Launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-127

Video of the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour seen from across Banana Creek near the Apollo/Saturn V Center.

Crank your speakers up!








We traveled to Kennedy Space Center several times to see the launch of this mission, because of delays. It was delayed in June due to technical difficulties with the hydrogen fueling system. This week the delays were due to thunderstorms. The last time we were present was for Saturday's launch attempt. It was scrubbed within 10 minutes of launch. We repurchased tickets to the NASA Causeway viewing area, which is 5.5 miles from the launch pad. The tickets are orange. Some of our friends came back on Monday, but the launch was scrubbed again. They bought more orange tickets. Today NASA offered orange ticket holders a unique opportunity. We were able to view the launch from the VIP area by the Apollo Center 3.5 miles from the launch pad!

Our persistence paid off. This was a once in a lifetime experience.

More photos of the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour for mission STS-127.

Launch Viewing Area At Banana Creek

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The VIP launch view area at Banana Creek. The square building in the background is the Apollo/Saturn V Center.


It was raining as we approached Kennedy Space Center (KSC). There was hardly any traffic and no security checkpoints. We were texting our friends that we were meeting at the launch. The New Jersey Kid had rescheduled his plane ticket again. The Orlando Crew also repurchased orange launch viewing tickets to go back to the NASA Causeway to see the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour. We met at the Launch Status Center where we watched NASA TV. A KSC spokesperson talked about launch updates, explained mission details, and answered questions.

Lightning advisories cleared personnel from the exterior of the launch pad, and people at the Visitor Center were advised to move indoors. It was raining so hard at the launchpad that we couldn't see the space shuttle on NASA TV. Yet there was hardly any rain were we were. All the while they were continuing to ingress the astronauts into the space shuttle. Then it was announced that the NASA Causeway was closed due to lightning advisories. What a disappointment.

Our KSC spokesperson was getting updates through an earbud. She nodded and smiled. "You folks are in for a treat. NASA has never done this before. Orange ticket holders are going to have the unprecedented opportunity to go to the VIP viewing area by the Apollo/Saturn V Center."

They were expecting the heavy weather to pass by launch time.

I was so excited I was jumping up and down! I've been to the Apollo/Saturn V Center many times and thought how lucky I would be to be able to see a launch from that close. The historical meaning of the location also hit me. There aren't as many people here today, partly because many gave up due to all the delays. Also, the real VIP's are arriving tomorrow for the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11. Endeavour is launching from the same launchpad today used to launch Apollo 11 to land the first people on the moon 40 years ago. I got goosebumps.


The crowd at Banana Creek had some interesting toys. Here someone has a parabolic microphone. Both launchpads LC39B (left) and LC39A with Endeavour (right) are on the horizon.


Launchpad LC39B is undergoing reconstruction for use in the new Constellation Program. You can see a crane in the background. It will not be used for space shuttles anymore. This launchpad will be used to test the new Ares rocket at the end of August '09. (Update: The Ares test has been rescheduled for October '09.)


Space Shuttle Endeavour is on the other side of the tower. You can see the orange External Fuel Tank and the tips of the Solid Rocket Boosters.



Here's an interesting contraption we saw by the Apollo/Saturn V Center. We think it is a telescope on a trailer.


One of the countdown clocks shows the 9 minute hold. There are several "holds" built in to the countdown clock, which starts early in the day. These holds allow launch teams to hold meetings prior to events or steps taking place. For example, there's a hold in the clock before fueling to allow the fueling team to have a meeting first, and there's a hold before the astronauts get onboard the shuttle. The Nine Minute Hold is the last hold before lift-off and it seems like the longest one of all. The crowd cheered when the clock started running again.


Helicopter Fly By Video




At four minutes we sang the "Star Spangled Banner" and I started practising zooms, tilts, and pans with my camera. After that things happened real fast. Here's a link to the top of the post with the video:

Video of Launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour for STS-127

Launch of Shuttle Endeavour Scrubbed with Less Than 10 Minutes to Go

View of Space Shuttle Endeavour from across the Banana River on the NASA Causeway. This is about 5-1/2 miles away from the launchpad. It was a sunny day with a blue sky.

Since the first 2 scrubs were all about the fueling system, I learned more about the space shuttle fueling system. We didn't leave Tampa until fueling had begun.


