Author Topic: Cygnus NG-11 VIEWING (Read 31388 times)

Svenry · « **on:** 04/16/2019 08:12 pm »

Hey, all! Where will you be setting up to watch this one? Any interesting/ambitious photography plans?

After [barely] observing the NG-10 launch from over 730 miles away on a hilltop in Atlanta, GA, I'm excited to be a little closer this time (2.1 miles, hopefully). It will also be my first afternoon launch.

FXM · « **Reply #1 on:** 04/16/2019 11:34 pm »

Packing up the truck this evening for an very early morning start. Would like to take a couple of images from various locations before setting up at the Nasa Dock, sunrise is around 6:25AM.

Hopefully the Nasa Dock ramp construction is all done.
Crossing my fingers and toes for an on time launch.

Robotbeat · « **Reply #2 on:** 04/17/2019 01:15 pm »

Can you see the launch pad itself from the bleachers? Do you have to call ahead to get a slot? I've got a NASA badge, does that help?

What about the NASA dock?

jacqmans · « **Reply #3 on:** 04/17/2019 02:07 pm »

From the Wallops VC you can see the Launch pad... it far out but if you have a good camera should be no problem...

Lots of roads will be closed of around Wallops !!

SkipMorrow · « **Reply #4 on:** 04/19/2019 02:56 pm »

I've been to just about every Antares launch at Wallops. Some day, some night. There was BY FAR many, many more cars along the roads for this launch. I was pulling into Chincoteague around 12:30 and traffic was pretty much completely stopped. I have never seen it like that. In fact, we were planning on attending a pre-launch briefing at the community center and feared that we would miss it. I texted someone that had arrived the day before and she said that some of the speakers were also stuck in traffic and that they weren't going to start on time!

The NASA viewing area also had many, many more people than usual. I do think there were a lot more guests in the form of school children associated with the ThinSats.

I wonder what was different for this launch to bring out so many more people? Surely all of the many additional people on the roads weren't there because of the ThinSats.

jimothytones · « **Reply #5 on:** 04/19/2019 04:05 pm »

I was at the VC, and from what I heard there the huge crowd seemed to result from a confluence of factors:

- A lot of the kids were on April break from school.

- T-0 was at a much more convenient hour than it has tended to fall for recent past launches at Wallops.

- What I think might be the biggest reason: No delays. NG-11 was publicly scheduled for 4/17 for at least a month if I'm remembering correctly, and the entire campaign went as smoothly as any in recent memory. Obviously those of us on this forum know what a rare occurrence that is for launchers not named Soyuz.

I think it's very likely that for a typical flight, with the scheduled launch date jumping to the right a few times, the number of people who plan to travel or even who do travel to view a launch might significantly outnumber the people who ultimately witness it. That wasn't the case here. People who (foolishly, imo) booked flights a month in advance got to see Antares fly on its first attempt, and may not even have realized how unusual that is. On the access road I saw local (VA, MD, and DE), out-of-state, and rental plates in almost equal proportion.

I'm curious to see how this success affects NG-12, both whether another large crowd will show up, and whether Wallops will do anything differently to prepare for a crowd like Wednesday's. I think they did a fantastic job considering how overwhelmed they were, but at a minumum, some porta-potties and a more organized parking situation would be huge improvements. I shudder to think of the gridlock and panic that might have ensued had this launch failed on the pad like Orb-3.