Vince Fiscus, KB7ADL wrote:
I saw one once in person. The one thing that always surprises you
is how
fast it climbs and is out of sight. There was high cloud cover on the launch I saw and in only a few seconds it was already above the clouds.
KB7ADL
When I was young my dad took me up on a large nearby hilltop and we watched a shuttle launch streak across the sky like a bright unnatural meteor.. I was amazed.
Later, when I went to college in central FL, we were at the same latitude as the cape.. On my way to classes I'd occasionally see a launch and the exhaust plumes scattering in the wind and the shuttle streaking skyward and out of sight in a matter of seconds. We were close enough that you could hear it if the conditions were right, and when it would pass through a cloud at night there would be a temporary increase in brightness from the light..
However, it really was never nearly as impressive as when I saw it streak across the sky from that hill in New Hampshire.. it was all over much too quickly.
73,
Jason N1XBP