Author Topic: Shuttle launch ride enters final countdown  (Read 2658 times)

Offline collectSPACE

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Shuttle launch ride enters final countdown
« on: 05/12/2007 04:48 pm »
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-051107a.html

Quote
The next group of people to experience launching aboard one of NASA's space shuttles won't be astronauts. While NASA has June 8 planned for its next liftoff from Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39A, just seven miles away thousands at NASA's official visitor complex will have the opportunity to board the new Shuttle Launch Experience (SLE), opening on May 25.

Offline Chris Bergin

RE: Shuttle launch ride enters final countdown
« Reply #1 on: 05/12/2007 06:18 pm »
I could happily live there ;)
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Offline Austin

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Re: Shuttle launch ride enters final countdown
« Reply #2 on: 05/12/2007 06:33 pm »
Very cool.  I'm planning on being at the Cape for the launch of Endeavor on STS-118 in August.  This gives me one more thing to check out while there.

Thank you much.



Offline Bubbinski

RE: Shuttle launch ride enters final countdown
« Reply #3 on: 05/12/2007 08:50 pm »
Thanks for the article.  That is one ride I don't want to miss....I'll be down there next month for the shuttle launch.
I'll even excitedly look forward to "flags and footprints" and suborbital missions. Just fly...somewhere.

Offline JWag

RE: Shuttle launch ride enters final countdown
« Reply #4 on: 05/21/2007 08:13 pm »

This past Saturday (May 19th) I was back in Central Florida and made a point to get back to the Visitor Center after being away for 20 years. I didn't have enough time to go on a tour, though. :(

I was able to go on this ride, and must say it's pretty cool. I wish it lasted as long as an actual Shuttle boost (or that there was an option to go on a less-entertaining-but-more-realistic ride), but I'm still grateful for the experience. The little kid in me that is still absolutely gonzo excited about everything Space Shuttle was beyond happy.

It's realistic enough that I got all verklempt when the SSMEs lit, even more so than when watching a launch on TV.

 

Note to engineers and tinkerers: beat up the analytical part of your psyche and leave it in a locker before going on the ride. :)

 

 


Offline psloss

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Re: Shuttle launch ride enters final countdown
« Reply #5 on: 05/21/2007 08:30 pm »
I was at the visitor center on Friday; from what I gathered they were inviting folks to sit in on training sessions while they make last minute adjustments to the show.  It looks pretty cool, but I heard about it second hand as I wasn't in the area when they were looking for volunteers.  (One of the comments I heard second-hand was that some people were somewhat disappointed that it wasn't like an amusement park ride.)

This was the first time I'd been to the visitor center in about a year and only the second time since 2002; one of the things that struck me this time is how the end of the shuttle is changing things.  Curiously this ride is at least thematically about the shuttle, but I got the sense that they are starting to emphasize Ares over the shuttle -- especially since I get the sense that the visitor center is tailored to the general public and not necessarily to the audience for this site.

Offline Mark Dave

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Re: Shuttle launch ride enters final countdown
« Reply #6 on: 05/21/2007 08:33 pm »
Awesome, sounds better than the Shuttle America ride  at 6 flags Great America by me. No lunar trips-perfect. :)

Offline MySDCUserID

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Re: Shuttle launch ride enters final countdown
« Reply #7 on: 06/06/2007 12:42 am »
My thoughts:

The launch briefing prior to the actual ride is outstanding!! It was very well done, and NASA should consider similar types of presentations to teach the general pubic about spaceflight.

Whether or not the ride is an accurate simulation I cannot say, and have to defer to the real astronauts.  However, as a "ride" I really was not that impressed.  The CGI on the front screen was not impressive.  The motion was really just a whole lot of shaking.   The whole opening of the payload bay doors to show the Earth was just lame.  Perhaps the amusement parks have de-sensitized me.

Summary, as a simulation, it might be good, but if you are looking at it as an amusement park ride, it is not very impressive.  The pre-ride briefing was my favorite part.

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