Tales of Florida Part Two

As promised, I will conclude my recollections of a fantastic holiday, with a report on six individuals, who simply were out of this world.

Having done the "Daytona" thing, I was in fairly good form for the holiday, with even more excitement to come. During the build up weeks to our holiday, I had been keeping track of "Space Shuttle Mission - STS 86" which was due to launch on Thursday 25th of September, barely a week into our holiday. The web page for Kennedy Space Centre is at http://ftp.ksc.nasa.gov/. I strongly recom-mend you to have a look at this site, as some of the information, photos and videos are incredible.

The mission was to use the space shuttle "Atlantis" and the aim of the mission was to take vital equipment and supplies up to the "Mir" space station and also to bring back to Earth the British born Astronaut "Mike Foale", who had held together the Russian string bag!, for 4 months. The excitement for us came, knowing that, not only could we possibly see a launch, but also that this launch was due to be at night.

I followed the progress of the crew for several weeks building up to the launch, via the Internet, and within a day of us leaving for our holiday on the 19th of September, all systems were still go, for the following Thursday. I had also found out that with every launch, Kennedy Space Centre would issue 2000 tickets on a first come first served basis, enabling people to watch the launch from a special spectator area, well within the normal restricted area of the base. These tickets however would go on sale 5 days prior to launch, at KSC, and only sold to people in person, thus stopping mass telephone bookings. This meant that we would have to get up first thing Saturday morning, just after we had arrived the previous evening, in order to be at KSC at 8.45 am, to get our four tickets. This we did, and successfully paid for our tickets and car pass. By 1.00pm all tickets had been sold!!!

We arrived on the Thursday at KSC during the late afternoon, relieved to hear that the mission was still go, for a 10.35p.m launch. Having looked around the site on the Saturday, (which incidentally is still free to get into!!) we then took in an I-Max Movie. Believe you me, this screen is as impressive as it sounds, typically American, with the cinema screen being 7 storeys tall with sound to match, this would definitely not be the cinema to watch any of the "Alien" movies in!!! The movie was all about the "Mir" space station and previous missions to it, very interesting and useful information to know, considering where our space shuttle was about to go.

Having seen the movie, we now waited for the real thing. I cannot begin to describe the atmosphere that was within KSC that evening, everyone was truly excited and you could feel an almost static electricity in the air. I think the majority of the tension that comes before a launch, can be put down to nerves, considering what happened to the space shuttle "Challenger" on that fateful day.

When you actually sit down and think about it, strapping your backside to two giant flame spitting rockets with the general stability of Nitro Glycerine, isn't really the most sensible of behaviours. Yet since I was a boy, along with many others, I have always wondered what it would be like in space, or to even see a space rocket take off. Living in Britain, both options are hugely unlikely, yet I always wished, considering that I had been named after "Neil Armstrong" first man on the moon, that one day I may see a launch.

Back at KSC, and we were now queuing to get on the bus which would take us and the other lucky 1996 people to the special viewing site. I have to say however that it was now very sticky and far too hot, on the account that I along with my parents and my girlfriend, were wearing long trousers and long sleeved shirts and half a ton of insect repellent. We had unfortunately picked a time to go to mosquito infested swamp land, right in the middle of an epidemic warning for a condition which affects the brain causing it to swell, which was being transmitted by the mosquitos. It sounds something like "Encephalitis" or thereabouts. So most people were feeling rather hot under long sleeved clothes, with the temperature at about 80 degrees and 80% humidity. Yuk!!!

At 8.00p.m we were driven out to the viewing area, which was basically a large grass verge next to the road over looking a large lagoon, directly opposite the Space Shuttle Atlantis on its launch pad ......7.5 miles away!!!!

Despite the distance we could just make out the shuttle with the naked eye, but it was much clearer through the zoom lens of a camera. The distance, was purely a safety thing, with the journalists and crews' families at a viewing location some 4.5 miles from the site. The scene was like something from a science fiction movie, with two massive spot lights beaming across the lagoon toward us and several more lighting up the shuttle on the pad. The lagoon also had a full P.A. System around it, so everyone could hear ground control talking to the crew, going through pre-flight checks. Also.....in the lagoon......were some very live, very big, and decidedly hostile looking Wild Alligators. One particular fellow was conveniently lit up by someone's Camcorder Flash light, showing him to have an enormous head and at least 16ft from "snout to tail" and sitting in the water barely 10 ft from the shore line. This left us with one eye on the shuttle and one eye on the Gator!

As time ticked by the tension mounted. They had a launch window of just 10 minutes, and so if they had a problem, which in this game, was highly likely, then the launch would be called off.

5 minutes to go at 10.30 and all systems were still go! and all Alligators were still in the water.......(phew!) Apparently when the shuttle takes off at night, the whole of Florida can see it disappear into the night sky. At 1 minute to go, the atmosphere is quite incredible, again beyond description. Then at 30 seconds they begin the count over the P.A. system.

At 10 seconds everyone starts counting down out loud, half nervous, half excited. 6 seconds to go as the shuttle crew light the engines, and the first ball of light appears below the craft.

5,4,3,2,1, " we have lift off!" as the shuttle starts to move upwards, the most amazing bright yellow light illuminates everything just like a nuclear bomb. From being dark nightime, the whole sky and all around is bathed in yellow light like it was midday. It was the most incredible sight as the craft moved slowly at first, clearing the tower, then quickening as it raced upwards rotating onto its specific trajectory, faster and faster. The bright yellow light began to fade after about 15 seconds into the launch, as the shuttle was now hurtling towards space at an ever increasing pace. After about 15 seconds it was travelling at 1700 mph and getting faster by about 1000 mph every 20 seconds. We didn't actually hear any sound at all, until 24 seconds after he started the engines. By which time, the shuttle was now a disappearing dot in the nightime sky, but that sound was like a crackling fire, with a bit of "Concorde" thrown in for good measure. After just 3 minutes, the crew of the shuttle were doing well over 9000 M.P.H, heading for their orbiting speed of 17,000 mph

Having waited so long, it was over incredibly quickly, but it couldn't be any other way. It is truly a mind blowing experience, made even more incredible because it went off without a single hitch, and also due to it being nightime. I sat back on the bus looking around me, and everyone was excited and amazed yet also quite dumb struck. People say that Rally drivers and Racing drivers are crazy for driving the speeds they do, yet when it comes to real speed there's no touching these guy's, and my true respect goes to all Astronauts, who have chosen to make that their career.

Since then, another shuttle mission as been to space and back, and I am sure in years to come, future generations will wonder what all the fuss was about when we launched a shuttle, as it will no doubt be commonplace in the future. However, for my lifetime, I have achieved another personal ambition, and created another memory that will stay with me throughout that lifetime. If you don't ever get the opportunity to see a launch, then I hope my report has given you some flavour for what it's all about. To appreciate the event in full, check out the web site mentioned earlier, and see the pictures to go with the words.

No more holidays next year, as my rally program will undoubtedly take all that holiday time. Having now been passenger to Justin Dale and Geoff Jones at a test session at Sweet Lamb in Wales, I think I have found a little rocket ship! of my own, more about that however another time.

Hope to see y'all down the club sometime.