Did you ever see a launch?

Two days prior to the launch of Apollo 17, I flew from my home near Chicago to Orlando and rented a car in Orlando. Somebody in a diner said I should get a good view from Titusville. Next to a Holiday Inn there was a vacant lot that some enterprising individual was charging a dollar to enter. I was one of the first to be there and set up a spot on the sea wall. The Saturn V looked close enough to touch across the Indian/Banana River.

Around dusk I went into the neighboring Holiday Inn for supper. As I was about to come back, I began to have doubts about whether I had been to impulsive to spend money I couldn't afford for this venture. While I was inside, however, darkness had fallen and when I came back outside the spotlights had been turned onto the Saturn V. It was gorgeous. It was as if the sky itself was saying, "Look at this!"

The launch was delayed for over an hour so it was after midnight when Apollo 17 lifted. In my mind I can still see the almost impossible brightness of the rocket chasing away the night. As it rose I could see it both in the air and reflected off the Indian River.

Most people were taking pictures but I opted for not seeing the sight through any kind of lens. It was a clear night and, several minutes later, the second stage ignition was clearly visible.

After that a feeling of pride remained. As a country we did some things right in the 1960s. The Civil Rights Act, for example. Many things we did not-so-right. I.e., Viet Nam. But NASA then, in my opinion, was the epitome of doing things right.

I never would have believed that the flight I witnessed would be the last manned flight to the moon--at least for 43 years and counting. But nothing can detract from the bravery and competence of all involved in the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo program.

Only on TV. I would have loved to see a launch in person. I imagine it would be quite a thrill.




Sorry, my defenses are up. People here have been really rude to me.

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You are a lucky person - I would have so loved to be there in person. Actually, Apollo 11 was the first launch I got to see on live TV, and I did my best to see every broadcast there was for the rest of the Apollo program - all the way to 17. I was about the same age as you, but even at that age something about it just grabbed hold of me and has never let go. I found the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon to be a very emotional ride for me - it was awesome to relive those moments and see what was going on behind the news broadcasts I was glued to back in the day.

Heres an example of a space program nerd:
My parents got me a record (yup, an LP) that was a documentary about Apollo 11. At the start of the record there was a section of radio traffic leading up to the landing.I listened to that sequence over and over (I was maybe 11 or 12). To this day I can still recite by rote, word for word, the conversation between Buzz, Neil and Capcom for the last three minutes of the landing, up to the part "you got a bunch of guys about to turn blue, we're breathing again, thanks a lot."
I was watching the Apollo 11 episode of From the Earth to the Moon with my family, and I think they may have been a little weirded out when I began saying everything they were saying on the show, about a 1/2 second ahead of them. Funny nerdy stuff, but it did demonstrate the accuracy of the documentary (and how much wasted memory is in my brain). I did however notice that they had shortened the sequence a bit, cutting out some of Aldrin calling speeds and fuel... probably boring to normal people.

Although I've never seen a launch, I've seen women friends blow up at me, and the experience was extremely loud, and it felt like the building was shaking when they did.

I'm originally from Perth Western Australia and I've been based in the UK since 1989.

In 1999 I managed to go to Daytona for the NASCAR 500. I was based in Orlando. I managed to visit the Space Centre. I had read that there was satellite launches and I was able to find out that there was one due that Sunday after the race.

I drove down there from Daytona after the race and joined the numerous people that were doing similar. The wind was fairly strong and in the end that caused a 24 hour delay.

Unfortunately, I was due to fly out early the following day and decided I did not want to travel down there again. The launch may have been cancelled again.

It's one of my regrets in life (so far) that I did not make it to see a launch - even a minor one compared to the Apollo or Shuttle launches.

I do remember that we were asked in Perth to leave our lights on although I don't recall what year that was.

I do recall watching the moon walk as we had a TV in our classroom - I'm fairly sure I was in Grade 4 (Primary School) at the time.

I saw so many launches that I can't recall which ones I saw.