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Yes. I was standing outside my office watching Challenger from Orlando. I got an instantaneous pit in my stomach when I saw it blow apart in person in real time. And that was before I heard any news coverage of what occurred. It was devastating.
Incredibly eerie feeling when we didn't hear Columbia make the twin sonic booms on time. Those booms always startled me a bit but not hearing them was far worse.
Hate that bridge. Lived there when it happened. Going over it after the collapse was so creepy. Driving along and the other span was just gone. Didn't go to Sarasota much but did use the bridge a couple times after the collapse. A bus was one of the vehicles that went over.
It's also used for unaliving one's self. One of my friends did it. I hate that bridge.
I had such a phobia about that bridge afterwards that the one time I crossed it and saw the missing expanse on the other side I shook. I had to take a class on the USF Sarasota campus years later to force myself to get over the impediment of that trauma. Why did I force myself to do that? Because it was growing to other driving. The fear spread. Ironically the class was a graduate course on PTSD. Kinda apropos, right? Gradually my deadlock grip and freeze response that traveled up my arms when holding the steering wheel lessened and I recovered my confidence in being able to face it without the fear of losing my sh!t and thereby fulfilling the reason for my fear. (That visualization of plunging off the bridge like the people did on that bus.) It was a big win. Not that i lost the fear. I probably never will. But I conquered my lack of confidence in my ability to face it and that’s a life changer in getting back to a place where the fear wasn’t controlling me. Does that make sense?
I wasn't around for Challenger, but I watched 9/11 in real time on TV in high school, and the Columbia explosion in '03, and while I didn't see it in real time, I was a few miles away from the Virginia Tech shooting, and had driven through campus not 20 mins before it was on the news... I can only imagine that pit in your stomach was similar to what I felt on all of those...
fuck this is making me realize that I've grown fucking numb to all of the school shootings since back then.. goddamn man...
Yeah we understood, we got rushed in also. I still remember every detail of it. I cried for days afterwards, and I remember my brother who was in junior high asking my mom why I was crying I didn’t know them.
I'm so jealous, I've seen three rocket launches in my life, and I had to drive from Chicago to see them. When I was a kid, twice I insisted on my family planning a trip to Disney around a rocket launch so I could see it, and then once as an adult I went with my niw fiancee. She cites it as one of the things that let her know I was the one, seeing how excited I got for other people doing something cool, and by that point I was well certain she was the one because she was always with me whenever I was on my way to a hairbrained, quickly planned adventure. We travel less now, because we have real person jobs, but when we get turned around on our way to a destination, or have to change plans last minute because the place is closed or something else came up, I still look at her and say "Yet another adventure". I fucking love rocket launches.
Edit to say, I did not expect this to blow up like this, I was just a bit in my cups and waxing poetic like a sappy moron, thank you all for the replies and the awards! Never stop chasing that next adventure, no matter how great or small!
I wanted to watch a space shuttle launch since I was a little kid.
Colbert comes on and is talking to them and I realize it's going to be one of the last ones.
It is march 14, 2009, and it is scheduled to launch in approx 22 hours. I look at google maps, it's a 22 hour drive.
I live in Canada, near Detroit. I call my brother and two friends, and we get into my car we JUST finished putting back together, hop in and head south. We haul ass and get there with about an hour to spare, and I got to see the launch, and it was magical.
Then we headed back home... 48 hours of driving in 48 hours.
I saw what looked like an asteroid this morning on the way to work south of STL. I looked it up later and it was shortly after the rocket launch, just barely over the tree-line. Neat thing to see from so far away before daylight.
One of my coworkers here in Georgia came in with a video his girlfriend shot this morning driving to work trying to figure out what it was. Looked like a comet to my, but I should have figured space X.
I'm so far away from Florida that I wouldn't have guessed a rocket. I've seen asteroids before and it looked very similar to one. It didn't have the massive gas plume illuminated behind it like seen in a lot of these pictures, it just had a few extra streaks of light similar to an asteroid for comet. I was driving at the time so I couldn't judge how quickly it was moving across the sky though and I only saw it for a minute or 2 before the trees obscured it.
When my family moved to the Orlando area, it was great. We could watch liftoff on tv, wait about 30 sec to a minute, and then be able to see it from our driveway.
We drove over to Cocoa for one of the last night launches of the shuttle program, but it got scrapped due to weather 30 min out and I was super disappointed. A few months later, I get called to the office at my high school, and my mom was there to pull me out of class and go see the launch that day. Being able to feel the power of those rockets is one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had.
