Kennedy Space Center, FL – The Space Coast said good bye to one of our most famous residence, Space Shuttle Discovery, on Tuesday, April 17. Discovery was flown over head along the Space Coast one final time. Discovery took off from the runway at KSC at first light, around 7 am, and then the orbiter and Shuttle Carrier Aircraft flew over Kennedy Space Center and the KSC Visitor Complex, headed south to around Patrick AFB then turned around and flew back up the coast along Cocoa Beach & Cape Canaveral and then fly out for D.C. Even though the shuttles are scheduled to flew out there will still be rocket launches to enjoy.

On April 10, a very special plane landed at the Kennedy Space Center, it was a modified Boeing 747 jet airliner, originally manufactured for commercial use, it was turned into a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, by NASA and designated NASA 905. It was here to prepare to ferry the shuttle Discovery on her flight to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Va.

Discovery was the third in NASA’s fleet of orbiters after the Columbia and Challenger. It was launched for the first time on Aug. 30, 1984, completed 39 missions, including the deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope, and landed at KSC for the last time on March 9, 2011.

Discovery will be placed on permanent public display in the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

Republished from PlacesAroundFlorida.com

The Cocoa Beach Hot Rod Power Tour rumbled into Cocoa Beach this weekend as fans lined A1A for the kick-off of the nation’s top car show. Pictured above is 67 SS Camaro that was part of the Ron Jon Friday Night Cruise. The show was held at Port Canaveral and as many as 3000 cars participated.

57 Chevy

69 Pontiac GTO Judge

2007 Shelby Mustang GT500

68 Pontiac Firebird Formula 400

70 Dodge Challenger RT

The Portuguese Man o’ War is common on Space Coast beaches this time of year just as spring break in Florida comes around.

These were spotted over the weekend on Cocoa Beach. Treatment for man o’war stings have been popularized in TV episodes of Friends, however medical personal advise against it.

The USAF Thunderbirds were the headliners in Cocoa Beach this past weekend for a two day air show. The crowds were large and the show was spectacular.

The Thunderbirds fly F-16s and are based at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, NV. After watching all the military aircraft perform, I’m glad there on our side.

The air show started with a flag jump from a member of the 101st Airborne Screaming Eagles.

Then proceeded with a flyby from F-16s from the Florida Makos based at Homestead Air Reserve Base.

We were treated with a flyby from a C-47, the Tico Belle.

A pair of F-22 Raptors made a couple of passes.

John Black and his 8KCAB Super Decathlon performed stunts like it was a cartoon or something.

Our local boys, the 920th Rescue Wing from Patrick AFB always make us proud.

An F-15 Strike Eagle from the Demo Team at Seymour Johnson AFB, in North Carolina.

The F-15 wowed the crowd with its demonstration.

Jason Newburg and his Viper gave a performance that would have made Snoopy proud.

A US Navy F-18 Hornet performed an excellent demonstration flight.

Team MS760 performed superbly, I think most spectators were surprised how well this new team demonstrated their abilities.

The C-17 Globemaster was the largest aircraft on display.

Geico Skytypers amazed the crowds with aerobatic maneuvers and typed messages high above the airshow.

The Miss Geico offshore racing boat passes the World, a luxury resident cruise ship.

Hurricane Earl headed up the Space Coast bringing big waves and surfers to East Coast Beaches and the Cocoa Beach Pier yesterday as Cocoa Beach was gearing up for the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Surf Festival.

The Cocoa Beach Super Boat Race held this weekend was a lot of fun to watch with boats racing just off the beach. The race, Thunder on the Beach, sanctioned by Super Boat International and was the first in what appears to be an annual event for Cocoa Beach. Pictured above is Superboat Vee Unlimited winner Instigator with an average of 96.12 mph.

Super Cat winner Popeyes had an average speed of 94.8 mph.

Superboat 750 class winner Warpaint had an average speed of 92.78 mph.

Local favorite Doug Wright, and his entry Mapei won the Superboat stock class with an average speed of 88.13 mph.

Fountain Talladega racing in the Manufacturer Production 1 class took second at 86.45 mph.

Team Mo Jo in the Manufacturer Production 2 class turned in a dismal 41.7 mph, the boat looked really slow in the water.

Instigator passes Velocity.

Crowds show up for Thunder on the Beach.

Crane moves Mapei into Port Canaveral.

Recently, there’s been a lot of talk about a lack of oil skimmers in the Gulf. Another kind of skimmer, the Black Skimmer, is native to Florida and much more pleasant to watch than the other kind.

Black skimmers have a unique way of feeding. They fly along at the water’s edge and use their longer lower bill to penetrate the water scoop up small fish.

Their method works really well, this black skimmer has caught a small jack.

During the months of May and June, the FWC set aside a protected breeding area on Cocoa Beach where the black skimmers could nest undisturbed which gave me a chance to get these photos.

One day while walking down on the beach, I saw a black skimmer sitting on her nest away from the protected breeding area, I assumed she was tending to her eggs and gave her plenty of room. On my way back by, I saw a man standing over the spot where she had been nesting, she was flying around the man who appeared to be ignorant of the circling and terrified hen skimmer. As I approached the man, he said to me “A bird just laid an egg”, which was lying at his feet. I then pointed out the circling skimmer, and told him he was disturbing a nesting bird, and to please leave the bird alone and that he was breaking the law. He stayed anyway, pointing to the egg as other beach walkers passed. I watched and he eventually left, I didn’t have my cell phone to call the law because I like to unplug at the beach.

As I watch these skimmers unique method of feeding on the beach, I wonder about all the skimmers in the northern Gulf and the impact of the oil on Panhandle beaches from the worst environmental disaster in American history. You can help by supporting groups like the International Bird Rescue Recourse Center, purchasing Dawn products and giving nesting birds their space.

An estimated 1500 people showed up at Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach on June 26 to protest Republican led efforts to allow offshore oil drilling off the coast of Florida. Hands Across the Sand is leading an international effort to say “No to Offshore Drilling” and “Yes to Clean Energy”, they are the ones who organized the event.

The Surfrider Foundation and Tony Sasso also played major parts, both have been instrumental in preserving Florida for future generations. Hands Across the Sand held events worldwide and had a strong turnout.

Oil from the BP-Deepwater Horizons disaster is still flowing, and our local Republicans still support drilling for oil off Florida beaches. As you may know Republican Senator Mike Haridopolos, who represents most of Brevard’s beaches, is the champion of drilling for oil within three miles of Florida’s Beaches. His next job will be President of the Senate. Mike Haridopolos supports offshore oil drilling even though the total impact of oil to Florida beaches is still unknown. This shows Haridopolos is either a tool of big oil or lacks the judgment to hold office, unfortunately he’ll be returning to Tallahassee as he has no opponents this fall.

Today and yesterday I had a chance to watch the Cocoa Beach Air Show. One of the best pictures I took was of the F-16 from the Viper Team East Heritage Flight with a Korean War era F-86 Sabre.

Here is the F-16 alone as it streaks downward.

A C-17 with it’s landing gear down.

These two are of a F/A-18 Hornet.

Here a HC-130 performs a refueling exercise with two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters from the 920th Rescue Wing stationed at Patrick AFB.

The Geico Skytypers were lighting up the sky with messages.

The show opening featured the Skytypers, the Golden Knights and a Biplane.