Mission Over.

After a tour round the Freeways of Orlando we returned the Magnum to Dollar Car Rental without a problem. We covered about 330 miles and managed 23.5 mpg, absolutely outstanding as most folks we talked to thought 18 was good. We did have the economical 2.7 liter V6 Auto of course!!

As some compensation for not seeing Atlantis launch we watched a "classified satellite " being launched on an Atlas V rocket. We, and several others, had a good view from the top of the multi-storey car park at Orlando airport. Just as well we had something to do as the flight was delayed a couple of hours because of strong Atlantic head winds. In the event we were delayed a further hour when a young passenger was taken ill and the family elected not to fly and their luggage had to be removed. Not all bad though because I ended up with an empty seat next to me so we could spread out a bit.

So it was home for lunch, unpack, repack and off to the St. Ives Hotel for the DancewithPassion Christmas Party. We've only been home for a day and have already decided that it is far too cold here so are planning the return trip to see a Shuttle Landing and Launch.

Our pictures can be seen by following the link in the list on the right of this page. We'll tidy them up and caption them in due course.

Air-boats and Fast Cars.

After the disappointment of the launch scrub we decided to follow Mary's recommendation of an air-boat ride and set off for Jolly-Gator Fish Camp and taking Judith, one of our fellow guests, along. After a pleasant half hour drive we pulled in and spoke to Captain Bruce who said we could depart immediately. So off we went to enjoy the sight of alligators and several species of birds and one very large eagle! It was great fun, if a little noisy, and we would love to go to the Everglades and try it out there.

We came back via Daytona as I wanted to see the speedway and we had time to spare. When we got there they were having a practise day so in we went to watch. They run a short tour of the infield and explain the history of the place which was all very interesting. About an hours drive down Highway #1 back to Casa Coquina through some very interesting towns finished our short tour of Florida.

I guess we'd better start packing now, or should we leave the stuff here and pick it up in January?!! Maybe if I'd won the $18million on the Florida State Lottery last night.......

Atlantis ain't going nowhere!!!

Well that's it folks, ECO sensor #3 failed again this morning so the launch was scrubbed and is rescheduled for January 2nd at the earliest. So it could be New Year in Florida for the Gibsons!!

We're off to try air-boating today as we didn't make it yesterday and then maybe a movie tonight.

The Countdown is back on.

Just finished watching the News Conference and they are Go for a launch on Sunday, must know us Brits like a good Sunday Launch!! It will be our last chance to see it now as if this one fails the next possibility is Monday or then Thursday, we will miss it by about an hour if it's Monday.



We didn't go out today, just sat around with our fellow guests putting the world to rights and talking about stuff in general. Turns out the US has the same issues as the UK, immigration, political correctness, questionable government, house prices etc. etc. That's our room on the top right!


Better go and find something to eat and have an early night, NASA-TV starts at 06:00 when they begin Tanking. If there is a problem with the sensors it should show up about 07:00 and they will scrub the launch there and then. If that happens we'll go and have some of the complimentary beer and wine in the downstairs refridgerator and try to forget about Atlantis!

OK, roll on Sunday then.....

NASA have decided no launch on Saturday as they are still undecided on the fuel sensor problem. They are looking at rewriting the launch parameters manual to use the point sensor box readings instead. All being well they will confirm a 15:21 (20:21 GMT) Sunday launch after the Saturday afternoon Management meeting. Failing that they can launch Monday around 14:50 but we have to be at the airport, 35 miles away, by 15:00 and the Magnum isn't that good! Maybe those nice Techsas managers will let me have an extra day off and Sir Richard will change our flights........

We went to the Warbird museum today which was full of, well Warbirds and memorabilia. Then, in the interests of following local customs and culture, we went to a Shopping Mall and Pizza Hut. Visited the SEARS store and they have Christmas Lights like you wouldn't believe. Unfortunately, or depending on your view point, fortunately they were all 110 volt and too heavy to bring home. D'oh!

Tomorrow (Sat) we are heading North to try an air-boat ride and a drive down Daytona Beach.

Keep your fingers crossed for Sunday, bye for now.

Roll on Saturday.

