Coast to Coast: A Launch Only a Space Geek Could Love
Would you get out of bed at 2 AM for a rocket launch?
That’s what we did last night. United Launch Alliance sent a communications satellite into orbit at 1:55 AM EST. The launch window opened at 12:50 AM but was delayed twice due to high winds at upper altitudes, so we got up at 12:30 AM and waited … and waited …
Click Here to watch video of the launch. You need Windows Media Player and a broadband (cable modem, DSL) Internet connection to watch. This was filmed from our driveway in north Merritt Island, about five miles from the Kennedy Space Center south gate.
As always, a reminder that sounds travels slower than light, which is why you don’t hear the roar of the engines until nearly a minute later.
Stephen C. Smith
