from NASA. The plane was also festively decorated with little green men (behind me on the right) and space shuttles — a cute way to get everyone in the mood for the launch.

We arrived at the VIP viewing area about 20 minutes before launch. They were playing the live radio feed from NASA over the P.A. system so everyone could hear the status of the launch. The clock above was the launch count down, and you could see a close-up view of the space shuttle on the TV screen.

There was much excitement in the air as everyone waited for the launch — scheduled for 6:20 a.m. It would be the last pre-dawn Space Shuttle launch because the shuttle program is scheduled to end this year.

Our location was the closest viewing point for a launch, reserved for VIPs and the astronauts’ friends and family. It was about 2-3 miles away from the launch pad.

The lights shining on the launch pad painted bright rays across the early morning sky, making it a striking focal point for everyone to view. A half moon was the only other light in the sky until the International Space Station came into view and streaked across the sky about 15 minutes before the launch. The entire crowd started to clap and cheer. Discovery would chase this space station, catch up with it, and dock there for its mission. Amazing!

Just a few minutes before launch, everyone stood as a woman sung the national anthem. Then it was time to start counting down…10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1….launch!!

Pictures can’t do it justice, but it lit up the sky like the sun. Amidst cheers, screams, claps and awe, it rose into the sky.

It was so bright that it hurt your eyes when you looked at it too long. Almost looked like a nuclear explosion. It was beautiful and mesmerizing.

A beautiful sight as it thundered and roared into space

In only a few seconds it was leaving our atmosphere and entering space.

I think the picture says it all — wow!

The picture above was what happened when the sun rose and hit the gases and fuel that had been left behind by the space shuttle

After the launch, we traveled to the Kennedy Space Center for breakfast with an astronaut and a tour through the visitor center and museums.

Rock Garden at Kennedy Space Center

Breakfast with Captain Jon McBride

After a few hours at the Kennedy Center, we traveled back to the airport for our trip home. Once in the air, the pilot flew us over the area where the space shuttle launched. We had special permission for the fly over and were able to take pictures from the plane.

The runway on the upper right is where the space shuttle will land

The building where they store the shuttles is at the bottom of the picture and the launch pad is in the middle near where the land meets the ocean. It was a beautiful sight and rare glimpse from the sky.

Here’s our viewing area for the launch

Less than 18 hours after we departed, we were back in Dallas. It was an amazing trip, a once in a lifetime experience. Even though it was hard to go, it was worth every minute of it.

There are three launches left before the program ends. If you have the chance to watch it live, do it! You won’t regret it.