It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…

By Mike Jastrzebski

…a rocket. The other night Mary and I gathered on the dock with half-a-dozen other liveaboards to watch the launch of the latest rocket from Cape Canaveral. In the past two years while we’ve been coming to the Canaveral area we’ve watched five or six launches and also watched the final Shuttle when it was carried out to California to become a museum display.

The night launches are the best. In daylight hours the sound of the rocket is always there but if the sky is cloudy we’re lucky to catch even a glimpse of the rocket. On a clear day the rocket soon disappears and it’s always a treat to watch the vapor trail as the rocket heads for the heavens.

But the night launches are a show onto themselves. It starts with the rumble of the engines followed by a faint glow behind the trees at the entrance of Harbortown Marina. As the glow intensifies the rocket begins to rise in the sky. As the sound wave builds a ball of fire appears over the tree line and the rocket is on its way. At night we don’t see the actual rocket, just the bright tail as the rocket ascends. If the night is clear we might see the second stage or even the third stage  break away, the the rocket is gone, blending into the starry sky.

For some reason it’s a show that Mary and I don’t seem to tire of. If you happen to be in the Cape Canaveral area during a scheduled takeoff try not to miss it. I’ve heard that there are observation towers around, but we get a great show on the dock and get to spend some time socializing with the neighbors while waiting for the launch so we have never checked them out.

 

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