Watching a Rocket Launch at NASA Kennedy Space Center

During my stay at the NASA Kennedy Space Center I got to see two launches. Although I've seen many launches on streams, nothing compares to seeing them up close. Especially when you're treated to watch them from the closest terrace at the launch-site itself!

The two launches we got to see were of one Atlas V rocket and one Delta IV Heavy. They serve slightly different purposes in terms of what payloads they carry and what orbits they reach. This particular launch was of a Delta IV Heavy, the rocket with the highest launch capacity in the world. As can be seen in the image to the right, it has two external booster engines both operating at full thrust together with the central engine during liftoff.

The launch was very early in the morning. I remember getting up 04:00 to get everything ready, and seeing a lot of sleepy faces as we got on the shuttle buses and made our way over to the launch complex. In the end, however, it was all worth it! Not only because the launch was so exciting, but it was truly amazing to be standing on the terrace early enough to watch the sun rise over the most historic launch complex in the world. I managed to capture the following panorama picture with my tablet of the site just as the sun rose over the horizon. The image is still my all-time favourite of the many photos I've taken witnessing space-related events. It brings back a lot of memories.

Panorama picture I took of a sunrise at the NASA Kennedy Space Center before the launch of a Delta VI Heavy in 2012

On the left-hand-side, you can see the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) where NASA assembles and prepares rockets before launches. The VAB is one of the largest buildings in the world with a volume of more than 3 600 000 cubic meters. The stripes on the American flag on the upper left corner of the building are as wide as roads. The door is just above 110 meters tall, allowing rockets to be transported in and out standing upright. In the centre, you see the sunrise over the launch complex. Giving it a neat red colour and lighting up the ground. To the right-hand side, you can see the launch pad and the rocket ready for launch (this might be hard with this resolution, but it's there!). Quite an atmosphere to experience while acciously awaiting your first ever live launch!

Myself together with one of my team mates from our Team project in the launch conference room

Before going out on the terrace we got to use the room which typically hosts commercial companies whose payload (usually a satellite) is onboard the rocket. Because this launch was for the military nobody, including the NASA employees we knew, knew the details of what was onboard the rocket. here, the launch countdown was displayed in red letters at the top of the wall while 3 screens covered different angles of the launch pad. In the hour before the launch, we could hear mission control go through and confirm the readiness of different systems of the launch vehicles. The fact that at an anomaly or change in weather condition could occur at any time, resulting in a cancellation and rescheduling of the launch, added a lot to the excitement.

I remember very well the experience of listening to the countdown of the 10 last seconds, followed by the silent lifting of the rocket. It took the sound roughly 30 seconds to travel from the launch pad and to the terrace where we were watching. At that point, the rocket was already well up in the air. It is fascinating to witness such a mismatch between what your senses are telling you. Your eyes clearly see the fire and smoke beneath the rocket, and your mind knows how forceful it is, yet you do not hear a thing. However, as soon as the sound does reach you, it hits you like a truck! The Delta IV Heavy weighs 733,000 kg (1,616,000 lb), so you can imagine the force necessary to lift it vertically off the ground. For about a minute, the rumbling sound is all you can hear. Even after the rocket has disappeared from view, it still lingers well in the ear.

It doesn't matter how long you’ve been working in the space industry, seeing launches are always exciting, if not for the same reasons. Today, the excitement I get from watching stems mostly from my passion for space. All of us in the industry are hopeful of progress in launch capabilities and costs. We look forward to being able to do even more ambitious missions to new places in the solar system and to advance our space-faring capabilities. Few things cause more severe setbacks than failed launch attempts. When a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launchpad on September 1, 2016, it marked the end of all launches for SpaceX that year. Image to the right shows an exploding SpaceX Falcon 9 Explosion at a NASA Kennedy Space Center Launchpad, image credit Florida Today.

Group photo of the participants at the International Space University. I'm standing in the back on the left-hand-side

After a successful launch, we took a group photo in front of the VAB. We then got to go inside the building to see the mission control rooms currently used, as well as those kept preserved from the Apollo era. Finally, we got to see the two last Space Shuttles as they were rolled out one last time before going to the museum. Talk about good timing to be there! That, however, will have to wait for another post, so stay tuned! ;)