STS-123 - A Space Geek’s Pilgrimage : Part II

Hello All!

I just rolled into beautiful Cocoa Beach Florida. What a day - sixteen straight hours of driving since 4 a.m. First off, a few notes for anyone who will be traveling in the same direction:

Southern Illinois : not a bad trip, traffic was light and the roads were clear, but do keep in mind this was at 4 a.m.

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Kentucky/Northern Tennessee : Key word - Frustrating. Apparently they received a meager few inches of snow. Even though they had snow plows out they obviously don’t know how to use them. I spent almost two hours doing 35 mph in a 70 mph zone driving over an inch of day old snow. :S

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Georgia : These people can DRIVE! I made amazing time through Georgia and what a beautiful state. Downtown Atlanta has a wonderful skyline. I love seeing it when architects do more than just build something big and square. St. Louis, you suddenly leave me wanting a little more.

Florida: Once again GREAT drivers. At one point I was involved in what, for legal reasons, I will simply refer to as a “cannonball” run down the middle of the state with a few other cars. Lets just say it would have made NASCAR jealous. The scenery was a little more bland as trees run along the side of most roads. But the weather and the smell of the air was simply awesome

Okay, back to business. Tomorrow I will be spending the entire day at Kennedy Space Center going through exhibits, demonstrations, tours and a private bus tour. Can you say Endeavour on the launch pad? So exciting! Once again I implore anyone who has any requests for some hi-res photos or information to send me a request. I will do my best to accommodate. As for tonight, I’m off to downtown Cocoa Beach to take in a little bit of the night life.

I’ll catch you all on the flip side.

-Scott

1. Paolo Amoroso Says:
   March 9th, 2008 at 5:28 am

   See my comment to your previous post for some tips: http://www.astronomycast.com/LIVE/scottmiller/sts-123/sts-123-a-space-geeks-pilgrimage/#comment-126

   If you have the opportunity, be sure to do the KSC “Then And Now” tour. If you have to decide between the “Up Close” and the former tour, pick “Then And Now”. Also, be sure not to miss the IMAX 3D shows and the Shuttle Launch Experience at the Visitor Complex.

2. Scott Miller Says:
   March 9th, 2008 at 8:19 am

   Paolo,

   Thanks for the advice! I appreciate the input on the tours too.

   Scott

3. Katrina Says:
   March 9th, 2008 at 3:45 pm

   Hi Scott,

   Where will you be observing the launch from?

   Some astronomy club friends and I recently returned to Toronto from watching STS-122’s launch back in early Feb. It was amazing, something I will remember for a long time. I would love to go again, in fact. Just have to get to the causeway or the media centre somehow! Causeway tickets sell out so fast.

   We did the “NASA UP Close” tour, and it was great. In fact, we did it the day after 122 launched, and were really interested to see the dust on the bushes around the launch pad. My friend pointed out to me that we should also look out for debris in the fences. We were quite close to the launch pad, and saw a crawler very close. It was also really interesting to me to see the administrative building where the astronauts do their “walk out” from. The VAB is also a building that needs to be seen to be believed, and the nearby media centre with that big countdown clock that I see on NASA TV all the time.

   However, I was a bit disappointed that the tour was quite regimented, and didn’t allow for much exploring.

   Do the regular (i.e. free) bus tour when you can too - it allows you to get your bearings, and you can hop on/off and hang out at the stops. Buses run all day, although the hours at the KSC are not as long as I would like - only 9-5 (except on launch day).

   Katrina

4. BC Says:
   March 9th, 2008 at 5:32 pm

   Hey, nice blog! I just wanted to point out that it is spelled Endeavour, named after captain James Cook’s ship.

5. Scott Miller Says:
   March 9th, 2008 at 8:25 pm

   Katrina,

   I’m glad you were able to view a launch personally. I can’t wait for tomorrow night myself. I also did the up close tour, and also felt things were a bit regimented. Unfortunately I don’t have causeway tickets. Hmm Maybe I can have Prof. Gay pull some strings and get me into the media area for August’s launch (hint hint Prof.)

   BC,

   Thanks for the compliment and the spell check. I’ll correct that!

   Scott

6. Clair Says:
   March 10th, 2008 at 8:28 am

   Scott,

   Re: Atlanta.
   You got lucky.

   Don’t come through downtown during rush hour!

7. Scott Miller Says:
   March 10th, 2008 at 9:23 am

   Clair,

   I was warned that Atlanta can be a mess. I came through on a Saturday afternoon. I’m afraid on my return trip I won’t be so lucky.

   Scott

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