We arrived at the NASA Causeway about 2 hours before launch and set up camp in the shade of our bus. Florida summers are hot and the sun is fierce. We saw manatees in the water. Pelicans were diving for fish. We caught up with friends from New Jersey who returned to Florida to see the launch.


The sky was blue over the launch pad when we heard thunder behind us. There was a big dark cloud in the west. An announcement came over the PA that the thunderstorm created a No Go condition for launch. We all hoped it would blow away. The rest of the sky was clear, but if there's a thunderstorm with lightning within 20 nautical miles of the launchpad or landing strip it's No Go. They broadcast the control room roll call from Florida and Houston. We heard, "Go, Go, Go, No Go, Go, Go, Go, No Go, Go..." The No Go's were from the Weather Officers. There were a few outbursts, but for the most part the crowd quietly packed up their camps and boarded their busses to return to the Visitor Center. We received vouchers to repurchase the orange bus tickets for when the launch of STS-127 was rescheduled. Five out of seven people in our group repurchased the orange tickets.

Space Shuttle Launch STS-127 Scrubbed Again

We came back to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for another all nighter to see the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour for mission STS-127 shortly after 6am. The launch time became earlier for each day delayed. The mission is to go to the International Space Station (ISS) to add a section on the Japanese Kibo laboratory. The launch time is scheduled to insert the space shuttle into an orbit to rendezvous with the ISS.

When we arrived at KSC we saw a lot of people sleeping in cars, campers, and tents in the parking lot. The doors to the Visitor Center were locked and a crowd of people was waiting to get in. We met a guy from New Jersey who had his Blackberry plugged into an outlet in the wall. His Dad was reminding him that it might rain again and that he should be careful not to walk away with his Blackberry still plugged in. The New Jersey Kid rolled his eyes and said, "Dad, I know I'm plugged in, and it's not raining anymore." Dad replied, "It's just that walking off with something plugged into the wall is something I might do." The New Jersey Kid was checking for news on Twitter. He was getting Tweets about the launch from SpaceFlightNow. I had set up my phone to get text Tweets from NASAKennedy and Astro_127 (Mission Commander Mark Polansky) but hadn't gotten any messages yet. The New Jersey Kid said that they had not yet started fueling the space shuttle. We waited, checked phones for news, and texted friends on their way to KSC. The fueling process began, but a hydrogen leak was detected. The leak was determined to be within safety parameters, fueling continued, and they opened the doors to the Visitor Center. We all poured into KSC in anticipation of seeing the shuttle launch at dawn.

The place was buzzing with people, music, and kids hopping around in space suits when an announcement came over the PA, "May we have your attention please..." The mission was scrubbed again. The hydrogen leak went beyond safety limits. The crowd sighed a collective "Awww..." and we all drove home.

Kennedy Space Center at Night

We arrived at Kennedy Space Center around midnight for the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour for mission STS-127 shortly after 7am the next morning. We had tickets for the viewing area at the NASA Causeway and you have to arrive about 6 hours early. The place looks different at night.


The Rocket Garden glows with colored lights. There are red lights under the upright rockets. The Saturn 1B rocket that lays on its side is illuminated in blue.


Shortly after we arrived we heard an announcement that the launch would be delayed due to a leak in the hydrogen fueling system.

It was a bummer, but we were already in line for the "Dine with an Astronaut" event at 1am. We met astronaut Mike Mullane who flew on 3 space shuttle missions. They showed a video during the meal. Afterwards Mike Mullane spoke to the group. He said that on one of his missions the launch was scrubbed and that he knows how disappointing it is, and added that's it's better to be safe than sorry. Then he took questions from the audience. The cutest was a little girl who asked, "What kind of job did you have as an astronaut, besides scrubbing the shuttle?"

Afterwards we lined up to have pictures taken with Mike. Somehow we lucked out on timing and were the last group in line for the picture taking. We had a chance to talk to Mike one on one, and I got his autograph in a book I brought to the event. It's a book called "The Home Planet" that I found in a sale pile at a bookstore years ago. It is a large hardcover book with photographs of the Earth taken by astronauts. The narrative in the book is quotes and essays by astronauts. I didn't know which astronaut we would meet that night, but it just so happened that Mike Mullane is one the astronauts quoted in the book.

