The morning of the launch, NASA gave STS-116 a 30% chance to launch. Considering the weather was similar to Thursday, when the launch was scrubbed, we did not have high hopes for seeing the shuttle go off. We still made the trip to Cape Canaveral, hoping to catch NASA’s first night launch in four years.
At 5:30 PM, we boarded a bus to take us a mere two miles from the launch pad. They warned us on the ride over of the hydrochloric acid that spews from the external rockets and some of the other dangers that accompany watching the shuttle from such a short proximity.
Sure enough, at 8:47 we saw an amazing site. The light from the engines completely illuminated the night sky. Close to the end of the video, you will see how beautiful the shuttle was as it pierced the clouds and shot towards the heavens. It was an amazing site that I needed to share.
