It was dark when we left the house and still dark an hour and a half later when I woke up in the car, mumbled something incoherent and fell back asleep. Fortunately I must have only been half asleep for I woke up five minutes before our exit.
Four, three, two, one the crowd across the river inlet shouted. We scrambled to get our cameras and video equipment together as the hundreds of people in the river excitedly surged forward.
We watched the final shuttle launch from Space View Park in Titusville. To be more precise, we actually watched it knee deep in the river that separates Titusville from Kennedy Space Center. With little space left on the shore by the time we arrived, we followed the lead of others and headed into the water. Surrounding us were families, groups of college students and friends all who had driven through the night to be at the final shuttle launch. Everyone waded into the murky water with rolled up pants and shorts, clutching cameras and tying cell phones to drawstrings and straps. It was so crowded in the water that one guy near us joked that we should scream “Gator” to give us some breathing space.
31 years after launching the first shuttle into space NASA launched its 135th flight, 33rd on the space shuttle Atlantis, on its final journey. It was a momentous occasion according to the newscasters. The end of an era they said on NPR. The end of our space age, said others. In truth, it was no different than any other shuttle launch; we were the ones that gave it sentimental significance. We were the ones who bought “grand finale” t-shirts, grilled hot dogs for breakfast and shuttle keychain necklaces.
We were hoping to see people dressed up like aliens, astronauts or at the very least a few star trek characters. We expected to see new age space hippies and perhaps even a few protestors. In the end the crowd was disappointingly normal. Plenty of parents with half-asleep children sprawled out on the sidewalk. Small groups of high school students who were only half absorbing a teacher’s lesson about gas in space. People spoke of space tourism and Virgin Galactic and how for the next few years our astronauts would be riding home with the Russians. We met a group of twenty-somethings from Atlanta who had driven through the night playing trivial pursuit in the hopes of keeping the driver awake. The only people we saw dressed up were kids in orange astronaut costumes. Otherwise it was a group of remarkably normal people, most admitting to be shuttle launch virgins, all eyes trained on one glowing orange ball 12 miles in the distance.
From where we stood we had an excellent view of the shuttle. As we saw the yellows and oranges of the blast, the crowd cheered for a moment and then got quiet. It took less than a minute for the shuttle to disappear quietly into the clouds, leaving behind it a trail white smoke. Even from 12 miles away it was beautiful and although I’ve seen a space shuttle up close before it was remarkable how big the shuttle looked jetting off into space.
For a few moments after Atlantis disappeared from view the crowd was silent, waiting for the noise of launch. It crept up on us, so subtly that at first we thought the fighter jets were overhead again. Quickly the rumbling grew into what was unmistakably the shuttle. For a few second the water rippled and the ground seemed to shake. The silent crowd exploded in congratulatory cheering as families hugged and couples kissed.
It took us two and a half hours to get back to our car, but despite walking it the whole way, we made it out of Titusville well before those that had parked near Space View Park. Some news estimates report a million people converged on Cape Canaveral- if that’s the case then each one of them drove their own car. We parked nearly five miles from where we wanted to watch, afraid we’d be hit by the $60 parking I’d read about online. (We could have watched the shuttle from less than ½ a mile from where we parked, but we wanted the atmosphere of Space View Park).
Editors Note: While this was NASA’s last shuttle flight, there are still plenty of other launches, like satellites and scientific equipment that occur at Cape Canaveral. You can read more about Obama’s decision to end the shuttle program and encourage private, commercial space programs here. What do you think? Should space be a commercial industry?
Christina says
Wow, what an extraordinary experience. The end of an era. So cool you got to witness the last shuttle launch!
Jillian says
Memorable for sure, although the TV cameras definitely had a better view than we did from the ground!
adventureswithben says
Alien costumes and astronauts, that would have been fun. I’ve always wanted to watch from Space View Park. I think watching from the public areas has a much more energetic and relaxed vibe than from the media area. But I truly am surprised that there were no gators in the waters around there.Are you in town much longer?
Jillian says
The atmosphere was very relaxed and excited. Honestly, the amazement of the kids around us made our public viewing worthwhile. Thankfully the gators stayed away, I’ve been paranoid about them since we moved down here! We’re living in Ft. Lauderdale now, so not too far!
Sophie says
Interesting your comment about the people giving it sentimental value. Odd isn’t it, this need to make an event into something special and memorable. That said, it sounds like a fun night out, even thought there weren’t any trekkies about. Or gators.
Jillian says
It is a bit odd that we somehow feel it necessary to make events special and memorable. Shouldn’t the event do that by itself? Human nature I suppose.
Blake says
Wow, that “group from Atlanta” sounds like a strange enough lot. I agree with you though, I was hoping to see people with foam space shuttle hats or the like. Turns out the best laugh I got was when I saw some guy wading out in the water with 3 kinds of bags and half a dozen kinds of electronics (cameras, phone, etc) hanging off of him.
His name was Danny, I think.
Jillian says
That group from Atlanta was a strange lot. Whole bunch of weirdos I tell you! 3 kinds of bags and don’t forget the zippy pants! Thanks for touching base with us, hope your journey home was more relaxed!
The Travel Chica says
Great story! But I agree a bit disappointing you didn’t have many weirdos in the crowd 😉
robin says
Probably for the best that you didn’t scream “gator”. People can be funny about that kind of thing 😉
Jillian says
Its one of those things that’s only funny if you’re the one screaming it!