Back in February I shared images of shuttle launches as viewed from each of the Walt Disney World theme parks and Kennedy Space Center. View here
With Space Shuttle Endeavour scheduled to lift-off from Kennedy Space center on April 29th at 3:47p for its final mission and shuttle Atlantis expected to launch on the shuttle program’s final mission later this summer it seemed a good time to share a few simple steps to successfully viewing a shuttle launch from WDW.
1 — Find a largely open space away from tall structures. While the shuttle is heading miles into the air it is heading in a trajectory that keeps it lower to the horizon than you might expect. Its not going to be right above your head like a Disney’s fireworks show.
During the last shuttle launch, we watched from the Flame Tree BBQ dining area near the water’s edge at Animal Kingdom. We saw many people across the water standing at the base of Expedition Everest looking toward the sky. The large mountain obstructed their view. Cloud cover was so dense we only caught a brief glimpse of the shuttle through a break in the clouds.
2 — Be patient. I’m always caught off guard by the delay between the shuttle’s liftoff and our ability to spot it in the sky.
3 — Get connected. Shuttle launches are subject to many conditions including the weather in far-off places. Thanks to the updates from Spaceflight Now you will have detailed information on the launch status.You can find their Mission Status Center for this mission here http://spaceflightnow.com/