FALCON 9!

So, it might seem I write more about rockets than sailing, but, hey, unexpected experiences is what the Merchant Marine is all about. My ship pulled in to Cape Canaveral just a few hours before the SPACE X FALCON 9 Launch! It went off at 0118LT Aug 7, 2018. This rocket launched an improved telecommunications satellite for Indonesia. So we got into a truck and drove over to the launch site. We got a front row view!! We were only 4miles away and the rocket lit up the sky. It was loud too, and we could even feel some heat come off of the Rocket as it rose into the sky. We got to have some beers and chill. Patrick even went swimming, haha!!😂 The whole experience was a thrill. I hope you enjoy:

Earlier in the month I was able to meet up with my friend, Laurel Anne, who works on the base. She got to drive me around and give an exclusive tour of some of their projects. First she showed me the rockets from the previous iconic missions that are at the Kennedy Space Center Air field:

She also got to show me some of the current projects. The DELTA 4: Parker Probe!! This rocket was launched August 12th and went to Sun!! She also showed me the FALCON 9 launch site that is used by SPACE X.

Lastly, my ship was in port when the same FALCON 9 Rocket came back into Port Canaveral. It was cool to see the piece come back to Canaveral. According to SPACE X, The Rocket lands on an new “revolutionary” autonomous barge, but if it is towed by a tug, with a Mate on the Bridge, is it really autonomous? Hmmm 🤔