Life is strange. A random question “what have you been up to?” lead to our arrival in Orlando, Florida, where our final destination was the Kennedy Space Center and NASA's headquarters. My friend mentioned she was going to observe the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour. This appealed to our sense of adventure and got us thinking that it would be a travel highlight. It seems that NASA is better organized than I am. They can launch a multi-million-dollar spacecraft in nine minutes – the time I normally take to prepare breakfast! The space shuttle is the first orbital spacecraft designed for reusability. Carrying different payloads to low Earth orbit, it provides crew rotation and servicing missions for the International Space Station (ISS). Set up on Launch Pad 39A for its 24th flight, Endeavor's mission is the last night launch. The planned launch day was on Feb. 7 marking the 130th space shuttle flight and the 32nd mission to the ISS. This 13-day mission to deliver and install a new module to the ISS along with a small observation port called the Cupola, would involve three spacewalks by the Endeavour astronauts. The Kennedy Space Center is located on the Atlantic coast at Cape Canaveral, east of Orlando and its famed theme parks. Their website has a digital clock that counts down to the next launch. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is the US responsible for the nation's civilian space program. At the main viewing screen at Kennedy Visitor complex, a former astronaut suggested that members of the audience practice a trial count down. It was a noisy next few seconds as we counted down to great cheers and loud clapping. From mission control, all the various check stations reported in. The tension was audible and at “T minus nine minutes”, the shuttle crew was ordered to take control and perform their final checks and initiate the rockets. For those of us left on earth, all the above happened in a heartbeat. In fact, the audience was so enthralled, that we forgot to count down. With awestruck expressions, we all just stood and watched in stunned silence. Night became day, smoke could be seen then came the sonic boom; it was as if the earth shook. On the large viewing screen, Mission Control stated with excitement, “WE HAVE LIFT OFF!!” Endeavour roared upwards and within 30 seconds, the great ball of fire reduced in size to that of a torch's beam, and the shuttle was already 50 miles high in the sky traveling at 10,000 miles per hour. I think I remember hearing cheering at that point. History was made right in front of our eyes. Unlike the old Saturn rockets which would hover for ages over the launch pad then slowly commence their journey upwards, space shuttles accelerate rapidly immediately after ignition. What starts as a light burst, quickly bellows smoke then becomes a glowing cone-shaped tube streaking upwards. The cone became a magical wand with a yellow fluffy tail that arcs towards the heavens. As the smoke dissipated around the launch pad, Endeavour became a pinprick of light and in a blink, joined the stars. This phenomenon can be seen 100 miles away. Lift-off took just nine minutes, but the whole experience lasted over two days. Getting to the launch site proved to be just as hard as achieving lift off. First, our plane was delayed by six hours and we missed the pick up; frantic phone calls ensued and a new pick up location was arranged. On route, we called the hotel, saying we were in town but would be checking in the next morning as the shuttle was scheduled for 4.38 A.M. and one had to be at the center by midnight. We travel directly to the center. Filling in the hours before lift-off was easy. The Kennedy Space Center is brilliant. You can walk among actual rockets, step inside a retired shuttle, experience a G-force trainer, meet veteran astronauts and in the IMAX theater with 3D viewing, almost touch the moon and see how space stations function and are assembled. Simulators, include a full-scale shuttle mock-up or taking the helm in mission control complete the features, all enticing youngsters to aspire to be astronauts. There are several vantage points on the complex. Employees and family have the best positions, followed by VIP pass holders and then those at the Kennedy Visitor Center. Each location is further away from the launch platform. We viewed from the Kennedy Centre. Overhead, the stars came and went due to patchy cloud cover; as departure time neared, conversations at mission control became tense and troubled. Spotter planes were sent up, every one minute or so weather control gave an update, things were not looking good. Shuttle spotters became nervous and at 4.28 A.M., the news we all dreaded was delivered: “the shuttle was a no-go due to cloudy conditions”. “We shall try again tomorrow morning” we were told. At 8 A.M., we checked into our hotel to repeat the same process later that night, which thankfully, met with success. By the time we got back to our hotel, the shuttle had been around the world twice. Were two sleepless nights worth it, you ask? Yes, yes, yes. It was amazing and ended too quickly but we witnessed the ingenuity of man, science and determination. Could you imagine being in space and looking down on earth, seeing the world like a globe like you used to as a child at school? We saw the start of that astonishing journey.