I grew up in that area. It really is something else when you're around it all the time. Did some work out there for Amazon a couple years ago (there satellite processing facility) I've got videos of Space X launching from there from about 3 miles away because I was at work. A couple good night launches too. Fun stuff 😁(yes I was alive for the challenger launch and watched it live from my outside my school. I was also working out there for 9/11 as well.)
Don't listen to the idiots below. It's cool to see stuff like this when it happens. Got this shot outside my house this morning putting the kids on the bus
We'd love some investment. He wanted to give free Internet to over 600 schools and the government pleaded for a bribe instead and when he said no they literally didn't allow starlink in the country. Our government is very very very very very very corrupt and we are in deep shit
Thank you. I'm optimistic about the future though. Election for local municipalities is on the 4th November and I'm really hoping things improve but the next national election is 2029 and I don't think we can afford to wait that long. Government is a mess. We need an emergency vote in 2027
Thank you! Yeah South Africans must be the most patient, accepting people in the world. Everyone knows the government is insane but they kind of carry on living their lives. Diesel is R34 per litre and around R13-R17 of that per litre price is tax. I know those numbers probably don't mean much to someone unfamiliar with our currency but at least you can see the ratio of tax to fuel is crazy. Also we have 144 race based laws and something called the employment equity act which essentially bans white people from running businesses unless they pay someone connected to the government a huge bribe (it's called black economic Empowerment but it's been proven that the government empowers the same people over and over again) I can't actually deal with how sick and twisted the ANC is. They murdered the whistle blower who notified that 2 billion rand was stolen from a hospital fund (the crooks in government bought multiple fancy cars) and something like 1700 government workers were implicated directly in corruption via something called the Zondo commission and most of them are still in government)
Sorry I turned into a whole bunch of paragraphs at the drop of a hat. I'm just so concerned for my country
Damn man I’m sorry, though Africa is home to the most diverse group of exotic animals on the planet apparently, I was reading something about that a few days ago
This is a very fair comparison honestly. I’ve been to Yellowstone once, 20 years ago. I think people can be too used to seeing videos of places like Australia, where there seems to be kangaroos n such everywhere even in town. In the USA, certain areas (like mine) have bear and mountain lion problems. Makes sense that no, Africa is not completely crawling with lions n shit near everyone’s neighborhoods.
The problem isn’t space exploration, nasa receives a fraction of the budget on top of the privatized companies working on it. The problem is the military budget and black books operations.
Every dollar into NASA has roughly added $3 to over $7 in direct economic output for the U.S.A.
I am with you, healthcare is a main issue that needs addressed badly. Yet, so too is NASA. The U.S should invest more into NASA than it does into its ridiculously over budgeted military.
Lmao I love how this nice person is just like “wow, I wish I could live in a place where I see wonderful and incredible sights like this one” and all the replies are just REEEEEE NO YOU DONT HOW COULD YOU WANT TO LIVE IN A PLACE WHERE I LIVEEE?????
It’s just the shitty popular subs that have ass moderators. When you go on more niche subs, this site is truly special. Reddit won’t stop shoving these crap ones in you face no matter how much you tell it you didn’t like it
Not in my book! I’m a 55 year old grandmother and love this movie! Lol I suppose I can relate to a lot having had two boys. The humor is just so stupid and I love that. I frequently text my adult children “Hello Mrs Lady”. lol
This is the exhaust plume behind a rocket launch. Once in low atmosphere/near vacuum it expands out in this way.
What you are viewing here is just post stage separation. So two parts of the rocket are visible and headed to different destinations ie one further into space and one returning to earth.
The reason it's not always visible is because the launch has to take place at a time of day where the sun is just over the horizon relative to the place you are viewing it from. That way, you look up into the sky and see the plume illuminated in full daylight on a dimly lit backdrop.
It's always there, the required lighting conditions just are not.
Do they not announce when rockets are launching? There’s always someone posting about these asking and it’s hard to believe people still don’t know. Hell I’m in Ohio and I know what this is right away now.
They do, but there are always a high number of tourists who have no idea what is happening. Us locals are too busy avoiding Dengue Fever and trying to get around people going 10 under in the left lane to remember if there was a launch. We see the pretty lights in the sky and wonder if the heat is causing hallucinations.
The Dengue cases are scary. Are you guys going to get a little cold snap anytime soon? That should help kill off part of the mosquito population.
I’m from Mississippi, and almost all of October has been in the 90’s here this year. Nighttime temps are going down a bit more, at least. This weekend it’s supposed to cool down temporarily.
I dont think we are getting a break from the heat for a while. Overnight temps in my area for the next 10 days get to 68 or 69(nice) a couple times.
