Ever Seen A Launch Live?

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ocdart

ocdart

Inland Mopars Car Club
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I grew up with our space program from the very first Mercury launch back in the '60s, but have never seen any type of launch live - until yesterday.
We made the drive up to Vandenberg AFB yesterday to see the Delta IV NROL-71 launch of a a secret spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. The public can't get any closer than about 3 miles from the actual launch site, and you can't see the launch site because of the hills around the perimeter of Vandenberg.
Here's the video from a friend's cell phone. Wait for the sound - it seemed strange that we couldn't hear any sound until about 30 seconds after we could actually see the rocket in flight.

iCloud - Loading …

Here's a link to the United Launch Alliance video on YouTube.com...




My son wants to go back to Vandenberg to see a SpaceX launch and the return of the booster to the launch pad.
 
Pretty cool isn't it?

I watched two launches of Space Shuttles, one of which was a night launch..............spectacular sight.
 
I now live back on the Space Coast (Palm Bay) after being gone for 49 years. But I grew up in Melbourne. We moved to Melbourne in 1954. My dad worked for Pan Am at the Cape servicing the down range tracking stations. I personally saw all manned launches from Alan Shepard to Apollo 11. We used to go out back at school to see the launches. But before the manned space program there were all the ICBM and Sub launched ICBM test launches. It was an exciting time. Even today we have the launches of Spacex and the new manned program. We watched them from our front yard.

Incidentally.this July marks the 50 th anniversary of Apollo 11.

Dennis
 
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My dad lives in Port Orange FL.He's a good 20 or so miles from the launch site at Canaveral, but it's incredible that you can see and certainly hear when something is being launched. He's gotten so used to it he barely notices anymore. I've been wanting to coordinate a visit with a launch.
 
Yeah whole bunch of them. Still love it. Been working at KSC since 1987. First one was STS-26 Return to fight after Challenger. Working the firing rooms for quite a few. The shuttle night launchs were my favorites. Was working at Complex 37 for the first Delta 4-heavy. That's an impressive rocket. But wait, I thought Elon was the only one launching anything. LOL.
 
OC .. Vandenberg has their launch schedule on the web. Easy to find and they have quite a few scheduled. I saw Elon's booster land a couple months ago up here. There are some elevated places that make the complexes on SVAFB more visable. The launches from SLC2 at NVAFB are challenging to get a good vantage point.
 
Both SLC3 pads are pretty much out in the open and easy to see from the Lompoc valley close to the beach. SLC4 West not too bad from an elevated position on the main base side of the river. SLC4 East hidden somewhat from those same positions. SLC6 it's only visible from the sea, unless you hop off a passing freight train and camp :rofl:. I found a decent spot for the SLC2 launches near Marshalia Ranch Golf Course. My last adventure to SLC2, a night launch was fogged in.
 
They finally got that bird off the ground? I gave up on it after the 3rd scrub in December. Bummer as I like to watch the contrails in the evening. The night shots are cool too as we can see them from anywhere in So. Cal.
 
Once on site at Vandenberg AFB ICBM. Sometime around May to July 1986. Pretty cool!
 
IMG_0029 (2).JPG


SLC3 Atlas late 2017 That gray rectangular object on the right is the top of the MST at SLC4 West
 
I took my family to Florida for vacation. Went to the space center on our park off day and got to watch a shuttle launch with my grandsons from the shuttle mockup tower in the visitors center, at sunset. It was the highlight of our trip.
 




4:51-5:30...yo,

Flat Earthers....kiss my ***!

Those rocket motors are fascinating. The combustion nozzles are lined with cooling tubes so they wont overheat. The space shuttle almost lost a motor on a launch due to a number of them failing, if 3 more failed (IIRC it was 17) the motor would have shut down and the shuttle would have had to abort and land in Africa.
 
My wife and I have seen one every time we have vacationed in Cocoa Beach. Really cool to watch all the people on the beach standing and waiting for the liftoff, then it is like a second sun going up. They are really bright and then the rumble starts. Last time down in December we got to watch the booster try to land, it kind of missed it's spot and landed in the ocean. The one thing that really amazes me is if you have real sharp eyesight, you can see the rocket until it's in orbit and shuts down. The reason I know that one is the last time the wife was watching on tv while I watched the rocket and when the tv showed orbit insertion that is when I lost site of it.

Jack
 
pishta said:




4:51-5:30...yo,

Flat Earthers....kiss my ***!

Those rocket motors are fascinating. The combustion nozzles are lined with cooling tubes so they wont overheat. The space shuttle almost lost a motor on a launch due to a number of them failing, if 3 more failed (IIRC it was 17) the motor would have shut down and the shuttle would have had to abort and land in Africa.
Click to expand...


The DeltaIV RS-68 engine is a fine piece. Been up close to them working in the boattail of the rocket. Insider info: The DeltaIV heavy carries so much liquid hydrogen that just prior to launch, they bleed off the excess (to reduce weight) and when the ROFI's (big sparklers whose job it is to burn off excess fuel) ignite it makes that huge black fuel rich fireball. At least that's what the real rocket scientists (prop engineers) told me.
 
Visited Vandenburg last June. Went down to the actual gantries. I was surprised we did hit a security checkpoint. I guess they have actual Minuteman missle silos for training the nuclear launch crews. There was a black block building on the road leading down to the gantries. No windows, double row fencing and armed security sentries. We were on their cameras for sure. We were actually looking for the museum. Never did find it.
 
I'm in Lompoc so I see all the Vandenberg AFB launches (once they clear the hills)


Alan
 
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