DHS & Space Shuttle Launch?

[Dyanna]

We will be visiting DHS on Monday Nov 10th which also happens to be the same date NASA will be launching Space Shuttle Endevour at 9:30pm if all goes well. Since I have never seen a shuttle launch I was hoping I could catch a glimpse of it heading to space while in the park that evening. Can anyone tell me which direction in DHS I would have to face to possibly see it if it is viewable from the parks at all.

[Strmchsr]

You can definitely see it on a clear day. Just look to the east/northeast.

[thumperbug]

In my June 2007 trip ( I think) I was walking thru the lobby and saw people rushing outside to the back and pointing at the sky. I looked up at what I thought was a plane that exploded in they sky (as did many other guests) but it was then explained that it was the space shuttle taking off. Had no idea it was due to launch and considered myself lucky to have seen it.

[ariel326]

I've been lucky enough to have been there twice for launch, had actully set alarm for middle of the night and it was worth it. There is also going to be a launch on October 12 hopefully the weather will be cooperative and you will be able to see this awesome event. When I saw it we were at one of the All Star Resorts and went to the third floor for the view.

[Ed]

From WDW, the most you'll see is a small bright spot headed upward and trailing a bright white smoke trail, and you'll only see that if the skies are very clear between WDW and the Cape.

So far, NASA's website is not listing a launch time.

If there's any way you can break away from the parks and drive out to the coast for the launch, the up-close view is literally breathtaking.

[Ed]

There is also going to be a launch on October 12 ...

NASA's website shows no launches scheduled for Oct 12th - - just the shuttle launch scheduled for October 8th, time TBD.

[ariel326]

NASA's website shows no launches scheduled for Oct 12th - - just the shuttle launch scheduled for October 8th, time TBD.

OOPS SORRY..

[Goofy Forever]

We saw Discovery "return to space" after the Columbia tragedy. We were at DHS (MGM at the time) right outside the gates to the motor cars stunt show. We looked east and saw it. CMs (I assume) were standing on the roof of motor cars to watch.

[grwoolf]

We were watching Fantasmic one night and we saw what we thought was the shuttle being launched (everyone around us also thought is was the shuttle, it could not be missed). We heard later that it was a launch, but not the shuttle. Still pretty cool.

[Marker]

If I were there on the day of a launch, I think I'd have to rent a car and drive over to see it.

We were there for the launch on July 4, 2006. We were out at the beach (near the south end of Patrick AFB) staying with relatives. The launch was an awesome sight to see. I'd love to catch another one sometime. I'd be more that willing to sacrifice a day in the park to go see it. But that's just me.

[MNNHFLTX]

You should be able to see the launch from DHS, it will just not be as spectacular as it would be if you were closer. During the day the launch would look like a bright white light ascending into the sky, but at night it tends to have an orangish hue. Just look to the east and you won't be able to miss it.

[Ed]

NASA has re-scheduled STS-125 to Friday, October 10th at 12:33 am - - another nighttime launch!


Date: Oct. 10 +
Mission: STS-125
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Atlantis
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: 12:33 a.m. EDT
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility
Landing Date and Time: Oct. 20 +
Description: Space Shuttle Atlantis will fly seven astronauts into space for the fifth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. During the 11-day flight, the crew will repair and improve the observatory's capabilities through 2013.

[Auroring Good Time]

I was in MK in December a couple of years ago and saw a night time launch. It was amazing. The sky brightened and then we saw two lights blazing up into the sky. It was a really special evening as there was then a marriage proposal followed by the fireworks. Truly magical.

[WDWdriver]

NASA has re-scheduled STS-125 to Friday, October 10th at 12:33 am - - another nighttime launch!

Yep. Ed is right, as usual. Atlantis is scheduled to launch at 12:33 am, so you won't be watching from DHS. You can step outside your hotel and look to the east. If the sky is clear you will see the shuttle rise above the horizon about ten seconds after the launch. The exhaust flame from the engines will appear as a very bright elongated light. You won't be close enough to see the shuttle itself.

If you are feeling adventurous and you have a car, you could drive over to the Titusville area and watch from there. You will be watching from directly across the Intracoastal Waterway, and you will have a great view of the entire launch sequence and liftoff. An excellent viewing spot is Spaceview Park at the northern end of Titusville just off of highway A1A. The Astronaut Walk of Fame is there too, and provides a nice way to spend the time waiting. A live broadcast of the countdown and launch via NASA TV is normally broadcast in Spaceview Park, which is another reason to view from there. However, because this park is well known as an excellent viewing spot, you must arrive there at least three hours before the launch to secure a good viewing spot.

BTW, last year I watched a shuttle launch, along with some other CMs, from the very top of Expedition Everest. We were standing at the place where the train stops and reverses because the track ahead is broken and twisted. We had a really good view of the launch and all of WDW.

[Fryguy]

We don't arrive there until Friday night, looks like we may miss this one, or if we get lucky and it gets delayed - be able to see it.

We are renting a car while we are there, are there any other good places to go see a launch?, that is, besides the Cape?

[Ed]

NASA has re-scheduled STS-125 to Friday, October 10th at 12:33 am - - another nighttime launch!

This launch has been rescheduled again...

CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA is delaying next month's shuttle launch to the Hubble Space Telescope because of problems stemming from Hurricane Ike and replacement parts for the observatory.

Space shuttle Atlantis is now set to blast off late at night on Oct. 14 for the last visit to the orbiting telescope. Liftoff had been scheduled for the wee hours of Oct. 10, technically making this a five-day postponement.

Atlantis' seven astronauts lost a week of training because of Hurricane Ike. The hurricane shut down the Johnson Space Center in Houston, which did not reopen until this week. On Wednesday, the astronauts finished a practice countdown at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Payload problems also contributed to the delay.

The target launch date for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope has been reset to Oct. 14 at 10:19 p.m. EDT.

[Fryguy]

Cool!

We will be done there for this launch, provided it launched 10/14.

Thanks for the info!

[Dyanna]

This is good news still as this will be our last night at WDW before we leave the next afternoon.

[Ed]

Well, now I have to rain on your parade.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- NASA said Monday that it is delaying its mission to the Hubble Space Telescope until next year because of a serious breakdown of the observatory in orbit.


The Atlantis team was scheduled to blast off October 14 to make other repairs and upgrades on the Hubble.

Space shuttle Atlantis had been scheduled to blast off in just two weeks, but an unexpected problem with the Hubble appeared Saturday night, when the telescope stopped sending science data.

That potentially means a new repair issue for the astronauts to confront, one they haven't trained for and never anticipated.

The failure of the command and data-handling system for Hubble's science instruments means the telescope is unable to capture and beam down the data needed to produce its stunning deep space images.

Early Monday afternoon, NASA announced that the October 14 launch had been postponed until at least early next year, possibly February.

[Dyanna]

Yeah. I read ths very same article here this morning in my local Long Island newspaper. Well one day I sure hope to see a launch before its too late