ROSAMOND, Calif. -- To watch the space shuttle Columbia land Sunday, residents along the broiling western flank of the Mojave Desert only have to look east through the twisting Joshua trees.
But the 2,000 inhabitants of Rosamond are non-plussed by the brouhaha over the reusable spacecraft and its landing on a nearby dry lakebed. After all, nearby Edwards Air Force Base has made aeronautical history before.
The X-1, the first plane to break the sound barrier, and the X-15, which flew more than 4,500 mph, were tested on the barren desert floor at Edwards. The base is now testing cruise missile aircraft and the controversial B-1 bomber.
'We want the shuttle to work, but we've lived with it so long that it's just not a big deal anymore,' said Chuck Bloodworth while playing pool at the Little Club Cafe on Rosamond Boulevard, the town's lone thoroughfare.
Anticipated crowd estimates range from 500,000 to 1.5 million for Sunday morning's desert 'splashdown.' Local motels are already filled with some 700 reporters and 350 NASA scientists.
The Air Force has set aside a mile-long fenced-in viewing area for spectators, but the area is about 3 miles from the actual landing area. NASA and the base are encouraging the public to watch the landing on TV.
That's exactly what they plan to do in Rosamond's Little Club Cafe.
'What? Go out there in that mob?' asked Bloodworth. 'Let the city folks go out there. It's something they can do on Sunday.'
Some residents were angry that Edwards decided to close its Rosamond Boulevard gate to visitors on Sunday for security reasons.
'They're changing the route -- it's just not right,' said the cafe's bartender, Rosemary Downs. 'We have a right to get some of that business. We're no different from any other town, except a little more sin and gambling.'
