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Thanks to Obama & Company…
As many of you know, I make my home here on Florida’s “Space Coast”. I worked at Kennedy Space Center in various capacities for nearly 15 years, first as a reporter covering the shuttle program for WESH-TV, next as a Public Affairs officer for NASA, and finally as a PR manager for an aerospace firm that refurbished the shuttles’ solid rocket boosters.
My friend Marylou Wade worked out there too along with her husband Dan, so they’re also taking personally this last launch of a space shuttle. She sent this video along and I thought you might like to view it too.
The excitement around town is brewing. People with their RVs and campers have already started finding their special spot along the river. We’re gearing up. Tomorrow we’re expected to get thousands of people. Downtown Titusville is planning to do an “All Nighter” with the restaurants and shops. We’re located directly across the river from the launch pads and yes, it is indeed the best spot to see a shuttle launch. Today on the way home from work I saw cars from Texas, NC, New York, Kentucky, Alabama, and many more states. We’re expected to get about 750,000 to 1,000,000 people. I do hope the weather holds good.
Watch it live on your TV at 11:26am Friday!
It’s exciting and it’s sad because this is the last launch. Enjoy the video of Titusville.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/07/04/foreman.space.town.farewell.cnn
On Friday, while Marylou and Dan are watching it from the Indian River in Titusville, we’ll be watching the final space shuttle liftoff on the beach at Cape Canaveral about 15 miles away from Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad, and it will be a bittersweet moment for so many of us who have lived among those who put men on the moon, built the International Space Station, and brought us so many advances in science, medicine, and technology.
Godspeed Atlantis!
UPDATE:
Our local weather forecaster says, “I think it will be stormy and be rescheduled. ” Here’s why:
“An upper level storm system over the northwest Gulf of Mexico is creating strong high level winds over top of FLorida and off the southeast coast. These high levels winds are helping to create strong shear over the eastern Gulf of Mexico and over FLorida. Even if this disturbed area of weather evolves into an area of low pressure during the next 24-48 hours, the shear over it will cause too much of a northeast tilt in the thunderstorm development.
So, there is a slim chance for tropical development with this feature. Even without development, it will bring widespread showers and thunderstorms across much of the Florida peninsula today into tonight. This system will track northeast and along the southeast coast of the United States during Friday then further north along the mid Atlantic then New England coast during this weekend.“
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