In honor of Space Shuttle Discovery’s last time on the launch pad, I thought I’d share a photo of Space Shuttle Atlantis as it launched on mission STS-125 to repair the Hubble space telescope. In May of 2009 we went to Florida to do the whole Florida Disney vacation, but we planned it around the Space Shuttle launch as well so we could check that out before the program ended.

This photo was taken from the NASA Causeway, which is the closest the public can get, and it’s still about 6 miles away. You have to be someone special to get to the VIP spot which was closer to the launch pad by 3 miles.

The sound of the rockets as they propelled the Shuttle to space was unbelievable! It’s indescribable and very cool. Since light travels faster than sounds and since we were 6 miles away, you see the Shuttle launch before you hear it. My photography “instinct” was telling me to start shooting once I heard the shuttle, but that’s not the case otherwise you’d miss all of the shots. You have to watch it to know when to start shooting. I also took some other photographers suggestions to setup the shot and NOT watch it through the viewfinder – watch it with your eyes. I’m also glad I did that because if I was glued to the viewfinder, I don’t think the launch would have had the same effect.

Getting to the launch was a bit of fun in of itself. The Shuttle wasn’t supposed to launch until May 12th, so we were going to fly down to Florida on the 11th. A few days before we were supposed to fly, NASA had bumped the flight up 1 day. So after a bit of hoops to jump through, we were able to change our flight, and our hotels so we didn’t miss the launch – thankfully!