Rocket Launch !

We had a great time in Cape Canaveral and look forward to returning in the near future, most likely in 2017 when the U.S. returns to a manned space program. One of the highlights was experiencing a live rocket launch. Our first experience was on September 7, 2014 when NASA launched a rocket at 1:00AM. We were about to go to bed when we heard this loud roar that just kept getting louder and louder shaking the coach at the same time. We had not checked the launch site and this launch had been delayed from August so it was a surprise to most of us, especially in the middle of the night. Anyway we found out the next rocket launch was scheduled for September 16, 2014. We were scheduled to leave on September 11th so we extended until the 17th. We had no assurances the next launch would go as scheduled but felt we'd miss out on something special if we didn't wait it out. We weren't disappointed, but we did have to wait almost three hours for the weather to clear. A daytime launch would have been awesome but the nighttime launch was pretty impressive.

We walked to the end of the fishing pier to attempt at getting the best possible place to take pictures. We were a little apprehensive looking at the cloud cover as the launch time approached.

We could see the rocket on the launch pad. If you look closely, you can see it on the right side of the picture about a third of the way from the right. 

The launch window was 6:08PM to 8:10PM. About 5PM we had a downpour but it was short lived. We arrived at our photo spot about 5:45PM.

What can you do? Launch time passed and now we wait. Fortunately, we brought our chairs and our phones so we were able to get minute updates as the launch time was pushed back. Everyone was friendly and in good spirits. Of course, the beer the gal has in her hand helped some...:-)

At 8PM, launch control announced the launch was ON at 8:10PM. Anticipation built and finally, at exactly 8:10 the sky began to glow. I had my camera and my Ipad ready, one on stills and the other on time delay. Here are the awesome photos.

And just like that --- it was OVER.....but, WOW, what a rush....!