Shuttle launch in May

[cattprez]

so i've just found out that there "will" be a shuttle launch while im at WDW in may and i am soooooooo EXCITED!!!

however, ii dont want to go out to the space centre to view it as everfyone will be there and my mum and i would like to spend a whole other day there while we are in florida....

my question is... do they do tours just to VIEW the launch? how hard would it be to hire a car (you guys drive on the otherside of the road so thatwill be hard) and drive out there... or would a taxi take us?

i know that the launches are unpredictable and dont want to waste money... anyone know of any good sites to view from?:sohappy:

 

[weluvtink]

I have no idea what kind of tours the space center has. We were in Epcot in 1996 and saw a shuttle. It was awesome, even though we were far away you could tell what is was.

 

[donsullivan]

Your best bet is to go to the Kennedy Space Center website where you can get all of the specifics on the general visitor center and what you'll see as well as options to purchase tickets for launches.

http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/

Another option for launches only is Gray Line who run shuttle launch viewing tours that get you within 6 miles of the launch pad. You can find them at:

http://officialspaceshuttletours.com/

One thing to keep in mind though is that it is very common for shuttle launches to get delayed for one reason or another. While the launch may be 'scheduled' for that date and time, history suggests that a lot can happen that can impact the actual launch schedule by minutes, hours or days.

I can tell you that if the weather is good a great place to see a shuttle launch is the top of the Contemporary. I saw the Jul 4th launch a couple of years ago from there and the visibility was great.

I hope you get to see it though, it's a pretty amazing thing to watch even from afar.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I watched it from by the pool at the Caribbean Beach Resort. It was far away but I could still tell that it was a shuttle. Maybe if I had had binoculars I could have seen more.

 

[Slipknot]

Two cool places I have seen a shuttle launch: On the roof of Great Movie Ride (long story...)and the front cab of monorail red.

 

[pixel-dust]

I can see it from the West coast of Florida, so it can be seen pretty well from a distance. It really depends on how close you want to be. The launch is nothing like on TV- you dont get the close up views.

Even when you head to Kennedy, you cant get close enough.

My suggestion is to hit the beaches near there- We saw the launch from Daytona Beach and it was pretty spectacular, even thogh far away.

 

[Disneylover1302]

Two cool places I have seen a shuttle launch: On the roof of Great Movie Ride (long story...)and the front cab of monorail red.

I would love to hear that story about being on the rooftop of the great movie ride!

 

[Greenheart22]

We have seen 4 Shuttle Launches from WDW. Our favorite place to watch is in Epcot. Stand on the bridge between Future World and World Showcase. Look just to the left of Test Track; that is where you will see the shuttle.
We went to Epcot for the last night Shuttle launch. 5 minutes before the launch it began to pour down rain. When the Shuttle launched the entire horizon lit up. We saw the shuttle for about 10 seconds before the cloud cover blocked the view. We then dashed for shelter.
Greenheart22

 

[PrinceDon]

I have seen 3 launches from the KSC and one from a WDW bus as it turned the corner. I would say if you aren't going to be on the east coast you might as well find a place in the parks. Seeing a launch from KSC is amazing, if you get a chance do it. We weren't able to get launch tickets a couple of years ago and did the grays line tour, but...we had to get up at 3:00 am for an afternoon launch. They have to get the buses searched and through security, then they take you out and you sit and wait...hours. Luckily we were able to get a seat under a tent while we waited.
You can monitor the progress over at nasaspaceflight.com...great site!
Good luck!
-Don

 

[hooters dude]

so i've just found out that there "will" be a shuttle launch while im at WDW in may and i am soooooooo EXCITED!!!

however, ii dont want to go out to the space centre to view it as everfyone will be there and my mum and i would like to spend a whole other day there while we are in florida....

my question is... do they do tours just to VIEW the launch? how hard would it be to hire a car (you guys drive on the otherside of the road so thatwill be hard) and drive out there... or would a taxi take us?

i know that the launches are unpredictable and dont want to waste money... anyone know of any good sites to view from?:sohappy:

Hi, I go to florida every year with my wife from the UK and have seen the shuttle launch from the Magic Kingdom (it rises from behind Space Mountain for best view there) and from right near the space centre (for a night launch). If you hire a car you can drive to a place called Titusville and park up and watch from the coast. You can actually see the space centre (just) from there and the take offs are amazing! It takes about just over an hour to drive there from the parks, hope this helps

:wave:

 

[wdwmagic]

This is what a shuttle launch looks like from Epcot.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/Attractions...uttle-Endeavour-STS-118-launch-over-Epcot.htm

 

[eroyee]

We've seen it from CB also.

