Attend a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral (USA) - Road trip in Florida #8

The best thing about traveling is that sometimes you have incredible experiences without having anticipated them

Last Monday evening, I logged on to the Kennedy Space Center site in Cape Canaveral, which we visited the next day. The purpose of this connection is quite simple: to see if I can get cheaper tickets online than on site

So I discover completely by chance that on Wednesday (the day after our visit), there is a rocket launch planned to put a GPS satellite into orbit. This launch is organized by the company United Launch Alliance (ULA).

Ouahou !!!! It seems so crazy to watch a rocket launch that I didn’t even imagine there could be one during our stay

We hesitate a little bit because that modifies slightly our program (and makes us lose the night of hotel reserved for Wednesday evening which isn’t cancelable) but we decide quickly

We will visit the Kennedy Space Center not one but two days in a row.

The first one to visit it in a classical way, the second one to attend the launch

It is possible to attend the launch without spending a single dollar (the launch schedule is available on the Kennedy Center website). If you’ve ever watched documentaries on the conquest of space, you may have in mind these images of crowds massed around the Banana River. However, you need to know a little bit about the places to get the right spot

Since it is done at the last moment and we do not want to take any risks, we prefer not to choose this solution

As soon as you have a ticket for the Kennedy Space Center, attending the launch is included in the ticket

By paying a supplement to the basic ticket, you can

Attend the launch from the LC-39 Observation Gantry. This is the former assembly and launch center for the Saturn V rocket of the Apollo program. It is a priori the best place to attend the launches from the SLC-40 (SpaceX) and SLC-41(ULA) complexes. It costs $49 in addition to admission to the Kennedy Space Center. Tickets were already sold out when we looked.
Watch the launch from the Banana Creek Launch Viewing Area (right next to Saturn V and Apollo Center). This option is charged $20 in addition to the entrance tickets. That’s what we chose.

Morning wake-up at 5:30 am on Wednesday for a departure at 6 am. We were told to be on site at 6:15 am (launch is scheduled for 9 am)

Our hotel is only 20 minutes by car (Apollo Inn in Cocoa (Booking link)) but we are a bit afraid of traffic jams, the launch of a rocket being a real event on the spot

There are indeed slowdowns due to a military checkpoint.

We worry when we see the cars in front of us presenting a card to the soldier. We must look like perfect tourists because he asks us simply if we go well to the Kennedy Space Center and lets us pass

One arrives on the spot around 6:30 am not without paying the 10 dollars of parking (the carparks are a real business in the United States!)

We then take the shuttle which deposits us directly at Saturn V and Apollo Center. These are the same buses which make the “bus tour” and whose price is included in the classic ticket of the Space Center but from 9 am (10 am if a launch is planned), not from 6:30 am 🙂

We arrive on the spot and we discover the stands from which we will be able to attend the launch. The seats aren’t numbered: first come, first served. But it is rather well done and the visibility is good and similar for everyone

We also have at our disposal on our right a giant screen that broadcasts live what you can observe at each launch on the ULA site. Knowing that there is a gap of 30 seconds between what is broadcasted and reality

On our left, we can see the official countdown

We are especially assisted by a specialist who is going to comment everything that is going to take place, it is very interesting. He advises us not to try to take pictures but to enjoy the launch with the eyes. He is right and we will apply this advice.

Today’s launch consists of putting into orbit the Global Positioning System III SV-2 satellite, which is the second of the new generation of GPS (IIIA) currently under test. It is also the final of 29 missions for the Delta IV Medium launcher, which is being used for the last time

We have a 27 minute shooting window. Before 9:00 am it is too early, after 9:27 am it will be too late. The shooting window is more or less long according to the trajectory of the rocket and the place where it must arrive. When a launch aims to reach the international station ISS, it is done to the exact second!

At first, we thought that the launch pad of the day was the one right in front of us, our visibility is incredible! False joy, it is the LC-39 ramp (where are the visitors who paid 49 dollars). SNIF.

We also see the launch pad of the Space X rockets (SLC-40).

The one we are interested in today is more to the right and farther away, we are 12.8 km from the launch (vs 8.9 km for the lucky/rich/forecasters at 49$ :D). The view is totally clear but binoculars would still be welcome

The wait is long but the setting is magnificent. We are on a protected site and the wait has some surprises in store for us: we are entitled to a “crowd/panic movement” whena frog appears to scare everyone.

We see an alligator walking very quietly in the river, it was well worth a ride on an airboat in the Everglades to see some 🙂 We also observe many fishes jumping in the water

If we add the sunrise and the numerous contrasts of light thanks to the clouds, the frame is really sumptuous!

Only the strong heat, with no shade, makes the wait a real ordeal. P/s: take sunscreen and a big hat, the sun is beating down

The weather, let’s talk about it, is the subject of concern. Clouds trigger an alert that could jeopardize the launch. Meteorologists are also monitoring two rainy episodes near the launch area

We also learn that a hydrogen leak has been identified. It worries us a little bit but we think it could be a very classic problem

Finally, everything seems to be set, the launch time is shifted by 5 minutes and the countdown can start. You really think you’re in a movie when you hear the mission control running through the checklist. The “GOs” follow one another and the audience exclaims enthusiastically when they hear the “ready to launch”.

9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. Let’s go!

In spite of the distance, we can hear the rocket roar. One can clearly distinguish the fireball and the cloud of smoke generated

The rocket rises towards the sky at a high speed and follows an oblique trajectory towards our left. It is partially masked by clouds before reappearing. The noise is more important at the moment when the rocket exceeds the speed of sound. The rocket already disappears and it is on the giant screen that we see the ejection of the first stage of the rocket

Thewait lasted for hours, the “action” lasted only a few tens of seconds, but what an incredible experience we were lucky enough to live!

We are dripping with sweat and hurry to the Apollo center to discover the impressive Saturn V rocket, the Apollo 14 capsule, a replica of the lunar module …

The magic continues and I have stars in my eyes! (the travel diary & complete vlog of the two days at the Kennedy Space Center is available here)

For info, we stayed at Apollo Inn in Cocoa (link Booking), 20mn drive away. I highly recommend it, it’s very clean.

This article is part of our series of Road Trip in FloridaYou can find all other travel books here:

Attend a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral (USA) – Road trip in Florida #8

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