[ad_1]
To provide safe and socially distant entertainment, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) offered “Launch and A Movie” as a drive-in-style experience in their parking lot to allow visitors to see something truly unique.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), I was able to attend the event twice. You see, rocket science is very precise, and the slightest variable can stop everything in an instant. About a month ago, I was out at the KSC for the event when the launch was interrupted (canceled) literally in the last seconds before takeoff.
However, just a few days ago, Thursday, I was able to return thanks to the Scrub Policy for the event, allowing for a return visit up to two times in case the rocket launch was interrupted for any reason. I returned for what turned out to be a launch for the same reason as the launch on my first visit, a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying GPS 3 satellites into orbit.
Slightly different from the first time, the launch happened before the film. Both visits, however, saw a NASA guide explaining where to look at the sky, what was happening to the launchpad at the time, and answering any questions that people might have been pumping straight into your car stereo, along with a relaxing soundtrack. of classical music. music in orbit. I wish this station was somewhere on Spotify or Sirius, etc.
You don’t even have to be in the car. After putting on your mask / face cover, you can go to the KSC entrance plaza and see some of the visitor complex’s rockets and grab a bite from the Rocket Fuel food truck. When you purchase your event tickets in advance, you can also pre-purchase a meal package and this is where you would get it. There is also a small area to pick up some souvenirs, and this is where the event toilets are also located. Anything beyond the turnstiles of the KSC Visitor Complex is not available for this event.
The cinematic part of the event was the IMAX movie, Hubble. The ten-year-old film at this point takes viewers on a journey through distant galaxies to explore the grandeur and mysteries of our celestial surroundings and accompanies astronauts as they walk into space as they attempt the most difficult and important tasks in NASA history. and celebrates Hubble’s legacy of the space telescope and highlights its profound impact on the way we see the universe and ourselves. Also, it’s narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio and that’s what caught the attention of the passenger in my car.
The big show is the actual launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. There is always some kind of mission going on, even the NASA Guide referencing upcoming missions would mention the vague and reserved nature of some of the upcoming launches saying “Top Secret Payload “or” Classified Recon Mission “. Tonight’s was for a series of GPS3 satellites to help with, well, GPS devices and a vague and briefly mentioned Space Force project.
About 10 minutes before launch, screens placed in parking lots would switch to a live feed from SpaceX control in California with live views of the launchpad located in Florida, about 6 miles away from those in the KSC parking lot.
Any rocket launch is something spectacular to see and hear, but a night launch is one of those bucket list items that everyone must try. The glow of the boosters as they turn on and the way it lights up the night sky for literal miles and soars up to the sky is truly a sight to behold. While the launch can be seen from dozens of miles away (weather permitting), those that are close, such as the KSC launch and a Movie Drive-In event, can also literally feel the power of the launch. The sound takes a while to get to you (six miles away from the launch pad after all) but once it does, it’s loud and thunderous and you can hear every bit of the vibration in the ground beneath where you are.
While a camera can only capture so much, I set one up to capture the night sky lighting and followed the rocket as best I could as it entered an orbit around the planet. You can see that video below. As an added bonus, you can see the disappointment (actually quite funny) of an interrupted aunch at the end of the video from our first trip to Launch and a Movie.
Source link