We exchanged phone numbers with new friends we'd met at the dinner, and left Kennedy Space Center around 3am. We'll meet up with our friends from Orlando at the next launch attempt.

The Dali and the Don Cesar

This is Day 4 and the last day of our Tampa Bay beach vacation. After brunch we went the Salvador Dali Museum in Saint Petersburg. It boasts having the largest collection of Salvador Dali paintings in the world, outside of Dali's hometown in Figueres, Spain. It is a treat for the eyes to look at the detail of the paintings and discover images inside of other images. The largest paintings are about 15 feet tall and contain all sorts of optical illusions. Our group of vacationers includes artists and photographers. It was fun to have an excuse to do something artsy.


Afterwards we went to the Don Cesar hotel on Saint Pete Beach. The Don Cesar is a historic hotel that was built in the 1920's. It is the pink palace of Saint Pete Beach and is visible for miles along the coast. They don't mind people coming in to sight see and take pictures. Parking is $10 unless you buy something at the hotel and get your ticket validated. We got our parking validated buying ice cream at one of the shops on the ground level.


At the Dali Museum we were seeing art. At the Don Cesar we were creating art with our cameras.

This is the end of our 4 day Tampa Bay family beach vacation. The vacationers went to the airport from the Don Cesar and we went home to Tampa.


Four Day Trip Itinerary

Day 1
1:30pm Tampa International Airport
Lunch - Whiskey Joe's, Tampa
Saint Pete Beach
Dinner - Brass Monkey, Saint Pete Beach

Day 2
Lunch - Billy's Stonecrab & Lobster, Tierra Verde
Fort DeSoto Park Beach
Dinner - German Crepes House, Tierra Verde

Day 3
Lunch - Palm Pavilion, Clearwater
Sea Safari Ecotour - Clearwater Marine Aquarium
Holmes Beach, Ann Maria Island, near Bradenton
Dinner - Cafe on the Beach

Day 4
Salvador Dali Museum, Saint Petersburg
Don Cesar Hotel, Saint Pete Beach
7pm - Tampa International Airport


More photos of the Don Cesar Hotel.

Unfauxhemian's blog post about our vacation

The Palm Pavilion and Clearwater Marine Aquarium

It's Day 3 of our Tampa Bay beach vacation. We started out by going to the Palm Pavilion in Clearwater for lunch. Have you noticed that we can't seem to do anything before lunch? In Florida, there's nobody to tell you when to get up or what to do. You don't even have to shave or comb your hair. Just wear a hat and sunglasses and you'll fit right in.


We enjoyed the view of the beach from the veranda and just watched the world go by. I like the motto the Palm Pavilion has on their t-shirts and cups, "There's no place like this place anywhere near this place, so this must be the place." We saved the paper cups from our drinks for collecting sea shells, and went for a walk along Clearwater beach. It's my favorite beach for people watching.

We didn't really have a set hour by hour schedule. I had in mind to go sight seeing where we could retreat into air conditioning during the heat of the day. The time of day for being at the beach in the water would be later in the afternoon, and then we'd stay to enjoy the sunsets.



Nicholas the dolphin at Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

This is the only day of our vacation where we actually did have something scheduled. We had a reservation for 1pm to go on a boat ride at Clearwater Marine Aquarium. It's called the Sea Life Safari Ecotour. We looked around the aquarium and then got on the boat for a tour of Clearwater Harbor. The captain did a good job of pointing out some of the historic and fabulous estates that were along the shore. It was a point of view you could only see from the water and would miss driving by on the road.


A heron and roseate spoonbills in a bird sanctuary.


They cast a net overboard and pulled up sea life. One of the scientific tasks CMA does is to take regular inventories of the sea life here. They had a large tank to put the sea life in. Then they transferred the fish into smaller aquariums to show everyone. Other sea life, like the sea urchin in the above photo, were passed around. The spines of the sea urchin were sharp.


The back of the spider crab was soft like velvet.


Then we went to an island in Clearwater Harbor to go shelling.


Someone found a large horse conch in the process of eating a whelk. I've never seen anything like it. I find sea shells like the whelk often and wondered how the mollusk inside was cleaned out leaving a perfect shell behind.

After the boat tour we got in the car to go beach hopping.


More photos of Clearwater.

Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island

We went to the Cafe on the Beach to have a snack and then set up our beach camp. This is my favorite beach to visit on a weekday. It is hard to find parking on the weekends, and it's no wonder why. The water is clear and beautiful, and the sand is as soft as powdered sugar.

In case you haven't figured it out, all the Gulf Beaches are my favorite beach!

We had fun playing in the water. Alfonze snorkeled around and showed us some of the sea life he found.


Jason checks his sunset shots.


Three amigos Alfonze, Jason, and Erika watch the sunset and take photos.


This is the last sunset of our beach vacation. Boo-hoo!

Fort DeSoto Beach and Tierra Verde Restaurants

It's Day 2 of our Tampa Bay family beach vacation. We went to Billy's Stonecrab & Lobster in Tierra Verde for lunch.


Shoot, we are on vacation. Nobody's in a hurry. We enjoyed the view of the canal, and looked at the collection of trophy fish on the walls.


Later at Fort DeSoto Park we hung out on the beach. We like to go to this beach on the weekends, because you can find parking and there's plenty of room on the beach. I can't remember everything we did, but it took all afternoon. Floating in the water, walking on the beach, floating in the water some more, etc. It's my favorite beach for a quiet natural setting.

After sunset we went to the German Crepes House in Tierra Verde (1120 Pinellas Bayway, Saint Petersburg, FL 33715). They have the best beer in the world! Carlton and Jacqueline came from Berlin to settle in Florida around the same time we did. They are great hosts. The German potato salad was good, and the Black Forest Cherry Cake is as authentic as it gets.

Day 1 of Tampa Bay Beach Vacation

We picked up my sisters from Tampa International Airport and went to Whiskey Joe's for lunch. It's a great place to land to get that Florida feeling right after getting off the plane. They have good food, good prices, and an awesome view of Tampa Bay from the Courtney Campbell Causeway.

After lunch we went to our house, unloaded luggage, changed into beach clothes, and hit the road for the Gulf Coast. We spent the rest of the afternoon at Saint Pete Beach. It's my favorite beach for times when you want a short walk from parking to the beach. Restaurants and shopping areas are also nearby if you park near the Pass-A-Grille facilities. Look for The Hurricane restaurant. It's a big gray building with pointed gables. The water was warm and the waves were fun to bounce around in. We even got Dee to ride waves on a boogie board.


We stayed for sunset. Alfonze and Jason are figuring out camera settings for sunset shots. Dee is discovering cochinas. Those are tiny, colorful clams that come out of the sand around sunset. The surf uncovers them, and they quickly dig themselves back into the sand.

Afterwards we went across the street to the Brass Monkey for a late dinner. We sat on the balcony outside where we had a view of the beach. The sunset colors continued to develop after the sun went down. After dark we saw a starry sky and lights from ships in the Gulf of Mexico.

Florida National Cemetery on Memorial Day Weekend

Florida National Cemetery is in a beautiful setting in the Withlacoochee State Forest. We came to pay our respects and visit Paul's grave. He's buried in an area with his WWII buddies.

American flags lined the roads of the cemetery for Memorial Day Weekend. Dark storm clouds loomed in the background of the sunlit park. The American flags appeared to glow in the sunlight against the dramatic sky. We made it back to the car just in time to avoid getting soaked by torrential rain.

More photos of our visit to Florida National Cemetery.

Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis for Last Mission to Hubble

We went to Kennedy Space Center to see the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis for mission STS-125. It will be the last servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope and the last flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis. It is a dangerous mission. The Hubble's maximum orbit is 350 miles above the Earth. Atlantis will have used up about half of its fuel just to reach orbit. This altitude is where most other satellites are located, and there is a lot of space junk to contend with that could potentially damage the space shuttle. The International Space Station is at a lower orbit and would be out of reach as a safe haven in case of an emergency. Space Shuttle Endeavour is staged on the second launch pad as a rescue mission if necessary.


Space Shuttle Endeavor is on the left and Space Shuttle Atlantis is on the right.


A model showing Shuttle Atlantis servicing the Hubble Space Telescope.


The Hubble will be captured by Shuttle Atlantis and serviced on a platform in the space shuttle's payload area. This servicing mission will bring repairs and new instruments to the telescope to allow the Hubble to function through the year 2014.

