Space Shuttle Launch Video

Mission STS-117

Launch Pad 39A

June 9, 2007

Play the Space Shuttle Game
and fly theShuttle yourself!

As seen from State Road 520 (looking nearly due north). Access was simple... I just pulled off the road onto the grass about a mile from the ocean.

The video is crooked and "jerky" for a number of reasons:

  1. Not knowing exactly where the launch pad was.
  2. Wanting to witness the event with my real eyes -- not through the camera.
  3. I was a little late and had to set up hastily.
  4. Hey, I'm just a regular Joe, OK?

Click here to see the boosters pop off . I was un-aware that the camera caught this (due to the crappy view-finder resolution) and "zoomed out" a little too early. Next time I'll do things a little differently.

The rumble from the Shuttle was awesome. You'll here the rumble in the video, but being about 20 miles from the launch pad puts the rumble much further into the launch than you might expect. I remember hearing a second rumble long after the shuttle was out of sight. The second rumble was not nearly as powerful, nor as sustained. I'm not sure what it was, perhaps breaking the sound barrier? Or maybe the main booster rocket kicking in? Or maybe the pitch / roll of the shuttle directing the sound toward my location?

I labeled things in the photos below so if you ever decide to go check out a launch, you'll know where to go and in which direction to look..

Where to Go:

Follow the signs to Ron Jon's Surf Shop (Cocoa Beach).

This was a great location to view from -- about 20 miles from the launch pad.

Where to Look:

"VAB" (Vehicle Assembly Building)
Way off in the distance, but easily identifiable (it's a monster). If I'm not mistaken, it is the largest building in the world (square footage-wise).

The Silos are closer to where I was situated and could easily be mistaken for a regular old building or hotel... it did seem to have an apparatus on it that might be used to load a ship or something (like an arm hanging off it or something). The white buildings to the right are un-distinguishable -- could be condos or generic buildings. (see google maps satellite view)