[Apr 29, 2011] STS-134 Space Shuttle Endeavour Launch (Cape Canaveral, Florida)

Event:
STS-134 Space Shuttle Endeavour Launch
From Kennedy Space Center
April 19th At 7:48 pm EDT

This will be Shuttle Endeavour's last flight!
Launch window till May 2nd

There will only be one more Space Shuttle launch in June

after which all the Shuttles will be retired from flight and dispatched to their respective museums.

Anyone here making the trip to see the launch
from the causeway or KSC?

Remember... this is the one before last Space Shuttle Launch.
Don't miss out on such a fabulous event!

I have a Causeway ticket. Watched STS-131 (Discovery night launch) last year. Was absolutely spectacular.

http://spacekate.com/2011/my-first-shuttle-launch/

I want to go. Got to see this for real.

Do you have tickets?

The lottery for STS-134 was last week and I didn't get one, but I managed to snag a causeway ticket via one of the tour companies offering them together with bus transportation from Orlando. That's how I got to the causeway last time, and it worked fine.

You will be fine then. You are all set.

The bug here is I am in Europe. I listed my email for launch tickets with Florida Dolphin Tours and another tour company but they never contacted me.
The same with tickets via the KSC site. No luck there either. The only thing left is ebay but I find prices are really high if not outrageous and none of them offer transport.
Then have to think accomodation and flights. All hotels around Orlando airport must be fully booked around that time I am sure.

How will I do this?

There is still STS-135 with Atlantis (my most favourite ship) in June but chances for launch scrubs are much much higher with the thunderstorms around that time of the year plus there will be a gazillion people as it will be the last Shuttle launch in History.

Gator Tours still has KSC launch tickets. You are farther away than when viewing from the causeway, and you won't have a view of the shuttle on the launchpad (though they do have a jumbotron set up that shows NASA TV).

https://rezweb.com/gator/Detail.aspx?agcid=103&Tour_id=56

Alternatively you can watch it for free from Titusvile... Even farther away, but clear view of the launchpad.

Hotels in Orlando shouldn't be a problem.

Book now

Thanks a lot!
I am now booked with them to view the launch at KSC.
This will be good as they provide transport.
I hope for good weather with no launch scrubs!

Cool. I'll probably add a few buffer days before flying back to CA to be able to deal with launch delays.

I now have my air ticket and the KSC ticket. Transatlantic tickets are far from cheap.
Will bid on Priceline for hotel room.

Have allowed myself extra days in case of launch scrubs.
Launch windows are short. Only about10 minutes each day.

Anyone else going to see the launch?

I can't make it but would love to get one of the crew list golf shirts they sell in the gift shop. I wonder if they sell them online.

Got an email today from Dolphin Tours (my tour operator/ticket provider) saying that KSC unexpectedly provided additional causeway tickets. Dolphin is first offering them to KSC ticket holders as an upgrade. I wonder if Gator Tours is doing something similar. Might be worth checking into on their FB page or via email.

Have a look at this page showing what they sell for STS-133 at the moment:

http://www.thespaceshop.com/stspshdicors1.html

For STS-134 they only have the mission patch and pin at the moment, but I am sure more will show up on the page:

http://www.thespaceshop.com/sts134mission.html

It looks like it will be busy!

Sad to see the orbiters go...Phil

Bummer for those of us travelling a long way to attend the launch.

Here's the latest official news:

NASA Retargets Space Shuttle Endeavour's Launch for April 29
Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:08:41 AM CDT

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Following discussions among the International Space Station partners on Sunday, NASA has targeted the launch of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission for 3:47 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 29. The delay removes a scheduling conflict with a Russian Progress supply vehicle scheduled to launch April 27 and arrive at the station April 29.

NASA managers will hold a Flight Readiness Review on Tuesday, April 19, to assess the team's readiness to support launch.

An official launch date will be selected at the conclusion of the meeting.

Only minor damage to space shuttle Endeavour's external fuel tank foam was identified during detailed inspections Saturday by technicians and engineers on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Evaluations indicate there was no damage to the spacecraft.

Teams were assessing any possible damage from severe storms that hit Kennedy on Wednesday and Thursday. ‪


Today, workers at the pad will continue closeouts in Endeavour's aft section and will load hydrazine into the shuttle's hydraulic power unit.

Rats... I just heard it as well. Now have to figure out what to do with my non-refundable flight and car rental. Maybe five days of sightseeing/beach vacation.

And on top of that, just realized that the 29th puts the new date right smack in the middle of another trip. Oh boy, couldn't have been worse timing.

On the bright side, for the masses here who were excited about this launch and couldn't get tickets this means that there will be plenty of tickets on eBay or Facebook available from folks who bought them from Gator or Dolphin Tours and now can't make it to Florida for the new date.

MadameConcorde, does the MP software allow you to move the meet-up to a new date, or will this thread forever be stuck on April 19th?

I moved up the date. MP is a great forum!

I will phone the tour company and see if I can swap to Causeway with the date change. I would say beware of ebay sellers and their over inflated ticket prices.

My tickets just arrived via registered mail. Time to book new flights.

I also received my ticket and transport + pick up place today via EMS.

I would not mind it if I could find a VIP Causeway ticket with transport. I would then put the KSCVC ticket and transport on ebay and sell it at cost price. I suppose they are transferable.

I am looking.

If you haven't already, check out he discussions page on Dolphin Tours' Faebook site. Lots of buying and selling after the reschedule.

I am looking. Thank you.
isn't it a risk though? How to change the passenger's name, etc.?

On their homepage, Dolphin Tours state:

" Should you give or sell your tickets to someone else, you just have to call our office and make the name change. It is your responsibility to forward all relevant tickets etc. to the new party"

Thank you. I contacted all on Dolphin Tours FB page who were selling tickets. They had them all sold already. They go really fast. At least I am not without a ticket.
The launch will be postponed again if the US Government shuts down, which seems likely.

Maybe. They just "gained" 10 days (roughly) of buffer due to the change from April 19 to April 29. The NASASpaceFlight.com forum discusses this in more detail; I believe you're following that thread already

In any case, I am holding off changing my unrelated trip booked for the week of April 29 and booking a new flight to Florida (would likely be an award ticket this time) until the weekend to see where the budget negotiations are going.