Launch Control

Launch Control by William Beem

The last time I visited Kennedy Space Center, I was in the Boy Scouts camping in the wilderness training area at Patrick Air Force Base.  The first shuttle launch was happening the same week.  We watched the first shuttle astronauts arrive in their T-38 trainers and practice touch & go flights.  Our Air Force host were gracious enough to load us all on a bus and take us over to KSC to watch the launch.  Part of it was pretty cool, but I’ll also admit that it was also a bit disappointing in one aspect.  I grew up in Central Florida and watched my fair share of Apollo launches.  Those suckers were fast.  In contrast, the Space Shuttle was like watching a truck compared to a race car.  Now that the shuttle program is coming to an end (only two more launches planned as I write this post), I thought it was time to go visit again.  It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 30 years.

I knew that I wanted to do a lot of HDR captures, but I was a bit concerned about my tripod.  After my experience at Downtown Disney and the Metro in D.C., I’ve started expecting to get hassled everywhere I go with a camera and tripod.  I called the KSC Visitor Center and asked about their policy regarding tripods.  Much to my surprise, there was no problem or restriction.  The man who spoke with me said that Security has the final word on what’s allowed inside, but there would be no problem with photography on a tripod.  Then he said something that blew my mind, “We kind of encourage that.”  It’s true.  On the first bus ride out into KSC, the driver said to feel free to take photos of anything you see.  The only exception is that some of the security guards don’t like having their photo taken.  Hey, no problem!  Not only did I have a great day shooting over 500 images, I was never once bothered about it.  Plenty of other folks have DSLR cameras, but I was the only one lugging around a tripod.  Some of the employees even showed me some of their own favorite angles and talked photography with me for a while.  It was an outstanding day for me.

This image is part of the Apollo/Saturn V Center tour.  They give everyone a chance to take flash photos before the event starts, but that’s not what I wanted.  I slipped off to the side and setup my tripod to take shots while the show was happening (note:  I didn’t want to be in the center blocking the view of anyone else).  This wasn’t the angle I originally wanted, but I’m warming up to it more so as I worked with it.  Besides, I can always go back again.  I bought an annual pass for a few dollars more.  A little search before going out revealed a discount code to buy my tickets online, so I only paid $2 more than a day’s admission to get access for a year.  Just enter APOLLO13 as a promotional code to get a $40 annual pass (note:  limited time, so it will expire).

These stations are the actual ones used during the Apollo missions.  As beloved as the Space Shuttle is by most folks, this era really does hold a special place in my heart.  It’s the magic I knew growing up.