Space Shuttle Launch
Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral, Florida

My father Albert Ordonez worked at the Kennedy Space Center with NASA since before the Apollo missions that sent a man to the moon. As a child I remember many of the "moon shots" as we called them, that we viewed from the visitors stands only a few miles from the launch pad. Nothing can prepare you for what you witness when a Saturn V Rocket takes off less than five miles away.

Today's Space Shuttles are regularly launched off Cape Canaveral and can be viewed from Cocoa Beach easily too. On the days of a shuttle launch you will find the beaches lined from New Smyrna down to Melbourne Beach with tourist to locals coming out for this spectacular event. The road ways as far east as Port Canaveral for miles west will have vehicles pulled to the side of the road as spectators stand along the waterway to watch a Shuttle or Rocket blast into space. It's certainly an event you will never forget and if it's your first time to ever witness a lift off then you will be quite anxious and amazed as you witness in person the incredible abilities of man putting men and women in space.

Growing up in the Cocoa Beach area and my father working for NASA we never missed a launch it was something that was just a huge part of our community and everyones life living around the Space Center. Today, it seems a little different unless you are directly connected to the space industry the hype and preparation of a launch is not like it use to be growing up, but it still takes my breathe away as far as you can see into the sky.

Theme Parks and Attractions
Jungle Village Go Carts and Put-Put Golf
Kennedy Space Center
Space Shuttle Launch
Disney World Magic Kingdom
Universal Studios
Sea World
Busch Gardens