Lift-off

Hey hey, it's been a while since I posted an entry. My blogging muse has recently ceased but I'm working on reigniting it again. Things in internship have been going really well. I've been catching up with deadlines and other than that, I've been having tons and tons of fun, especially after the Epcot visit.

I'm so privileged to be living in what the people here call Space Coast, which refers to the areas around the infamous NASA's Kennedy Space Center. One of the events that buzz around here is of course, the rocket launch.

During my internship period here, there were two rocket launches. The Atlas V was launched on October 30, 2014 to deliver supplies to the International Space Station. I was unfortunately unable to witness the launch due to catching up with deadlines (and man, did I regret not seeing it since my roommate's friend, who invited us over to join him in Playalinda beach to see the Atlas V launch, got to capture some really good close-up shots of the spacecraft. We had to turn it down though). I remember the launch was at 1.21 pm and my colleagues and I had to run out of the office just to catch the spacecraft's contrail up in the sky, with the spacecraft nowhere to be seen.

The last chance not only for my roommate and I - but as well as Florida residents - got to see the rocket launch would be today, December 5, 2014, before the next launches resume 4 years from now. However, this launch would be a big one, as it would set a milestone to mankind's lifelong dream to explore space further. The spacecraft, Orion, would have its test flight on this very day and it would eventually end up going to Mars, carrying people from Earth and eventually building a colony up there.

Interstellar much? (Gosh, I still can't get over that movie)

So this Orion launch would definitely be a historic one. It would mark the first step towards this whole space exploration/colonization saga. First, the Rosetta probe landing on a comet, and now, in less than 6 months, mankind has set another record. Orion Spacecraft would be bigger than other rockets, and even Atlas. Nobody wanted to miss a chance of witnessing the historic launch, and neither would I.

On Thursday, my roommate and I were planning to drive up to Playalinda Beach, the exact same spot where her friend took an awesome close-up shot of Atlas V launch (complete with the flame bursting out of the exhaustion pipes). However, the drive took longer than we expected and we were forced to stop by at the bridge in Titusville on the way to the beach.

So bridge was PACKED, with people having their binoculars ready and recorders set up. The launch window opened at 7.05 am, but it kept on delaying due to various circumstances.

The first delays were due to the strong ground winds, but then the next delays were caused by technical issues. I was aware of these delays since my coworker has been texting me the live updates. We had to wait for two hours before NASA had to scrub the launch and reschedule it in 24 hours.

At least we got to see the sunrise and spotted some manatees and dolphins in the river! The drive was not in vain.

So we came back the next day. Again, we were too late to go all the way to Playalinda and stopped at the same bridge. Today we came back again and arrived on time. NASA didn't disappoint us. The rocket was good to go despite the cloudy weather and lifted off on time. You can see the video below.

The rocket was smaller than what we expected. I caught a bit glimpse of the flame bursting from the exhausion pipes. Other than that, there were just thick smoke and a seemingly small white and lit-up orange and white-colored cylindrical structures heading up to the sky, leaving a thin, bright contrail. The launching seemed to be located behind the assembly building, which overlooks the river where we were at. I thought the launching would take place next to the assembly building.

If you notice in the video, right after the rocket disappeared in the clouds and my camera was pointed at the sky, a loud thundering sound would be heard (the video didn't do the justice). The bridge railing vibrated followed afterwards and Orion took off to the deep space. It was to orbit the earth for 5 hours before splashing down to Pacific Ocean.

The experience was, of course, exhilarating. It only lasted a few seconds but seeing it live was almost too good to be true. The shockwave was what blew my mind. I've heard thundering sounds coming from thunder, airplanes, and other sources, but from never from a rocket. This thundering sound was definitely distinct as it lasted much longer and it sounded softer, more stable (not rough sounding one an airplane would produce) as if it was trying to convince us down here that a historic mission was being done and it was escalating its way up through the atmospheres. The experts were clearly up to something that would affect the future of humanity though we're talking about years from now. A mark was being made, though it was just a small lit-up dot leading up to the sky from miles away, though it was just a soft thundering sound.

I have personally always been fascinated with the idea of space exploration. I've been doing some space-related design projects recently, having rebranded Virgin Galactic with the concept that space exploration offers people the opportunity to become one with the universe once they're up there. Though I know being an astronaut was the last thing I could ever think I would be, I always wanted to witness a launch in person. When I was doing the Virgin Galactic project, I binge-watched space exploration videos, including the landing on the moon and series of space shuttle and rocket launch videos, in hopes I would get the sense of what it was like to experience the outer space.

Well, I'm glad to have witnessed the event today though the view was smaller than I thought, but still, it was an experience in a life-time. I don't know what to expect next, maybe a ticket to Mars? Hopefully it's a round-trip one.

To Infinity and Beyond!!!