“I want to visit Sriharikota sometime; can you ask anyone for a permission letter?” I asked my husband while travelling to Sullurpeta, Andhra Pradesh. We were entering the border and I saw the name on a board and asked my husband. I don’t know if it’s luck or co-incidence, there was a rocket launch happening that day. I wasn’t aware of it because lately, there have been many other breaking news that this got overlooked.
I am not sure of how many would cherish their first experience of witnessing a rocket launch but for me, it was like a pipe dream becoming a reality. So, how about starting the story from the beginning?
Our plan for that day was to visit Nellore, my in-laws’ place via Sullurpeta, halting there in my husband’s relatives’ place. Plan A was: start from Chennai around 7 AM, reach Sullurpeta at 9.30 AM, Have breakfast and spend time with family, resume the journey around 11 AM, and reach Nellore by 12.30 PM.
On the other hand, it seemed like God had made plans for us to watch the rocket launch and as his plans are always perfect, we started from Chennai around 7.25 AM, after half an hour’s journey, it started raining cats and dogs! We couldn’t stop the car nor go fast. We had to drive slowly and cautiously, hence, crossed the city only at around 9 AM. Adding fuel to the fire was us being hungry and not finding any proper restaurants.
Considering the pandemic situation, we were not in the stage to compromise on the hygiene of the hotels and finally around 9.30 AM, we found a restaurant and ended up having a heavy breakfast. We were a little upset about how our day started, but somehow, consoled ourselves because we were mentally prepared for such an uncertainty. That’s when I saw the board and just out of nowhere, asked my husband that question. Why I asked and what made me ask that question, I am unsure of it.
When we went to our relatives’ house, my husband’s friend informed us about the rocket launching (PSLVC49) at 3 PM! Our heart wanted to witness the launch but brain reminded us about Plan A, which expected us to reach Nellore at 12 PM. We thought for few minutes and I called my MIL (Mother-In-Law,) explained the situation, and somehow got the green signal to witness the launching.
The first part of the plan was a success. The next part was spending some time in our relatives’ house which was much-required. The third and the most crucial part of the plan was to check if we can get to visit the space centre to witness the rocket launching. Unfortunately, we had to get a pass to visit their centre, but the people in charge guided us to a viewing point nearby, to watch the launching.
We went to the visiting point at around 2.30 PM and although it wasn’t crowded, we didn’t compromise on social distancing. Now began the real adventure- the weather seemed to oppose god’s plan. The launching pad was fully covered with clouds and we were under the sun. We expected the reverse to happen so that we could have a clear vision of the rocket. At around 2.45 PM, it started raining heavily even at the viewing point and although, stopped, the launching pad was still unclear. The news reported that the weather was perfectly clear in the launching site so we assumed the launch will happen exactly at the proposed time- 3.02 PM.
We waited till 3.01 PM and as it was the first time for me, I was searching for the rocket and wondered if the rocket was already launched. Later we found out, the rocket launching was postponed by 10 minutes and hence, we continued our prayers for clear weather. Somehow, the clouds started to move a little and paved way for a blurry yet visible atmosphere. On the other hand, our viewing point started raining again and this time, we were standing erect and determined to witness the launch irrespective of getting wet in the rain.
At exactly 3.11 PM, the weather still didn’t show any signs of empathy and I lost all expectations of witnessing the launch. Suddenly, at 3.12 PM, I saw the fire slowly rising in the upward direction and my heart started pounding as I became ecstatic! We applauded, cheered, and I almost became emotional! Once the view vanished, we heard the boisterous sound of rocket and I was on cloud nine!
After the launch, the authorities started allowing people to visit the space centre, we went inside, took few pictures in the entrance and started back. While travelling back, we stopped at a bridge on Pulicat lake to appreciate sunshine post showers. The nature was posing at its best and having no crowd, we got the opportunity to have a nice walk, take snaps, and finally reach home.
This was my first experience of witnessing a rocket launch. While there are better ways to witness it, I would still cherish this as it had a great memory and come on! Such first-time experiences are always momentous. Did you guys have any experiences of witnessing the rocket launch? Do share those interesting memories in the comments below!
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