Originally posted by Miss Meow
I had never thought about how the shuttle gets around. Now I know!

It would be mindblowing indeed to be sitting in a plane awaiting takeoff, when the next 747 in the queue has another aircraft stuck to its back!

I'll come with you to Florida; it's one of my dreams to watch a shuttle take off. All that energy being harnessed into one little lift-off - amazing

They are such brave people.

If you have seen a 747 fly from a distance it looks like it moves so painfully slow.......

Piggyback like that, You feel like you can almost run as fast as it flies.....it moves s-l-o-w-l-y and the engines scream...

And the other thing that stuns you is the size of the whole setup..A 747 can be seen from aways off...your mind knows it's a huge plane.....with the shuttle on top it's MONSTROUS!!

-----------------

End of the World shuttle story..

Growing up in Southern Cal you see and hear a few things in the air, It used to be the center of air technology in the 70s, 80's and early 90's..

One thing that scares to poop out of you are earthquakes and sonic booms - the booms because you THINK they are earthquakes in the making.

Just south of Edwards Air Force Base, about 30 miles is a set of mountains that separate Los Angeles County from the beginning of the desert
area.

We had spent the day on a ride through the hills and spotted at a picnic site where we stopped to have lunch. About
20 minutes later there was a huge BOOM
what sounded like electricty bouncing around all around us.

My heart sank in my chest because I thought it was the start of an earthquake but I had never heard the 'bouncing electricity' noise......

It only took me a second to think that the world was going to end.......

As the noise echoed off into the distance I looked at my friends and they had a look on their faces that probably was the same as mine....

In unison they asked, 'What the #%8& was THAT?'

After about 10 seconds I remembered that the shuttle was scheduled to land 30 miles away....

The echoes across, and in between,the hills are something that defy description.


-------

I read somewhere that the noise of a shuttle take off kills every animal within a certain radius of
the tower.....


It is amazing that a machine like that can make so much scary noise......