Space Shuttle Discovery on final mission; Clean launch, small disappointment for locals
Behind those clouds (follow a path up from the building bottom center about 1/2 up the sky and to the left slightly) is the Space Shuttle Discovery rising to her final mission. Clouds kept us from seeing all but the briefest glance of her fire-contrail as she roceketed skyward. Photo by Rori Paul.
As Space Shuttle Discovery made her final launch into space this afternoon as Floridians and tourists flocked to points around the state to watch. (For great travel information about Kennedy Space Center & the area, check out Places Around Florida)
I’ve heard it was clear at Kennedy Space Center, but for those of us here in Central Florida, the launch, while successful, came up a bit of a disappointment. We couldn’t see much.
A cloud cover – mind you, we’ve not had clouds in like a week – moved in this afternoon and kept us from seeing much of anything. A brief fiery contrail tagged behind the rocket, but for those of us here near Walt Disney World, only the briefest glimpse let us know she was airbourne.
I was joined in our community by more than 25 others – all age groups seemingly represented – each of us hoping for that briefest glimpse of history; a history soon to pass from reality into the history books.
Discovery is on her final mission – two other Space Shuttle missions remain before the program is mothballed – and so proud Floridians wanted to be a part of it.
For more on the mission, the Space Shuttle program and Kennedy Space Center – where our space program is based in Florida – check out the Kennedy Space Center, follow them on Twitter and Facebook.
God Speed Discovery…
