Posted by Now the real fun begins for planning to attend a shuttle launch, “to go or not to go.”
I once calculated that in the seven shuttle launches I have seen, I have been to about 15 attempts. Weather, technical problems, weather, technical problems, weather—I’ve experienced the disappointment of all kinds of delays. It’s just part of the process. I’ve driven to the press center on launch day only to walk in to a scrub being announced, walk back out, get in my car, and drive back to the airport.
When you’re a correspondent covering a shuttle launch for a major news agency, you either live in the Cape Canaveral area, or they fly you in for all the launch events, usually several days before the launch, through the mission. You’re there for the duration, so scrubs are more of an annoyance.
But when shuttle launches are more of a hobby, like they are for me, it can be very trying with much money wasted on last minute flights, car rentals, hotels, etc. I’ve come up with a system that works pretty well. I wait until three days before the launch, and watch the weather. Seventy percent chance and above and I buy the plane ticket and commit to going. Fifty percent chance and below, and if it goes, I’m happy to watch in on NASA TV at home.
The tricky part is where we are with STS-126, currently at a 60% chance of launch. It’s a high percentage, but that’s still pretty iffy. The weather predictions at this point are unlikely to change, and it will come down to how the conditions unfold on that day. So it’s time to commit to a booking and make a decision.
The pay off can be huge and well worth the money spent (see the photo below taken at a recent shuttle launch, a night launch on March 11, 2008), but it’s a long drive back to Orlando Airport if all you’ve seen and done is the visit the press center (again) and bought a chicken sandwich from the NASA Snackmobile.
—Image Credit: Susan Poulton
