Blast Off!

I had the most amazing night last night!! At work they give out a small number of car passes to employees to watch the space shuttle launch from on center. They do it as a lottery. If you're interested in going to see the launch, you send your name in then they draw names to see who gets the passes. In my company they give out eight passes but there are probably 200 or so passes given out center-wide. Well, yours truly was lucky enough to get one for the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour last night!!!!!!


I have been dying to get a pass since I started working out at the space center and was so excited to be selected. I've seen two launches so far since I've been working there but they have been from outside my office building. While those were amazing to witness, having the car pass was an incredible experience. The launch was at 2:28am which made seeing it even more spectacular. There is truly nothing as beautiful and awe inspiring as a night launch. I haven't seen one in over ten years so last night was a very special experience for me.


It was also really nice that I was able to bring along Joe as my guest. I was actually allowed to bring up to six guests with me but, unbelievably, none of my friends or family wanted to join us. I understand it was at 2:30 in the morning but I couldn't imagine NOT being there. We did have one extra person join us though. She is a friend of a friend who is home from Tallahassee for spring break and was thrilled beyond belief that I invited her to come with us. It was really cool being around someone who was just as excited about the launch I as was. It was also cool hanging out with a fellow Seminole.


We loaded up Joe's truck last night with three chairs, three blankets, and our digital cameras and headed out to the center at 11:15pm. We got through security and got parked and prepped for the long countdown. I am convinced we had the absolute BEST spot in the entire lot. We were front row overlooking the Banana River with Endeavor directly across from us. I don't know for sure but I've been told the actual distance is 5 miles. We set up our chairs in the back of the truck, got some coffee and our blankets and just hung out waiting for the launch. One of my favorite parts of launch day at the space center is that they pipe the communications with the astronauts and mission control over the loud speakers. So, you can hear everything that is going on. It is so neat to hear them go through the list asking different people if they're, "go for launch" and hearing everyone chime in that they are.


It was a long three hours but we were able to pass the time by joking around and talking and listening to the loud speakers. We were even fortunate enough to get a little show from a dolphin that swam by right in front of the truck. The night was just gorgeous with low humidity and temperatures in the 50's. Towards the end of the countdown some clouds rolled in and blocked off a portion of our launch view but I didn't care one bit.


Once we got through the final hold at nine minutes, the countdown flew by. There was so much excitement and electricity in the air as they counted down from ten over the loud speakers. Then we saw the sparks ignite under the shuttle and the plume of white clouds come out from the engines. The shuttle was off the pad and all I could do was smile and scream and jump up and down. The sky lit up like it was high noon. It was gorgeous! When we lost the shuttle in the clouds we were still fortunate to get the deep rumbling booms as it climbed higher and higher into space. It is so intense that it shakes everything around you.


Needless to say, I'm pretty tired today. But I would take sleep deprivation any day for the unbelievable night I had last night. Unfortunately I don't have the best camera but I did get one pretty good picture I want to share with you guys. Being that there are only about 10 launches left until the shuttles are retired for good, I feel like I was truly a part of history last night. Enjoy the picture but know that it is nothing compared to being there and experiencing it first hand!