Cape Canaveral 8/25/07

For the three of you that read this blog, I apologize for the long gap in posts. Time got away and I'm not sure where to. I'd like to say I'm a lot further ahead in things I need to get accomplished at work, with grad school, and teaching prep. But I'm not. But anyhoo, let's take a look at LAST weekend.

LTC Dan Fitzpatrick, Centcom's Deputy Command Historian, and I took a drive east to the Space Coast. He shared his insiders' strategy for really seeing the highlights of Cape Canaveral, home to so much of America's space and missile program history.

As you probably know, Cape Canaveral juts out into the Atlantic Ocean along Florida's central to northern coastline. Planners chose it for its remote location and proximity to the upward and eastward trajectory of missile and space flight.

Tourists pay big bucks to take the NASA tour at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). What most do not know is that KSC is only a small piece of land on the northern portion of the cape. The rest of the land southward ending at Port Canaveral belongs to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). The 45th Space Wing at nearby Patrick AFB maintains CCAFS. The Air Force owns the "range" which is the military control of air and sea space that any launch will use. The AF has tracking stations from the cape to the Bahamas, Caribbean on down to Ascension Island in the south Atlantic. The AF and Navy will launch missiles and the 45th SW will command the range. Even when KSC sends up a shuttle, the 45th SW handles command until the shuttle is in orbit, when command switches to Houston. It may seem like no difference, but it actually is.

Above: The Range Operations Control Center (ROCC). Boy is it ever a "rock" with more security than Centcom and some prisons! Towers surrounded the building bearing lightning-arresting wires. (Click on the photo for a the full size view, which you can do with any image on this blog.)

LTC Fitzpatrick and I forwarded our military and personal info ahead of time to get one day security badges for free movement on the cape. Since 9-11, tourists go to KSC and get only a quick bus trip onto CCAFS to see old relics in a museum park. We passed on the KSC tour and drove the LTC's Toyota Tundra all over the place. The place felt surreal. Saturday quiet, peaceful weather, and a much reduced space program contributed to an eerie feel to the somewhat desolate area.

Above: We drove right up and parked beside the remnant of Pad 34, where the Apollo 204 astronauts died in a cockpit fire during a test countdown training exercise in 1967. We drove through wide open areas and hidden back roads all over the cape.



Above: I always dreamed of growing up to fly jet fighters for the Air Force...or trains. This one towed the Titan rocket series modules.


Here I stand beside the "Freedom 7" rocket that launched the first American into space, Alan Shepard, in 1961.










Right: After the museum outdoor park, we headed for the beach closest to the actual tip of the cape. We hiked a good mile to where we rounded the tip. So there, when the newsies talk about the cape, I've been to THE cape!






Above: Slithering into Port Canaveral amongst the three cruise ships was this sub resembling the famous "boomers" of the Cold War. The strange device mounted behind the tower suggests special ops.

Above: This spot marks tribute to John Glenn's Mercury 7 mission. Glenn became the first American to not only make it into space but also orbit the earth, which he did three times before splashing down again. Glenn returned to space in 1998 at age 77 in the space shuttle Discovery.


Above: Pad 34, which saw tragedy on 27 January 1967,


Above: What dreams are made of - In many ways Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee symbolized what many kids wanted to grow up to be. At the height of the Cold War, Space Race, and President Kennedy's challenge for a moon landing (given six years earlier), the astronaut career topped most kids' lists. It's difficult in today's state of the space program to really understand that a nation gave "rock-star status" to these highly successful professionals. To read a brief, but thorough account of the men's tragic deaths, read this article from NASA here.



Left: This small plaque affixed to one of the concrete posts solemnly mentions the tragedy of the Apollo 204 (better known as Apollo 1) astronauts.


Above: After one more launch, NASA deactivated Pad 34. It sits as a silent reminder of Apollo 1.




Left: The Cape Canaveral lighthouse remains in excellent shape. Unlike our family visits to Ocracoke and Hatteras we couldn't ascend to the top of this one. Oh well.








Above: This appears to have been another of the many abandoned launch control bunkers or maintenance facilities. So much of CCAFS is like this. Like many historical projects or museums, maintenance dollars are few and far between. The next time, for example, Tom Petri wants to procure another $2 million for a bike path, maybe a facelift here would serve our historical legacy better. Well, that's flawed logic though. We should've been fixing infrastructure, right?

Above: We crossed over from CCAFS to KSC (A lonely sign reminded us) and soon came upon NASA's active Pad 39A, site of August's STS 118 shuttle launch. You can see the crawler driveways at left ascending to the platform.

Above: The crawler roadway winds about three miles from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), seen in the background. You can see the tracks from presumably the most recent mission a few weeks earlier.

Above: "Rocky Road" - The crawler roadway is made up of gravel. The shuttle's immense weight and slow progression would pummel asphalt or concrete. This way, it crushes rock, which can be more easily refreshed and maintained between launches.

Above: The famous "VAB" where the space vehicles from many an era were constructed and prepared for launch. The photo can't do justice to the sheer cubic size of this giant structure. It impresses as much as skyscrapers because it is mostly open inside.

