The first launch I saw from KSC was at night. I was still a college student, and I remember looking over the river as we drove and being able to see the launch pad lit up from miles away. When we got to our viewing site it was the only thing I had eyes for; everything else disappeared.
Considering that first experience, it's probably no surprise that taking pictures of the shuttle on the pad under the bright xenon lights made it onto my "To Do at KSC" list. This has not been as easy to cross off as I would have thought. Timing becomes very important.
Wednesday night RSS rollback was at 8pm for Thursday's launch attempt. This is when the Rotating Service Structure is moved out of the way and no longer covers the orbiter. It gives me a window of a couple hours to take pictures while I still have access to the pad, and being after sundown meant the shuttle would be lit up during that window. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
When I drove back to work that night I couldn't see the bright glow I remembered from my first launch. I stopped at my building and climbed the stairs on the outside to look in the direction of the pad and make sure it was worth driving the extra 7 or so miles to get there.
Yes, under those lights you really can see it from that far away. This picture was taken from roof level of the O&C with a good zoom lens. Atlantis is all you can see.
I'm sure I was glowing as bright as the shuttle when the security guard waved me through the badge checkpoint. I had finally made it
I went inside the fence as close as they would let me go and walked around the perimeter road to get a side view. I saw the crew guests taking pictures from where their busses had stopped to let them out. The skies were clear, but most of the stars were invisble in the brilliant lights pointed at the shuttle. Aside from the occaisional announcement over the area warning system it was quiet. It is a moment I think I will always remember.
Thanks for this set of pictures go to Haden in Security. Somebody reported the random person walking down the road taking pictures (me) and he was kind enough not to write me up or delete everything on my camera after telling me to go back. There's also a good lesson here: When asking permission for something, make sure you're actually getting it from the right people.