Well we went back to the Space Center and suggested they rewrite the launch over-ride process so that they could control the engine cut-off from the ground and not rely on the suspect processor. This is going to take a bit longer to implement so they scrubbed the Friday launch and are going for Saturday at 15.43 (20:43 GMT). Yeah, honestly!!

We went to the areas we didn't see yesterday and saw the IMAX Space Station film, very good and then the Shuttle Launch Simulator which works better than the real one ;^). Tom had his first go at driving the mighty Magnum, when we went to the Astronaut Hall of Fame, and is now considering getting a V8 for the Rocket instead of a Focus engine. He now agrees with me that American cars don't do corners, nor economy actually.

We'll probably go to the Valiant Air Command Warbird museum tomorrow and look at some low tech old aeroplanes, oh sorry, airplanes. There should also be a NASA press conference around 17:00 (22:00 GMT) to announce if our scheme worked and the new launch plan.

By the way it is somewhat strange to be walking about in 80 degree heat, putting on sun block and listening to the loud speakers pumping out "Frosty the Snowman" and "White Christmas"!

Oh bugger.....

Just announced the launch is scrubbed for today, something about faulty software!!! Hopefully it will be rescheduled for 16:09 tomorrow (21:09 GMT). We are just off to the Space Center now to see if we can help out :^) . More later......

It's behind you!

Hi all, my first proper post! This is as close as we were allowed to get to the shuttle. Apparently if we watched the launch from there we'd get cooked, but alligators can survive it (pictures to follow!). Everything continues to be big, except for the Saturn V, which is very big. Oh, and the VAB, which is so big it won't fit on one photo unless you're 5 miles away!

We stayed at the Space Center until they chased us away (fortunately those Astronauts move like they're underwater, so we out-ran them easily). NASA TV tells us there is a 90% chance of launching on schedule tomorrow, so fingers crossed (and anything else we can manage). Have a nice day!

Now that's what I call a view!!

It's been a long day but well worth it. No problem with the flight, just cloudy all the way so I caught up with the sleep I missed last night, Tom just watched a couple of films. Picked up the hire car but unfortunately it isn't the Charger but a Magum SE. Only done 14 miles, well 54 now, but it's BIG although not that big as it is actually the smallest vehicle in the hotel car park. Found the hotel without problem, other than everybody driving on the wrong side of the road, and what do flashing red traffic lights mean? Linda showed us round the place and gave us a room with the best possible view we could have anywhere. That's the Vehicle Assembly Building on the right and the launch pad on the left and no, the river doesn't really slope to the left, I said it's been a long day.

Right, early to bed and off to Kennedy for the day at 9:00 to see if there is a spare seat or two on the Shuttle!

The countdown is running.....

Busy day today, checked in for the flights and printed our boarding passes, did the packing (well I packed my gadgets and Anne packed my clothes and stuff), went for an emergency dental fix (thanks Sandra), did a day's work then took the luggage to Paul and Ann's and went for our dancing lesson. Oh, and most important, put up the Christmas lights!

Paul and Anne are picking us up in 4 hours so why am I writing this instead of sleeping? Just 2days 22hours and 10 mins to go....

All Systems Go.

NASA have just confirmed the launch for 16.31 EST on Thursday Dec 6th, that's 21.31 GMT, so I'd better go and get packed. It's now down to the weather and/or technical problems (or even Derek's dire warning!) to delay the launch. Our flight home is at 15.30 on the 10th so we have a few days window. Actually there is an Atlas rocket launch scheduled for the 10th.......

Fingers Crossed!!

Final conference at 9 tonight to give the launch date and time. Watch it live on NASA-TV.

So many cars....

Well the Harmony module was plumbed in today during a seven hour space walk so the launch is still set for December 6th. Now, big choice, do we have a nice little European type car while we're there or a big, brash in-yer-face Yank Tank?




You've guessed it, had to be the Dodge Charger! Wonder if they have an old orange one with a flag on the roof......

Harmony...

The Harmony module was successfully repositioned today so everything is still on target. The Press conference on Friday should give the official launch date and time, hopefully before the 10th.

Atlantis is there.

Well Atlantis has made it to the Pad on time, lets hope the launch is on schedule too.

Gibbosontourus?

Wasn't that a dinosaur?

:^)