One of the cool things about living in northeast Florida is that you’re pretty close to Cape  Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center. Jacksonville is probably just 120+ miles  north. While that may seem like a pretty far distance, when NASA is launching a shuttle it shines bright enough to be seen for hundreds of miles.

Last night while eating dinner at Tijuana Flats, my wife and I caught a glimpse of the Discovery launch. I forgot the shuttle was going up. It was originally supposed to launch on Wednesday, but was delayed. So we walked into the restaurant and saw on the TV it was just 3 minutes to launch. We quickly ordered our meal and went outside (along with everyone else in the restaurant). We had a perfect view of the coast from right outside the restaurant.

Luckily it was a clear night because we could see the shuttle for a very long time, even after those primary rockets fall off. Jacksonville is far enough away to see the rocket move across the entire sky… but we are also far enough away that we can’t hear it or feel any rumbling on the ground. Dusk launches are so much cooler then night time ones because you can see the trail. At night all you can see is a red dot flying across the sky like a UFO.

Here’s a pic of yesterday’s launch. Took it with my iphone so the quality isn’t great.

Here’s a pic from the last night launch (maybe 8 months ago? I can’t remember).