The majority of it is localized to north Tampa and most counties are ramping up their control programs to stop the spread. I'm not sure what the future holds but If i have learned anything from my home state we will blame it on socialists and cut more social spending to defeat it.
Dengue is BAD. My girlfriend got it while working for the Peace Corps, they flew her home to the US for medical care and she still barely made it. So close to dying.
If someone you know ever gets Dengue [or some sort of equally awful hemorrhagic illness], you can donate platelets directly to that person!! One of my friend's Dad survived because 4 of his friends & I made a direct donation. Platelets don't care about blood type.
One of my favorite apps since moving to Florida a few years ago is the 'Space Coast Launches" app. Shows all the scheduled launches from Cape Canaveral with launch windows and will give you a 2-hour and 10-minute heads up. If I'm at home, I will step out to watch for it. Been here a few years and it's still cool. This morning's was particularly spectacular due to the angle of the sun and the clear sky.
No. I live very close to the launch area and work in the industry. It's so often that it's part of daily life. Barely worth looking up for when the rumbling starts because you've basically missed it by the time the sound arrives. Sunrise launches line this are about the only notable ones cause jelly fish.
Why is everyone being so rude?? What if OP isn’t from Florida or isn’t apart of the sub and hasn’t seen previous posts? Are we not allowed to use the subreddit for its intended purpose?
Yeah I’m wondering the same thing?? Sifted through tons of these comments and still haven’t found a decent answer. It’s a space x launch okay I get that but what is actually happening?
When a launch is just before sunrise or just after sunset, the plume of exhaust is up high enough that it's getting direct sunlight up there when it's already \ still dark at ground level so it looks really bright in the sky.
Thank you! I've seen a handful of launches since moving here but this morning was the first time I'd seen this phenomenon. I was so confused at the moment. Here's the picture I got after dropping a "wtf is that" a little too loud.
At sea level the air stops the rocket exhaust from spreading. But when the rocket rises above (most) of the atmosphere, there's practically no air pressure. So the exhaust looks closer to spraying a water hose.
Plus when it's dark at ground level, but the sun is just below the horizon. The rocket can reach up out of the earths shadow. Spraying all of its exhaust into sunlight.
The other thing going on here is you're looking at two different rockets. The first stage has separated, and is firing it's rocket in the opposite direction to return to the launch pad.
You're punished for not knowing things around here. Simple questions also receive an ample amount of downvotes. It's pretty fucking dumb imo. Not sure why people are like this. I guess it's quick, low effort opportunity for insecure people to feel superior or something.
It was actually visible all the way up here in North Carolina lol. I had no clue there was a rocket launch until my wife saw people posting about it on her social media
On one hand yes people should be nicer and give an answer anyway due to what subreddit this is.
On the other hand, OPs profile confirms they're from Florida and if they can see today's launch then it's like the 500th spacex launch they've been able to see and it's a little funny that they're just looking up today in particular.
• Payload: Dragon spacecraft carrying over 6,300 pounds of supplies, cargo, and the final pair of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSA)
• Time: 6:33 a.m. EDT (10:33 UTC)
• Location: Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
I grew up in Cocoa Bch. about 30 miles from the launch pad. Crazy how much farther you can see these launches than the shuttles. My sis saw it all the way in Jacksonville.
I actually think you made the right call. I am too lazy to do the research as well. But Vandenberg would definetly be close since all the military stuff is launched out of there. And Googles AI overview says Baikonur and Plesetsk are ahead in number of launches as well. So without data i think its a fair to CYA by saying "one of the main"
These are usually seen during hours of twilight, I believe this is the sunlight hitting the exhaust plume of the rocket, making it visible. These are called Space Jellyfishes btw
When I lived in Florida I saw two rocket launches. They are very cool and you can see them from far away.
I also learned that people from Florida are insanely stupid. I can’t believe how badly their public school system failed them. It’s a real blueprint of what can be done to the rest of the country by destroying schools.
My high school nieces in Florida didn't know that ROY G BIV is how you memorize the colors of the spectrum which they also had never heard of. But they knew all about Chuck Taylor All Star Double Stack Shoes. And the public schools in Port St. Lucie where they are seem to be rated better than most of the state. They will probably need to take remedial classes before attempting college.
Spacex launched a resupply rocket to the space station today at 630am EST. You're seeing the rocket plume interact with the sun, which is higher on the horizon than you, making the plume appear to glow incandescently.
The beachball part to the left is the camera looking kinda straight up the second stage burn. The glowing dot on the right is likely the boosters boost back burn.
The cloudy appearance is light retracting through the rocket exhaust.
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