SPACE SHUTTLE UPDATE

We made an exploratory trip to the Canaveral National Seashore (CNS)  on Monday April 30, 2012.  The primary objective was to look at (from a distance) the two shuttle launch pads.  These and the "Vehicle Assembly Building" are visible from the road along the southern edge of the "CNS", though approximately two (Pad B) and three (Pad A) miles away.


Pad B, the northern-most, has officially been "cleaned", meaning that all fixed structure above ground associated with shuttle launches, has been removed.  It is ready for potential future mobile launch structures. Pad A is officially inactive, but most, if not all, of the structure remains in place.

                        Pad A is to the left and Pad B is to the right.    (April 30, 2012 Photo by Rich)

Ironically, the day of our trip was the first test firing of the nine engines powering the Space X privately funded rocket which will eventually carry people to the International Space Station (ISS).  On Monday May 12 it is scheduled to blast off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (which adjoins the Kennedy Space Center) to deliver a 1000 pound load of supplies to the ISS.  As I started this paragraph, the two second full power test took place successfully.

Both the pads are officially inactive now.  The last shuttle launch from Pad B was in December 2006.  The last, and final shuttle launch from Pad A was July 8, 2011.  I was lucky to view it from the beach at Cocoa Beach, a distance of about 16-18 miles.  The beach was packed with onlookers, even though it was partly cloudy and the opportunity to view the rocket was limited.



It has been quite a ride since Sputnik was launched October 4, 1957!