launch at kennedy space centre

[melstu]

:spin: we will be in orlando on 6.12 - the date of the next shuttle launch. would like to go and watch but cant buy official kennedy space centre tickets because they require at least 2 weeks to deliver. also, wont allow us to collect. anyone know if we were to buy 'ordinary' kennedy tour tickets from uk attractions co, would we still be able to visit on launch day? would we be able to view launch itself?

[mac]

We booked online and had the launch tickets sent to our hotel,

Not sure if that's still a option

[yorkiebar007]

Are you staying at a hotel , if so phone them to see if they will accept the delivery on your behalf then get ksc to send them there. That is what i have done, just hope the launch goes dec 6.

[megaflyer]

How can I find out if a launch is due when we visit ? WHere is this website please ?

Thanks

[mac]

This gives you a list of all shuttle launches :)

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html

[megaflyer]

Thanks Mac

[Kryten59]

we viewed a shuttle launch back in 99 or 00, can't remember which, anyway, we bought our tickets from a rep at the hotel and they were through gatortours - it included coach travel there and back. We had a car but suspected it would be busy trying to get out of KSC...how right we were, it took hours.

And you can visit on launch day but it's largely closed off, limited parts of the whole centre open as it's launch day!

[KK_Cat]

I will be there for the 6th also. We are going to go to Spaceview Park in Titusville which seems to be the next best spot if not actually in Kennedy. I will be driving. Apparantly it can take about 3 hours to get back, so we are just going to give up the full day to the shuttle launch. Might be possible to go to Astronaut Hall of Fame also that day. Really looking forward to the launch, hopefully it will go ahead without delays as this is the 3rd time there was supposed to be a launch during my holiday but both other times launch was scrubbed.

[Puk]

Just found out about this today. I would LOVE to go!!!!

But..... we have tickets for the Disney MVMCP that night so we need to somehow get rid of them, also how early should we aim to get to say Titusville for the launch at 1631???

Thanks.

[wolfcry]

We got back from Florida last week and watched the last shuttle launch from Space view park in Titusville. It was a great experience and it worked out really well. Its quite hard to find (not well signposted) and it was much quieter generally than we expected. Our launch was a Tuesday morning at 11.38 am. We left Orlando early but had more trouble with the normal morning traffic than people going to the launch. Titusville roads were clear right up to launch time. Plenty of people watching from the space park and good atmosphere as they broadcast the countdown etc. It was less of a bif event than I expected - I guess the locals are used to it and were all at work!

It was further away from the launch pad than I expected. Its in the distance across the water. Still spectacular when it launches though, just don't expect the same sort of view you get on TV reports! I'm not sure how much closer you can get from the Space Centre itself.

We chose Titusville because it was free(!) and we wanted to get away and spend the rest of the day at Daytona - which worked perfectly.

Hope this helps, any questions I'd be happy to try to answer.

Cheers,
Mark.

[singingsister]

Does anyone know how far in advance the shuttles are out on the pad before launches? There is a launch on the 24th April 08 but we are coming home on the 15th April, and just wondering if we will see the shuttle before we come home.

[princessfiona]

Hi we were over for the launch in August and we had a great time. We did not gt the official tickets so we went to view it from the Kennedy Astronaughts Hall of fame. It is on the road to KSC on the right. You cant miss it. It has the hugh shuttle outside. There is a turn off sighnposted just before it. It cost us I think $12 per person but it was def worth it. I dont know what time the lauch is but I suggest you get there early. our launch was at 6.30pm and we were there for 1pm. You need it to get a good spot on the grass to view the launch. Once you are at the hall of fame there is lots of interaction things foryou to do,talks to listen to and we even had an astronaught from NASA to a talk. Very interesting. Something I did not know was there was the cinema. All day they had live coverage of the astronaughts getting to the launch pad and covering them getting into the shuttle. It was amazing. Anyway make sure you take snaks and drinks for the journey as it will be a long journey back!!! the roads are gridlocked.

[deedolls]

hi everyone,i know their is a launch on the 27th feb 2008,as were hopeing to see it.

[2008herewecome]

We fly home on the day of the launch on 24th April. DH Gutted!!!!!
Hope our flight isnt delayed!!!! :d:

[KK_Cat]

Does anyone know how far in advance the shuttles are out on the pad before launches? There is a launch on the 24th April 08 but we are coming home on the 15th April, and just wondering if we will see the shuttle before we come home.

Well for the upcoming shuttle launch on Dec 6th, Atlantis went to the launch pad on 10th Nov, so you should have no problem....
However, just be aware that you will only see the launch pad from quite a distance, still it is nice to see the shuttle itself even if it is a dot!

[erkeyderkey]

We saw a launch from the Kennedy Space Centre in January 98. We got tickets with transportation included from the rep at the hotel. It was a night time launch and it was one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed. Everyone was cheering and the atmosphere was great. I hope you get a chance to see it, I thoroughly recommend it!

[Wirebabe2107]

Hey,

We saw a launch back in 1998. We were in MK and didnt know what was going on - we were thinking the Americans were silly as they were all looking at the sky!!! When we found out what was going on, we positioned ourselves near to the castle. The atmosphere was electric!! and we were miles away!! still saw the launch though, it was really good!! (although one American thought it had gone up sooner, it was a plane :rolleyes:
Can't wait to see it again!!
xxxxxxxxx

[Dougy_D]

We fly home on the day of the launch on 24th April. DH Gutted!!!!!
Hope our flight isnt delayed!!!! :d:


We have extended our holiday to 16 days to get us there early to watch this launch.

You might be lucky and have a birds eye view in the plane on the way home :)