Space has fascinated me, from watching Apollo rockets go up to seeing the first man on the moon on TV to pulling over in a bar in WY to see a space shuttle launch to being in awe at what SpaceX has done with re-useable rocket boosters. And, as I sail south along Cape Canaveral, I love to see the launch structures and rockets standing by the water's edge, lit by floodlights if it is night.
Recently, I went up on deck in Fort Pierce at twilight to see a launch. The skyline in the north lit up with an orange glow like a sodium vapor lamp, then an accelerating orange spark rose in the darkness
until it reached the sunshine. It went out for a few seconds, then smoke blossomed and swirled as the first stage spun around and fired rockets to slow and return, while the second stage lit up and continued on its way (up and left).
I have never before had the experience of watching this twilight ballet and the beauty and detail was quite lovely. And, amazingly, some of these launches can be seen from the Virgin Islands! What an amazing world we live in!
So cool!
ReplyDeleteI would love to see one up close. We have seen them from the boat in St Augustine, beautiful but not the same.
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