Launch Day

After rising at 2am, we made our way to catch the bus from Orlando to Kennedy Space Center to see the launch of STS-135 Atlantis on its mission to the International Space Station. The bus ride took a little over an hour and then by about 5:30 we had staked out our seats near the Rocket Garden.

Pre-dawn at the Rocket Garden
MWilkinson

It is all "so amazing" as Alexandra said. A day full of emotion. Anticipation of the launch, the excitement and awesome power as the shuttle lifts off. Uncertainty with the weather, which while comfortable for us human types, with a slight breeze and reasonable temps. But there are some dense clouds in the area that could prevent the launch. We are waiting to hear the report from the weather briefing at about 7:30am.

There is a constant buzz of energy in the crowd as people pass the time visiting, eating, sleeping, watching NASA tv, playing games, tweeting, taking photos. There is a beautiful shot of Atlantis on the jumbo tv screen. Clouds rolling in from all different directions and heights. Patches of blue directly overhead. It's all up to Kathy Winters (NASA meteorologist) and her team now.

The crew is suiting up now. We shall see what happens next.