This was my causeway view of the April 2011 launch of STS-131. It was very exciting! The causeway is the best view you can publicly purchase* tickets to watch a launch from, you can actually see the shuttle while it’s on the launch pad. From the Visitor’s Center you can’t actually see the launch because the trees are in the way, you can see it seconds after it clears the tree line. We couldn’t see the shuttle until a bus took us to the causeway and as you stepped off the bus people were gasping when they could see the shuttle on the launch pad! It was (very) far away, but it was beautiful!!!

This was one of the last few launches and it was amazing, I really wished I’d made it down there to more launches. It was a great experience. I’m so glad that I went on that trip!

* After you got in the lottery via e-mail you get to be in the “virtual waiting room” for ticket purchase day, you then had to win another lottery get actually get picked out of that room. FYI, they didn’t charge more for tickets on launch day, they were just harder to get (you did pay more for the causeway, but that’s because you had to get on a separate chartered bus to get out to that location). Private tour groups had some tickets but they charged more and it seemed a little more complicated getting around.