Commercial Rocket Launch

[Aught Six]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061216/ap_on_sc/rocket_launch&printer=1

This is pretty cool, but I have to say it startled the hell out of me this morning. Right after sunrise, I was scanning a hayfieldfordeer when I looked over to my right and saw a fat, bright white ball twinkling just over the horizon. I sat there with my mouth open for a few seconds, looking at the incredible contrail, wondering what the hell it was.

I text messaged Mrs. Six asking her to check the news to see if we were at war. No answer. I texted again. Nothing. So I called her, and she answered in a sleepy voice. After a few minutes (I was nervous at this point, figuring I had 30 minutes to get in my Aunt's basement), she texted me back and said there was nothing in the news. I started to relax, texted her a couple more times and got back to scanning the field.

I saw the first stage burn out, but not knowing exactly what I was looking at, I figured it was obscured by heavy cloud cover and had malfunctioned. But, of course, a few seconds later stage two lit up with a flash and kept pushing the thing higher. Pretty soon it sort of arced out of sight, and the high altitudewinds blew the contrails into nothingness.

I knew the shuttle was up, and figured I wouldn't see anything coming from Cape Canavarel anyway, so being the paranoid nut I am, I had guessed it was from a sub or a hidden silo somewhere in western VA or NC. Glad it turned out to be something that helps the local economy as well as our military.

[vc1111]

You must be this tall to ride this ride.

[DougMD]

We saw it while goose hunting, but the contrail was twisted, presumably from wind a while after it went through. We thought it was the sun on the edge of clouds playing tricks on us, but I joked about it being the Taepo Dong III for how crooked the contrail was.

Your post reminds me of the Far Side sketch where mushroom clouds are on the horizon while two guys are fishing. One said something like "this means screw the size and creel limits!"

[Aught Six]

We saw it while goose hunting, but the contrail was twisted, presumably from wind a while after it went through. We thought it was the sun on the edge of clouds playing tricks on us, but I joked about it being the Taepo Dong III for how crooked the contrail was.

Your post reminds me of the Far Side sketch where mushroom clouds are on the horizon while two guys are fishing. One said something like "this means screw the size and creel limits!"

Yeah, about a minute into the flight (from my perspective), the wind started creating a zig-zag effectwith the contrail. I'll remember that for a long time.

Lol, yeah, the last thing I want to interrupt my hunting is a nuclear war. I didn't hike out there to turn around and run...I came to shoot something!Ifigured that as long as the news stations werequiet, the fire department sirens weren't going off, and the neighbors weren't running into the barn, things were probably going to be OK--that it was mostly likely an experiment or some sounding rocket. Felt bad I panicked the Mrs., though. She was ready to start filling buckets with water and load up all of my mags.