kluksdah@enuxha.eas.asu.edu (Norman C. Kluksdahl) (05/10/89)
Well, after living in Phoenix for 5 years, I decided to finally get out
to Edwards for Atlantis' landing. Fortunately, some people had posted
summaries on the landing, and on getting there, so I had NO problems
finding the viewing site. The people at Edwards must be commended for
their efforts at trying to ease traffic and making the experience
enjoyable. Well done (except for a couple of bozos--more on that later)!!
After driving for 7.5 hours through desert at 110 degrees (or so it seemed),
my wife and I arrived at Edwards at 9:30 pm. The viewing area is well marked
by signs, and some airmen had the pleasant (?) duty of standing all night
directing us civilians out to the lake bed. There were not nearly as many
people at the site as I had expected--newscritters estimated 15K. We parked
the car and walked around a bit. Hint: befriend someone with a motorhome
and get onto the roof--the view is better. There were lots of souvenir
merchants hawking everything from shuttle mementos to solar panels, at
rediculously inflated prices, of course. We packed a cooler full of sandwiches,
several gallons of water, a camera, and some gear to sleep in. In our case,
this involved folding down the rear seat and trying to sleep in a space large
enough for two small children (And I'm 6'7", no less!).
Enter the bozos. No sooner had we gotten settled than three airmen, obviously
unhappy at standing around all night directing traffic, began chatting loudly
with a couple of girls. Annoying isn't the word. [Side note: even though
the daytime temp was 102, it got rather cool at night. Sweaters were in
order!] The next morning, we visited with some people who had been to many
landings (15!), then prepared for THE EVENT. All morning, aircraft had been
shooting touch-and-gos on the concrete runway. This ended, and someone turned
on a radio (frequency band unknown) to listen to shuttle communication and
Houston ground control. We got into position, then waited. Because of
slight overcast, we didn't pick up the Atlantis until after the sonic booms,
then there she was--beautiful as anything I've ever seen. It came in very
fast, and dropped like a brick onto final. 90 seconds. I shot the fastest
roll of film in my life (without an auto-winder!), then Atlantis was back on
the ground.
After this, traffic backed up as people left, so we spent more time visiting
in an air-conditioned motorhome until traffic was cleared out. Then 8 hours
driving back to Phoenix. Summary-15.5 hours driving, one bad night's sleep,
hot, 90 seconds of shuttle. Damn right, it was worth it!!!!
Here are a few of my observations, for what they're worth. Camera--auto-winder
is a must, and at least 36 exposures of film. Slide film is better, since
you can enlarge it with less graininess. You want at least 500 mm of telephoto
lens, and you want FAST shutter speeds--1/1000 or better. Otherwise you will
get too much camera shake. A tripod is next-to-useless. The shuttle moves
too fast. Camping--get there early, and stake out a spot in the middle of
the most conservative, quietest group of people you can find. Otherwise you
won't get much sleep. Take a jacket-it gets cool. Take lots of water so you
don't dehydrate (especially in the hotter months). Plan on a traffic jam
when you leave, and allow for it. Most of all, have fun! What a thrill!!!
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Norman Kluksdahl Arizona State University
..ncar!noao!asuvax!enuxha!kluksdah
alternate: kluksdah@enuxc1.eas.asu.edu
standard disclaimer implied