Tag Archives: kennedy space center

Article Summary 13th September 2010

Posted on by
Reply

This is a list of articles that I have written on Associated Content in the last week, I hope you will take a look at them and also enjoy them.

I write on a number of topics, usually it depends on what comes into my head on any given day, so it could be a travel story, memoirs from my life, something from the daily news, or even a poem inspired by something.

This is what I have published in the last week, enjoy:

If you enjoy my writings, poetry and photographs, why not register with Associated Content, and then you can get an email every time I publish something.

Now that I am back into writing I already have a number of additional articles published.  You can also Click Here to see my latest articles, rather than wait for the next summary posting.

Article Summary 6th September 2010

Posted on by
Reply

This is a list of articles that I have written on Associated Content in the last week, I hope you will take a look at them and also enjoy them.

I write on a number of topics, usually it depends on what comes into my head on any given day, so it could be a travel story, memoirs from my life, something from the daily news, or even a poem inspired by something.

This is what I have published in the last week, enjoy:

If you enjoy my writings, poetry and photographs, why not register with Associated Content, and then you can get an email every time I publish something.

Now that I am back into writing I already have a number of additional articles published.  You can also Click Here to see my latest articles, rather than wait for the next summary posting.

Article Summary 30th August 2010

Posted on by
Reply

This is a list of articles that I have written on Associated Content in the last week, I hope you will take a look at them and also enjoy them.

I write on a number of topics, usually it depends on what comes into my head on any given day, so it could be a travel story, memoirs from my life, something from the daily news, or even a poem inspired by something.

This is what I have published in the last week, enjoy:

  • When the drink driving restrictions were brought into the UK in the 1960′s, it changed the eating and drinking habits of much of the population.
  • There must be 20 or more Blue Tits that come to visit the bird feeders in our garden every day. These are just a few of them, enjoying stocking up on peanuts.
  • Whether it’s a headline in a tabloid newspaper or the subject of an article or web page, a catchy headline can often make you wonder just what the article is about. So what is this article about you might wonder?
  • For anyone interested in the exploration of Space, the Space Shuttle program or the International Space Station, a visit to the Kennedy Space Center is something that is literally out of this world.
  • This weeks edition of Offbeat News has some really weird stories, including a woman with a mortal fear of bananas, a boy with his head stuck in a toilet seat, a wizard brand of condoms, and a swarm of bees surrounding a police car.
  • Welcome aboard our tour of the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. These are some photographs of rockets from the late 1950′s and early 1960′s, the Mercury and Gemini programs.
  • Why are there so many strange bird names I wonder. I can understand the Blackbird being called as it is, because it’s a Black Bird, but why is a Robin a Robin for example.
  • This is a poem about the wonderful fall colors, the orange, red, yellow and gold hues that the Maple leaves turn in the Midwest USA as Summer comes to an end.
  • One of the most interesting parts of the Rocket Garden was the various plaques that showed the development of new technologies in engines, launch pads etc, throughout the 1960′s and up to the first Moon Landing.
  • This is an entry for Karen’s Writing Challenge: Judy’s head had become cluttered and so she left her office and headed off to the local park
  • The Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center has some really unique items from the Apollo program, like an Apollo Capsule, Service Arm and White Room.
  • The visitor center at Kennedy Space Center has some maps that show the layout of Cape Canaveral, the buildings, launch pads, and landing zone etc. There is so much more there than you would have imagined.
  • In this part of the tour of Kennedy Space Center we take a tour of the launch pads, and see some of the lesser known pads used to launch unmanned missions, and also the launch viewing area.

If you enjoy my writings, poetry and photographs, why not register with Associated Content, and then you can get an email every time I publish something.

Now that I am back into writing I already have a number of additional articles published.  You can also Click Here to see my latest articles, rather than wait for the next summary posting.

STS-119 A Beautiful Launch

Posted on by
2

Having been postponed twice before, this evening’s launch of the Space Shuttle’s STS-119 mission was perfect.

As launch time arrived, the sun had just gone down, but it was still light outside, and the sky was perfectly clear and turning turquoise as the light began to fade.

I was all ready for the launch to begin, out on the balcony of my 7th floor condo with my laptop set to NASA.  The internet feed on the NASA site must run between 20-30 seconds behind real time,  so as soon as the countdown clock reached THREE – TWO – ONE – you could see the red glow, really stretching out against the turquoise sky.  This is as compared to later night flights where you can see a dimmer glow and a fainter white trail.   This time the trail was amazing, starting off reddish purple where the sun was shining on it, then lightening to pure white, almost luminous as the sun shone fully on it.  As the boosters ignited just before separation, using the binoculars  you could see the three engines , and then after separation the shuttle dimmed to become like a small bright shooting star as it headed off over the coast, until it finally disappeared out of sight three or four minutes later.

The sun remained shining on the trail, which continued to rise in the clear blue evening sky, until finally there was a pinkish cloud and a spectacular white one next to it, the sunlight making it look almost eerie and sending shivers down my back.

Altogether the best launch I have seen from home, and not bad for 200 miles away.  I was just sad I didn’t have my camera or camcorder, since Debbie has those in England.

I live on the 7th floor of a condominium block, with a balcony that looks northeast, and although I live almost 200 miles south of Cape Canaveral, as long as the sky is clear and it is an evening or night launch, it is possible to see this from home.

Debbie and I were fortunate enough to see the launch of STS-120 from Titusville on 23rd October 2007, which is only 12 miles from the launchpad, and the closest viewing point, unless you are fortunate to be one of the 2,000 people who get to watch from the causeway at Kennedy Space Center, but although I tried for tickets, they sold out online in under two minutes.

I took hundreds of pictures of that launch, here are a few so you can get a glimpse of that wonderful day.