And possibly related.
Part of the "fun" is seeing who else is there to watch a launch. We've seen a lot of them.
We can't really see them from the house because the tree canopy is too thick, but there's a pretty decent view from the corner or down the street. And there's the park, along the river, at the ocean, near the Space Center, etc.
I've had more than a few people stop as I'm standing there waiting–more than a few times with the dog.
"Launch?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"In the sky," motioning to the south.
I've stood in a nearby parking lot and had the mail lady pull up beside me to watch. If the launch is on time, you're there for just a minute–if that.
Neighbors have seen me. They usually figure it out.
We recently went down to Canaveral to watch. Two dudes fishing near us had no idea.
We've gone to a nearby park on the river. There was a woman sitting nearby on a bench. As soon as it got close to time, she whipped out her phone.
I kinda missed a recent nighttime launch at the same park because we heard a voice that sounded distressed. Someone in the water? Someone getting their butt kicked? Someone just working out? So while the rocket was going up, I was on the phone with 911.
It would be a lot easier to catch a launch that has an instantaneous window - launches to the ISS and some Starlink launches, for example. It's either going to go off on time to the second or it's not going. The Atemis launch had a two hour window so there was no rush, which could have meant a lot of time standing around waiting.
Cool mission tracking website that is in stark contrast to the quality of the launch footage. Takes a moment to get combobulated, so be patient.
More often than not, I don't recall doing a lot of standing around. Which is good.
Keith Tanner said:It would be a lot easier to catch a launch that has an instantaneous window - launches to the ISS and some Starlink launches, for example. It's either going to go off on time to the second or it's not going. The Atemis launch had a two hour window so there was no rush, which could have meant a lot of time standing around waiting.
Cool mission tracking website that is in stark contrast to the quality of the launch footage. Takes a moment to get combobulated, so be patient.
Thanks for the link! I was wondering if there was some way to track Artemis. I guess we'll have to wait a few days until it nears the moon. That piece of rock is certainly farther away than it looks.
Artemis is also taking a slower trip than Apollo did for various reasons, such as lower propellant use and thus higher mass capability. Apollo went for speed - and it still took 3 days.
Keith Tanner said:Artemis is also taking a slower trip than Apollo did for various reasons, such as lower propellant use and thus higher mass capability. Apollo went for speed - and it still took 3 days.
AIUI, Apollo went for the free return trajectory largely for safety reasons, there were people on board and that trajectory meant that a major engine failure didn't necessarily result in dooming the crew. That decision paid off for Apollo 13 -- from what I've read it's unlikely that the SPS engine on the service module would have worked after the explosion, and the delta-v possible with the lunar module descent engine was a lot lower. Artemis 1 is unmanned which leaves a lot more options on the table for experimentation.
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
Good point. I'm going to have to look and see if the big orbit (I forget the acronym, DRO?) is also a factor.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Each time I watch a space launch that isn't spacex, I'm disappointed it's not spacex. Artemis costs 93 billion, and 4.1 billion per launch. You have that many billions and you can't spend anything on cameras and production? This privitizing space thing doesn't seem so bad.
going to space is cool, and going to the moon is even more awesome. I wish I could enjoy that without thinking about what were actually getting for 93 billion. Leftover parts, outdated rockets, and a launch plagued by how many leaks? I can't say I've ever seen mechanics have to tighten bolts next to how many tons of explosives waiting to be lit. I don't like this version of nasa. Makes me wish I was around to see it when it wasn't this way.
Makes me be amazed by just how great the engineers of Apollo really were. Sliderules and all.
In reply to Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) :
Exactly. Compare NASA's computing power back then with the phones that we all carry today.
Yahoo.com: Live Updates: See the first photos of Earth from NASA's moon-bound Orion spacecraft
Fell asleep an hour or two before the launch and woke up 15 minutes before the final 10 minutes before the launch. Too tired to watch anyway, I went to bed. I watched the whole thing later this morning. Yay NASA.
You are right Honsch , they should have sent Ellen "the strange" Musk a $million to install a few $thou worth of cameras.
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