Wallops Island Rocket Launches

[Skillet]

Anyone in the D.C. area ever go to the Eastern Shore to watch the rocket launches? I think I'm going to try doing it this year. According to their website, they keep the visitor center open after 4 on launch nights. Free entry. Love to park there and sit on the roof or something. Beauty is I could get there real early for a good parking spot and have the comforts of home with me via the Chinook.

[Skillet]

Got back today from my trip. I've never seen a space launch before and enjoyed the launch from the Visitor's Center. The launch window was between 6am-10am. Fortunately, it went off at 6. The have a small bleacher set up or you can bring your own chair and sit on the grass. We were probably 1/2mile away so while you couldn't see the launch pad, you could see the billowing smoke as it began to rise. From tv it always looks kind of slow. It shot up quickly and it was neat to see it go through clouds and come out the top. From the Visitor's Center you could hear mission control over the loud speaker. If you want, you can go in a little theater and watch the launch on a large screen.

The next time I go I'm going to pick one of the country roads to park along that run even closer than the Visitor Center. They have some suggestions on their site, but I wanted to start with their main site first. If you go, definitely bring bug spray. The biting flies and mosquitoes don't play around. This space center doesn't do manned launches but launches experiments (like today) and does resupply missions to the International Space Station. If you're a space geek you'll like it. The small crowd that showed up were either space geeks like me or scientists and their family. They have RV parking and it was only my Chinook and a larger class C that represented. They briefly opened the museum and gift shop and I picked up a few small items. Then they kicked us all out of the parking lot and reopened at 10am. This coming weekend they're celebrating their 75th anniversary but I have to work so can't make it.

Since it is only 4hrs from my house, I left after rush-hour. About a 1/2hr from the destination I decided to stop around 1am at a small shopping center in front of a Tractor Supply Store. I parked under the lights near some displays they had out in the parking lot and was undisturbed when I left at 5am. Some employees had shown up and were waiting in their cars for someone to come unlock the store but no one said anything to me. The trip was long for 1.5min of rocket launch but the fun is also in the getting there. I'll do it again.

[Blue~Go]

Sounds like a neat experience all around. Nice trip report.

Figured maybe I'm not the only one who wasn't familiar with Wallops Island, so...

[Manitou]

Thanks.. I was born in Delaware and was still like "wonder where that is".

Have you thought about a trip to cape canaveral, Florida?
(Used to live there too.. There's 1 rocket that puts out as much thrust as the shuttle used to... Makes for a nice show)

[Skillet]

I get so used to talking to you guys that I assume you know where everything is that I know. I do want to go down to the Cape and watch a liftoff. That would be the pinnacle. It probably gets pretty crowded so I would want alternative sites to watch from. I like doing the official site first and then branch out for different/better views. The next Wallops launch I'll try out another site I scoped out. I'll have to check the Cape's website and see if there's a schedule.

[Manitou]

Around the entrance to the cape (ccafs) on the south side is one of 2 common places. The other being in Titusville across the Indian River. The CCAFS site is closer, but a view over the river isn't half bad either. Just so ya know..

[Skillet]

Thanks for the ideas and I'll let ya know when I decide to make a trip South. Found this neat site: http://spacecoastlaunches.com/