 

[accord99cutie]

I saw it from the Coronado Springs pool. It was to the left of the pyramid when we were sitting at the pool bar. It was really neat to watch even though it really was soooo far away!

 

[hokielutz]

Very interesting thing with the May Launch....

There is actually 2 scheduled for the same week.

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html

STS-125 Launch on May 12. Shuttle Atlantis to repair and service the Hubble one last time.

STS-127 Launch on May 15. Shuttle Endeavour to deliver portion of Japanese lab to the station.


A 3 day window between launches??? Even though it is two separate missions, I find this a little incredible... but if they can do it within the same week... big time kudos to NASA - and I am sure it will generate a ton of press buzz for that week.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Very interesting thing with the May Launch....

There is actually 2 scheduled for the same week.

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html

STS-125 Launch on May 12. Shuttle Atlantis to repair and service the Hubble one last time.

STS-127 Launch on May 15. Shuttle Endeavour to deliver portion of Japanese lab to the station.


A 3 day window between launches??? Even though it is two separate missions, I find this a little incredible... but if they can do it within the same week... big time kudos to NASA - and I am sure it will generate a ton of press buzz for that week.

Might have to go down and photograph those.....

 

[Yoop33]

I wouldn't suggest taking a taxi out there as it will be very expensive.. Renting a car may be a better idea... Or hell I'll even take you for a nominal fee. I do have a nice big Expedition. lol Is the launch scheduled for night or day? If it is at night then you can see it from almost anywhere in Fl. The last one was at night and was amazing.. If its during the day you can still see it from almost anywhere but you have to be able to find it sometimes. If you want to go over there then take the 528 to cocoa beach.. You will have a great view from there... Or even cruise port. Good luck

 

[Ralphlaw]

Looooooong ride back

We went to Kennedy Space Center in November to see the launch, and it was crowded. We saw the launch in a July 4th like atmosphere. That was cool. And the ride there was only an hour long.

Then we took the 5 hour ride back to Disney. I kid you not--5 hours! And for some friends of ours, it took 7 hours. The traffic did not speed up to normal until we got around to the Orlando airport, otherwise it was stop and go (slowly) up to that point.

The launch from Kennedy was cool, but the traffic jam back was not worth it. Nothing much in my life is worth a 5 hour traffic jam, and this certainly was not. We would have been happier staying at Disney and finding a clear spot to see it from there.

 

[WDW Monorail]

Very interesting thing with the May Launch....

There is actually 2 scheduled for the same week.

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html

STS-125 Launch on May 12. Shuttle Atlantis to repair and service the Hubble one last time.

STS-127 Launch on May 15. Shuttle Endeavour to deliver portion of Japanese lab to the station.


A 3 day window between launches??? Even though it is two separate missions, I find this a little incredible... but if they can do it within the same week... big time kudos to NASA - and I am sure it will generate a ton of press buzz for that week.

Might have to go down and photograph those.....

There have been very few times when shuttles were sitting on both pads at the same time. It is an interesting site to see.

 

[Rabflmom]

There have been very few times when shuttles were sitting on both pads at the same time. It is an interesting site to see.

I doubt that both will be launching in May. The one on the 12th is an 11 day mission. They have never had 2 shuttles out in space at the same time so doubt the one on the 15 th will launch that day. Or it could be the one on the 15th will launch and the one on the 12th be rescheduled. Shoot at this point in time maybe both will be rescheduled or cancelled.

But if you want to get to the coast to see it and not drive, in Nov. there were people on some boards talking about taking a tour which brought you to the beach to watch it. I'll check to see if I can find the tour company they were looking into.

 

[WDW Monorail]

I doubt that both will be launching in May. The one on the 12th is an 11 day mission. They have never had 2 shuttles out in space at the same time so doubt the one on the 15 th will launch that day. Or it could be the one on the 15th will launch and the one on the 12th be rescheduled. Shoot at this point in time maybe both will be rescheduled or cancelled.

But if you want to get to the coast to see it and not drive, in Nov. there were people on some boards talking about taking a tour which brought you to the beach to watch it. I'll check to see if I can find the tour company they were looking into.

I was thinking the same. The updated schedule does not list STS-125 at all. I hope it has not been canceled.

I suppose that 2 shuttles could be up at the same time on this occasion. STS-125 will be to Hubble which is a couple of hundred miles higher in altitude than the ISS, which will receive STS-127.