We attended the Lunar Prospector launch at the Florida "Space Coast" in the winter of 1997/98, and the launch of the Mars Polar Lander in the winter of 1998/99.

The first mentioned launch had been postponed several times. I had not set up my camera when the Lunar Prospector finally took off, because the size of the rocket was supposedly much smaller than a shuttle! This was a big mistake that took me another 12 month to correct.

The first launch was wonderfully visible for about 3 minutes long after the take-off! As one can see, deep rain clouds unfortunately covered most of the second one.

Because of the crowd a launch usually draws (especially a shuttle launch) we stayed at the beach terrace of our hotel at the south-end of Cocoa Beach instead of going to Jetty Park, which is facing the launch pads and for such an event recommended by NASA.
This Park is located in Port Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean, just south of the Cape Canaveral Air Station border. From State Road A1A go towards the port and then follow the park signs.
Both Space Shuttle and expendable launch vehicle liftoffs can be viewed from there. A minimal admission fee of approx. $3 is charged to enter the park.

It usually closes at 9 p.m. but adjusts its hours to accommodate launch viewing. The distance to the launch pads is approx. 3 miles. It will be crowded but probably less than the NASA visitor center.

Any equipment will be fine as long as the main objective is to record this event just as a memory. A telephoto lens in the 300-500 mm range is very helpful to zoom in on the rocket. The first picture was taken with a 80-400 mm zoom at the 300 mm setting and the second (below) at 400 mm.

I used a motor driven auto-focus camera, which was mounted on a tripod. I had the controls of the pan/tilt head loose enough to allow a fast tracking, and I used a cable release to trigger the camera. The ability to shoot fast picture sequences will enlarge the picture success rate. A 36-exposure film of a higher ISO speed should be used; for example ISO 400 print film.

The rocket was incredibly bright; therefore I just trusted my camera's built-in (honeycomb-) matrix-meter for the best exposure on this gray, overcastted afternoon.

We prefer the winter season because of the mild temperatures and the low humidity. Unfortunately, around Christmas and New Year no launches take place. Follow the link below for launch information and schedules.

JETTY PARK, phone: (407) 783-7111