The launch of mission STS-125 has been rescheduled several times since last fall. Part of the Hubble's 18 year-old communications equipment failed shortly before the mission launch in October 2008. Rather than service an instrument that might fail to communicate with scientists on Earth, the mission was changed to include upgrades and back-ups for communications.

The tickets for the launch were sold out months ago and security was only allowing ticket holders' cars to pass through to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. We arrived around 10am and there were long lines of people waiting to get in. Once inside we immediately encountered another long line of people waiting to board the buses to the launch viewing area. At past launch viewing events people took time to look around KSC. This group was ready to get right to it.


This is the special viewing area on the NASA Causeway. It is about 6 miles from the space shuttle launch pads.


Our view of Atlantis on the launchpad across the Banana River.


We waited for hours, but the time seemed to pass quickly. Merritt Island is also a nature preserve. We saw all kinds of interesting birds, jumping fish and occasionally dolphins. People had all kinds of viewing equipment and we took turns looking through one another's lenses. We met an astronomer who has worked with images from the Hubble for years. The rocket launch area is nearby and we saw a rocket inside one of the towers. The next rocket launch in June will send a lunar orbiter to scout for landing sites on the moon, and a probe to look for possible ice formations at lunar locations that are in constant darkness.

After much anticipation the countdown began. Everyone stood up to cheer and count down. 5...4...3...2...1...


Lift off!


The space shuttle is moving so fast that the sound from lift-off isn't heard until it's in the air. It starts out as a crackling sound.


Then it builds up to a roar that you can feel.


Everyone watches as the space shuttle climbs higher into the sky. It's an amazing sight!


More photos of our trip to see the launch of STS-125 Space Shuttle Atlantis


Video of the launch of STS-125 Space Shuttle Atlantis

Turn up your speakers.


Travel Recommendations

It is great to have a Sunpass for this trip in particular, because you can drive through the tolls and pay electronically instead of having to stop to pay cash. The Sunpass is a fantastic time saver when all the toll booths are backed up after shuttle launches. I highly recommend avoiding the Bee Line Expressway (FL-528) after a shuttle launch. The toll booths back up for miles and there are no rest areas between Titusville and Orlando.

Road Directions to Gulf Coast After Shuttle Launch

To drive home to Tampa after a shuttle launch we go north of Titusville taking either U.S. Route 1 or I-95 north to SR-46 to drive east towards Sanford. Near Geneva take Oviedo Road (SR- 426) south to FL-417 south. FL-417 is a toll road that takes you around Orlando and ends directly at I-4 near Disney. I-4 continous west to I-75 and the Gulf Coast.

Visiting Kennedy Space Center

The best time to visit Kennedy Space Center is on a non-shuttle-launch-day. Traffic is usually no problem in and out of Titusville. If you want to Mapquest the Kennedy Space Center, look up Orsino, Florida.

Easter Bunny Sighting at Clearwater Beach

Octopus at Honeymoon Island

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We went for a walk along the beach at Honeymoon Island and found a small octopus in the surf.

Weedon Island Preserve Observation Tower

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We walked across boardwalks over a mangrove marsh to get to the Observation Tower at Weedon Island Preserve.


Here's a view of the boardwalk from the top of the Observation Tower. You can see the roof of the Natural History Center and the Progress Energy Plant at the horizon.


The fishing pier seen from the Observation Tower.


Take the time to stop, look, and listen as you walk along the boardwalks. You're bound to discover some wildlife, like this crab.


Ibises in the salt water marsh. They are funny looking birds with long, curved beaks.


These fruits are actually miniature mangrove plants in the making called propagules. They will continue to grow longer to look like giant string beans. Eventually the propagules fall into the water and are carried away by the tide. Those that land in a place to take hold and root become trees. The roots capture more silt and debris to form islands.


Fortunately for me, there are signs along the trails to explain such details. Now I know what those big string beans are that we find at the beach in the summer.

There is always something new to discover here.

More photos of Weeden Island Preserve.

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Directions from Tampa
Drive across the Gandy Bridge and turn left at San Martin Blvd. Keep a close eye out for it as soon as you're on the St. Petersburg side of the bridge.

Preserve Hours: Daily, 7am - Sunset
Natural History Center Hours: Wednesday - Sunday 10am-4pm (closed Monday, Tuesday, and holidays)