STS-123 Takes Off into the Night

Around 2:00am, we settle down on the bleachers. Three female astronauts are on hand to give us updates and take questions. Two have gone up before, another will go in the future.

There are less than a couple hundred of us on the bleachers. Thank goodness that the cold weather and wind from the weekend were gone. We are told that the astronauts have been on a modified time schedule for several weeks to accommodate the night launch. They woke up at 5:30pm, and had lunch at 9:00pm. Around 10:30, they get ready for launch, and get strapped in a couple of hours before launch.

Both the commander and pilot are trained to flew the Endeavor. The other astronauts are there to set up the Kibo experiment module and conduct experiments in space. In the event of a problem, Endeavor will not launch. In the event of a problem after launch, usually within two minutes after takeoff, Endeavor will come back to KSC, which is why good weather is so important. The commander and pilot need visibility to bring the Endeavor back to earth and KSC.

After holding for a while, the countdown clock starting counting down at T -9:00. This time, the countdown was for real. We got to two minutes and we knew the launch was going to happen. Updates from mission control are now frequent. We even got to participate in the countdown, and it was cool to say 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 and know that we were counting down to an actual rocket launch!

At T-0, the rockets started, the launch area got very bright, almost like daylight. A few seconds later, Endeavor blasted off into the air, creating a thick cloud of smoke and steam in its trail. The sound was not as loud as we expected, but you could definitely feel the rumbling from 3.5 miles away (the Vertical Assembling Building is 3 miles away; we were as close as civilians can get). We quickly lost sight of Endeavor because of the clouds, but we continued to get updates from mission control until about 10 minutes after launch.

Wow, you wait hours and hours for the launch, and then the launch happens in just a few seconds. But it was all worth it. A night launch is certainly spectacular. Yes, you actually get a better view on CNN, but you don't get the ambiance, the updates from the astronauts, the enthusiasm of the volunteers, and the actual knowledge that you are just a few miles from the actual event. Wow.

After 10 minutes, we were hustled back to the buses because an acid rain cloud was expected at T +28:00. The acid rain is created by the chemicals used at launch. It's not going to kill you, but it will irritate your skin. So we got on the buses, and headed back to Kiwanis Island to get into our cars. We said good-bye to Maki's parents and brother at Kiwanis, since our flight back to VA was the next morning.

Would I recommend a visit to Kennedy Space Center? Absolutely. It's about 30-45 minutes from Orlando airport and Disneyland and there are dozens of viewing areas from the so-called space coast (you don't have to have an invitation from an astronaut).

The night of the shuttle launch

The launch of Space Shuttle Endeavor was Tuesday, March 11, 2:28am. We were all excited because night launches are rare and supposed to be spectacular. The only problem is that night launches are just that, launches in the middle of the night.

The plan was to take a nap, then head to the launch. Unfortunately, CJ was not going along with the program. He simply did not want to nap. He was just too excited to be in Florida, with mommy and daddy, both grandmas and grandpa. Oh well. At 10:30pm on Monday night, we set off for Kiwanis Island, where the buses for family members were scheduled to pick us up.

After fighting nap time all day, CJ fell asleep in the car. Maki bundled him up, and put him down on a park bench to keep napping. Kiwanis Island is south of Kennedy Space Center(KSC), and we were told later that the various guests were picked up at various locations to avoid bus and traffic jams. At Kiwanis, we met Maki's parents and brother, and three Japanese astronauts. One had been up twice before and was scheduled to go up later in the year. Naoko was also there with her daughter and husband.

We boarded the buses around 11:30pm and drove to the Saturn V building, which is now a museum, since the program was cancelled many years ago. The Saturn V building is like a mini-Air and Space museum, with cool exhibits and a food court. An actual Saturn V rocket is on display, as well as a lander. CJ stayed asleep and my mom was good enough to park on a bench and let him sleep on her.

Guests of the astronauts had a prime viewing location behind the Saturn V building, an area called Banana Creek. The area was restricted to astronaut guests, although other guests were in nearby viewing areas. There were many volunteer guides, including Jack Martin, who were assisting the guests and answering questions. We also had three female astronauts explaining the launch sequence the entire time.

There was even a countdown clock and we received regular updated from the KSC mission control tower. The countdown clock is really interesting. It doesn't count down as you would expect. There are several hold periods, during which the countdown clock just stops. For example, the countdown clock stopped at T (takeoff) -20:00 and T -9:00m. A volunteer explained that the holding period allows NASA to extend the prep time. When the clock stops at T-20:00, it doesn't mean that launch will happen in 20 minutes. It means they did a countdown, they are holding, and are waiting for the next signal to keep counting down. Continuing the countdown means all is well and the launch is proceeding.

We met several volunteers in their 70s who say they volunteer at every shuttle launch. They seemed just as excited about STS-123 as any other launch. And boy did they know about seemingly everything to do with the launch.

At around 2:00am, things got serious. The astronauts encouraged us to get settled on the bleachers and wait for the countdown and launch.