Above: And who of my generation or older hasn't seen this famous clock on TV as we awaited the latest launch? Pad 39A sits about three miles away in the background.



That was some fun. Here's me taking a rest on a tourist deck atop the launch bunker used for John Glenn's Mercury 7 mission. If you, the reader, have any military affiliation -- active, reserve, guard, retired -- you really need to talk to me and find out how to obtain "your steenking badges" and see the Cape this way. HF1

NASA Stands Fast

Well, the experts decided not to risk an extra space walk for the astronauts to repair the "worrisome gouge" suffered a minute after liftoff more than a week ago. I've heard and read about the rationale for the NASA decision. I hope they're right. Of course we're behind them and offer our prayers. But I know there are some John Edwards jury-charming-types out there licking their chops. There's even a billboard showing up all over the Space Coast! See below. HF1

"Worrisome Gouges"

The term "worrisome gouges" makes me think of Trevor's vandalism report at the monthly Neenah Park & Rec meeting. Sadly, the term appears in a NASA brief regarding some trauma on the belly of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. So sad, it seemed easier in the 80s & 90s. Time to offer another prayer for their safety. Read the entire account and view closeup photos here. Have a good weekend. HF1

Wednesday 8/8/07: Shuttle Time!

Here's me, encamped along the A1A a few blocks from the Hwy 50 intersection in Titusville, about 12-15 miles west of Pad 39A where this launch took place.

The festive atmosphere began around 3pm for this 6:30pm launch. It felt like a Packer or Brewer tailgating experience.

The Ohio contractors next to me provided good conversation and information, as they had taken the Kennedy Space Center tour earlier.

I guess my cover has been blown. This is a great time!

There goes Endeavor on STS 118. The flame, while small from this distance, burned much as the sun does when you look at it (don't try this at home). Those boosters burn a family swimming pool of fuel per second! [You can click on this or any other photo for a closeup. Definitely do it with this one.]

What a fun experience! You have to do this sometime if you get into the neighborhood when a launch is scheduled. I saw lots of Disney families. HF1

Tuesday 8/7/07: Patrick AFB (formerly NAS Banana River) & Manatee Baseball

No, this isn't the "Patrick" Air Force Base I'm speaking about (courtesy Chairforce.com).










Patrick is a geographically interesting place since it sits on a narrow barrier island. Click on the image for a closeup. Omernick types out there: Patrick AFB belonged to the Navy from the 1930s to the late 40s. It was known as Naval Air Station Banana River. That name rang a bell so I called my sister Maggie, keeper of the CD of Grandpa Greg's old Navy records. Turns out Greg Omernick passed through in Oct-Dec 1944 as one in a long line of training schools before his action in the Pacific Theater. Thanks Maggie and I look forward to examining those documents more closely at home.

[UPDATE] You gotta give Maggie credit! She rushed Grandpa's scanned documents to me ASAP. Here's his travel voucher for the train tickets between Corpus Christie, TX and NAS Banana River, FL. Thanks Mags! [Click to enlarge the photo]

Here's a good shot of the Space Coast. Click on the photo for a closeup of the spots I traveled to.

I drove up to the Space Coast Tuesday afternoon to get a room at Patrick AFB, check the history, look at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and see a Manatees game. Patrick, the Cape, and Kennedy Space Center are all separate areas.

Patrick AFB hosts several different types of units from the 45th Space Wing to the 920th Rescue Wing, making for some interesting aircraft on the flightline. Check out that cool C-130J model on the far end.

I stayed in one of the old VAQ buildings with the rooms that share a bathroom. This concept has been largely phased out in the USAF. While Air Force rooms are the best, this building needs to be leveled. It's done its duty.

The Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) is headquartered at Patrick. This agency monitors seismic and nuclear events worldwide.

The Patrick Passenger Terminal hosts a C-17 Globemaster out of Charleston, SC.

The outside of Space Coast Stadium, home to the Manatees and the Washington Nationals' Spring Training complex.

I attended another Brevard County Manatees game, this time in Brevard County. You may recall that they are the Class-A minor league team for the Brewers. I printed some of the photos from the last game I went to in Sarasota and had Ned Yost IV and others autograph them. I stayed through the sixth inning as the Manatees pummeled the Tampa Yankees 6-1. I had to get back to the room to watch the ongoing ESPN original drama series The Bronx is Burning. I've been watching since the first episode in July. It's pretty good, covering the Yankees' 1977 team, the Son of Sam murders, power outages, NYC mayoral race, as well as a bunch of other stuff I remember from childhood. Has anyone seen this series? Leave a comment with what you think about it. They mix the acting scenes with plenty of real footage. Good stuff. There are three episodes left. Tuesdays at 9pm Central on ESPN.


One disappointing note regarding the Manatees: I looked for catcher Angel Salome (pictured here in Sarasota in July). He did not appear on the roster. Huh? I thought perhaps they promoted him to double-A Huntsville. Nope. Looks like we had a cheater on our hands. He's serving a 50 game suspension. See the press release here. Bad role model. The guy is only 19, so he doesn't have "Bonds-Head" yet. Check out Time Mag's interactive look at Bonds' physique from the 80s through today. Notice the 1999 and beyond time frame. HF1