Asri-unix.1000 net.space utcsrgv!utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!ARPAVAX:C70:sri-unix!Hamilton.ES@PARC-MAXC Fri Mar 12 17:42:05 1982 Re: shuttle landing I motorcycled up for the first landing (which I would guess is as crowded as it would ever get). It was all handled extremely well by the Air Force folks. Traffic moved steadily. I got in about 2am the night before. You're free to park and drop your sleeping bag at the spot they direct you to. They had everybody strung out in the eastern part of Rogers (dry) Lake, in an area about two miles N-S and 1/2 mile E-W. There were lots of porta-potties and drinking water, but bring your own food. I was able to get right up along the fence to view the landing -- the crowd wasn't more than about two deep, since lots of folks prefer the roofs of their RVs. You're free to walk around anywhere within the public viewing area. Columbia made a loud double sonic boom as it passed overhead at about 50,000 feet and Mach 2, then pulled about a 220-degree turn for final approach. It wasn't visible until about half a minute before touchdown, on final. Touchdown was about two miles from my viewing site, and was so smooth that I could only identify it by the clouds of dust that started to appear. I didn't have any trouble getting out, but even if I'd been in a car, I don't think it would have taken much over half an hour to get out of the worst traffic jams. The latest weather-word is that Rogers may be too wet for landing STS-3 there. --Bruce ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.