Well folks, some aspects of this Florida trip are seeming to be an exact duplicate of our last trip.
But never fear, we’ve managed to have a great time despite some of the negative similarities.
The weather shaped up real fine this morning for a launch this afternoon. The winds were forecast to be a bit high, but the forecasts were getting better with each time around.
We headed out to the Kmart pick up point for our tour company at about 6 am this morning. The tour company was very unorganized and we sat around until about 9 am before we finally got moving. The poor tour guide that was on our bus was actually not a part of the tour company at all, and was about as frustrated as we were about all the waiting around and lack or organization. He even told us he thought he was going to get to see the launch as a bystander, and then showed up at 3:30AM to find that he was actually going to be a guide.
They started fueling the shuttle around 8:30 I think while we were still sitting at KMart. They start filling real slow and then once everything looks good they kick it into fast fill mode. Filling the tank builds up pressure in the tank because they start with the output vent closed. As the pressure builds they cycle the vent value open and closed to keep the pressure in the range that they like. As they cycled the valve open and closed a “significant” leak appeared at the vent valve. After cycling the value a few times and seeing no improvement of the leak they decided that they needed to scrub the launch for today.
Now all this happened before we made it to the space center since we were being disorganized at KMart. Turns out to be a bit of a blessing that we sat around for so long because they scrubbed the launch before we used any of our tickets so they’re still good.
Then they also found a large crack in the foam on the tank next to the orbiter. This would have probably caused a scrub even if they hadn’t had the leak because a large chunk of cracked foam could come off during ascent and strike the orbiter, which is a very bad thing indeed.
So we didn’t have a launch today. We sat behind some Canadians on the bus and they were very upset indeed and the wife kept telling her husband to stop “badgering” him. I might need to start using the word badger.
Because this wasn’t a weather delay, but a mechanical issue that involves draining the tank completely, the delay forced a 72 hour delay. This of course means that the next opportunity was on Monday which is after the window closes. There was some talk about whether the window could be extended to Monday, and early this morning Nasa had decided that Monday was an option for launch. We were planning on leaving Sunday, so this posed a large dilemma. Should we change our plans and stay until Monday? This means canceling the flight (or extending it to Thursday) finding another way home, getting another couple of days for the rental car and finding another hotel.
Laura and I went to McDonald’s to get some quality food to help us think. I grabbed the laptop so we could see if any final decisions had been made by Nasa. We were having some troubles connecting to the wifi when a man about Grandpa’s age (but obviously not with Grandpa’s technical skills) looked over my shoulder. He asked if I was having any luck getting on the network. He had an iPad and was trying to find out information about the launch as well. However he couldn’t get on McDonald’s network. We troubleshooted the network issues and finally got both our computers up and running. Turns out he and his wife had come down with another couple to see the launch and they were having the same troublesome week we were (as far as the launch goes).
We chatted with them for a while and tried to figure out whether Nasa really was going to try for Monday or not. We finally parted ways and wished each other luck. Laura and I headed to StarBucks and watched the 1 PM news conference.
Finally Nasa made the decision to wave the Monday launch attempt and move the next launch attempt to November 30th. This was due to the amount of work required to get ready for Monday, only to have one day to launch. This means we will not see a space shuttle launch this time around in Florida.
I am disappointed, yes, but we still had an excellent vacation which was very relaxing and enjoyable. I’ll post some more highlights from the 2nd half of the trip later.
Right now we need to get some dinner soon. We watched this show on the food channel with real good looking grilled food so I need some grilled meat real bad.
We’ll put pictures up once we get home.
Thanks for all your prayers. God will answer them all, just maybe not how we expect.
We have been in Florida for five days now. No we did not see a Space Shuttle launch today because they had to delay two days until Wednesday. The weather is currently the only potential concern with a 30% chance of rain / clouds violating launch.
So what have we been up to for the last five days? Here’s a short summary of our trip.
We had a lovely flight down and sat next to a guy named Kurt. He even played Phase Ten with us!
We stayed at the Double Tree for 80% off (thanks priceline) for the first night because our flight was on Thursday, but the resort didn’t have any openings until Friday.
Laura’s Highlight – good, smooth, fun flight
My Highlight – on time flight, and cheap hotel.
We found out (also by staying at Double Tree) that the Thunderbirds were in town that very next day for the CocoaBeach airshow. We talked Double Tree into letting us park in their parking lot one extra day (using their parking pass) so we could use their beach to watch the Airshow Practice on Friday.
On Friday, we checked into the resort and stocked up on food for the week. We also found out they had delayed Discovery a day. After checking in to the resort, we went back down to Double Tree and hung out on their beach while watching the Airshow Practice for free!
Laura’s Highlight – Relaxing on the beach
My Highlight – Got to see the Thunderbirds, an F-15, and an F-18 on the beach for free!
Saturday we checked out the resort. Turns out they have put-put golf, a lazy river, a water slide and access to the beach all included. We decided today to push our end date out three days to Sunday since Discovery was delayed yet another day (this is what brought us to Wednesday for the launch date). This was the day of the actual airshow, which we didn’t go south on the beach and pay money for, but we still got to see from up north on the beach. I even got my wish of seeing the F-22′s fly over!
Laura’s Highlight – A lovely pool and more rest on the beach
My Highlight – Got to see two F-22′s, they fixed the leak in Discovery
Sunday consisted of another restful day at the resort. More time on the beach. Watching the 3rd day of the airshow from afar.
Laura’s Highlight – reading on the beach
Andrew’s Highlight – building a sand castle and reading on the beach
Monday (today) we went over to Orlando and visited Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. We spent most of our time at the new Harry Potter exhibit which was very well done and then wandered in the Jurassic Park section while we looked for cotton candy (a must when visiting an amusement park). The day was fun in an exhausting sort of way. Laura took a nap when we got back, and we’re going to do more relaxing this evening.
Laura’s Highlight – Hogwarts castle at Universal
Andrew’s Highlight – Hogwarts Castle at Universal (and resting once we got home)
The look ahead.
Tomorrow we plan to rest and prepare for Wednesday. We will probably spend it on the beach again.
Wednesday will be another long day like today. We have to be ready by 6:30 AM for our ride to the Kennedy Space Center and then we get to hang out there for 10 hours while we bite our nails and pray the weather doesn’t sock us in. Lord willing we will see an on time 3:52 PM (2:52 PM CST) launch of space shuttle Discovery.
We have four delay days after Wednesday if we need them. If we don’t, it’ll be more time on the beach!
That’s the status.
