Yeah, it looks pretty far away to be a "VIP viewing area" doesn't it? And the people there aren't very "important" are they? True enough...but those "VIP" viewing areas are about as close as you can get to the launch pad. I saw a launch of Discovery from the "VIP viewing area" that was about as far away from the pad as the Vehicle Assembly Building, approximately 3.5 miles, which sounds depressingly far away, but you wouldn't WANT to be much closer than that, I found out.
....I didn't have ear plugs, didn't think I would need them, but even 3.5 miles away, I wish I'd had some...the acoustic shock waves felt like somebody jabbing an icepick in my ears a few times a second...some of the VIPs probably are real VIPs...but most are people like myself who luckily had some kind of connection...in my case, a friend who has a cousin who works at NASA...those people can hand out a small number of passes a year to anyone, and I was lucky enough to get one.
@leisulin Remember that cameras distort so this is much closer to the pad than it appears. I watched a launch of Atlantis from the press area (about 3 miles from the pad) and every detail on the vehicle was visible as she took to the skies. Even at three miles, we could feel the heat on our faces from the SRB thrust being vectored in our direction :) So while it looks far away on camera, it's VERY close to the naked eye. Which launch did you see?
At 3.5 miles away, very little further than you were, I didn't feel heat on my face from the SRBs. I find that difficult to believe. Also, without the zoom on my video camera, I certainly wouldn't have been able to see "every detail". Perhaps you mean looking through the zoom on your own camera or maybe your eyes are a lot better than mine. The launch I went to was a launch of Discovery in 1998? 1997? Same launch that provided footage for the movie Space Cowboys.
@leisulin It also depends on the weather conditions. Friends of mine watched from the same spot for other launches but weren't able to feel it because conditions weren't right. As for the details, I mean with the naked eye. I remember seeing the different shades of orange on the tank, rings on the SRBs, cockpit windows, etc. The launch you saw was STS-96 Discovery in May 1999. I was at STS-132 Atlantis in May 2010.
@leisulin As for the VIPs, they're usually families of astronauts and workers, invited Congressional guests, dignitaries from foreign countries and within NASA, etc. But I would call anyone who is enthusiastic enough about the program to go see a launch up close a very important person, as they have the distinct honor of being able to share that experience with everyone they meet and know for the rest of their lives :D
vip launch lol
josh111274 2 years ago
@josh111274
Yeah, it looks pretty far away to be a "VIP viewing area" doesn't it? And the people there aren't very "important" are they? True enough...but those "VIP" viewing areas are about as close as you can get to the launch pad. I saw a launch of Discovery from the "VIP viewing area" that was about as far away from the pad as the Vehicle Assembly Building, approximately 3.5 miles, which sounds depressingly far away, but you wouldn't WANT to be much closer than that, I found out.
leisulin 1 year ago
@josh111274
....I didn't have ear plugs, didn't think I would need them, but even 3.5 miles away, I wish I'd had some...the acoustic shock waves felt like somebody jabbing an icepick in my ears a few times a second...some of the VIPs probably are real VIPs...but most are people like myself who luckily had some kind of connection...in my case, a friend who has a cousin who works at NASA...those people can hand out a small number of passes a year to anyone, and I was lucky enough to get one.
leisulin 1 year ago
@leisulin Remember that cameras distort so this is much closer to the pad than it appears. I watched a launch of Atlantis from the press area (about 3 miles from the pad) and every detail on the vehicle was visible as she took to the skies. Even at three miles, we could feel the heat on our faces from the SRB thrust being vectored in our direction :) So while it looks far away on camera, it's VERY close to the naked eye. Which launch did you see?
nmoeller104 5 months ago
@nmoeller104
At 3.5 miles away, very little further than you were, I didn't feel heat on my face from the SRBs. I find that difficult to believe. Also, without the zoom on my video camera, I certainly wouldn't have been able to see "every detail". Perhaps you mean looking through the zoom on your own camera or maybe your eyes are a lot better than mine. The launch I went to was a launch of Discovery in 1998? 1997? Same launch that provided footage for the movie Space Cowboys.
leisulin 5 months ago
@leisulin It also depends on the weather conditions. Friends of mine watched from the same spot for other launches but weren't able to feel it because conditions weren't right. As for the details, I mean with the naked eye. I remember seeing the different shades of orange on the tank, rings on the SRBs, cockpit windows, etc. The launch you saw was STS-96 Discovery in May 1999. I was at STS-132 Atlantis in May 2010.
nmoeller104 5 months ago
@leisulin As for the VIPs, they're usually families of astronauts and workers, invited Congressional guests, dignitaries from foreign countries and within NASA, etc. But I would call anyone who is enthusiastic enough about the program to go see a launch up close a very important person, as they have the distinct honor of being able to share that experience with everyone they meet and know for the rest of their lives :D
nmoeller104 5 months ago