Too little too late

With NASA’s announcement of postponing Discovery’s launch date from May to mid-July, Leah and I were thinking about going down to KSC and watch the launch. The last time we went for a launch at KSC more than 3 years ago, bad weather at the backup emergency recovery site at Spain causes the launch to be scrubbed twice. It was a night launch and I was planning to propose to Leah as the shuttle ascends right after it cleared the tower. Alas, I proposed to Leah in a Orlando steak house! Not really the same thing…

But since we left it this late, all the good tickets are already been sold out, and the remaining ones are viewing from the Astronaut Hall of Fame which, although close, is more than a few miles away from the launch pad.

So I am tasked to keep my eyes out for the next space shuttle launch, the Atlantis, around the September time (KSC can only put tickets on sale for the upcoming launch). I guess it works out pretty well since the weather at Orlando around July time isn’t that great, while weather during September is almost perfect. It is a shame though that there will no more night launches due to CAIB recommendation of daylight launch for ideal lighting condition for camera tracking and monitoring.