Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

NASA TV (Shuttle Launch Any Minute Now!)

I'm just glad neither of these usernames happened :eek:

Picture 1.png
 
r.j.s said:
Amazing, wasn't it?
Click to expand...

Yea...I have to imagine those people working for NASA have to be really sweating as that thing takes off. Nice commentary about how they would always be okay if one of the engines shutdowns. That was really amazing how that works so well and you can watch the whole thing. 12,700 miles per hour...man thats fast.
 
Very briefly, I got to see Endeavor fly overhead here in the UK about 19 mins after launch. Couldn't see the fuel tank separately - but it was nice to see it, been trying for AGES!

Managed to get one crap photograph off.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5214.jpg
    IMG_5214.jpg
    45.3 KB · Views: 119
djellison said:
Very briefly, I got to see Endeavor fly overhead here in the UK about 19 mins after launch. Couldn't see the fuel tank separately - but it was nice to see it, been trying for AGES!

Managed to get one crap photograph off.
Click to expand...

Very cool, even if only a spec in the sky.
 
NASA is reporting a possible hit to the shuttle 90 seconds into the flight.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — As the space shuttle Endeavour lifted off into orbit Wednesday evening, several pieces of debris fell off the external fuel tank, and at least one hit the orbiter.

Astronauts in space and engineers on the ground will spend the next few days examining and analyzing the damage to see if it might pose a danger to the shuttle on re-entry.
Click to expand...
A camera on the external tank captured about a dozen pieces of debris falling off the external tank. At least one, coming off about 1 minute 46 seconds after liftoff, hit the orbiter, leaving three marks on the heat-resistant tiles on the underside.
Click to expand...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/science/space/16shuttle.html?em
 
MacNut said:
The technology itself is closer to 40 years. The shuttle was being designed during the Apollo missions.
Click to expand...

I THINK....it was during one of the EVA's during Apollo 16 or 17, when Congressional approval for the Shuttle was signed off.

It's going to be a complicated mission - huge ammount of robotic arm work ( Station, Shuttle and Japanese Robot arms all get a LOT of workouts)

One thing I like about watching Nasa TV in Quicktime with Flip4Mac (good links here - http://www.neil-online.com/nasa/ ) is that it archives as you go along, so you can scrub backwards and forwards and see the slow robot arm movements all sped up :D

http://iphone.akamai.com also has a good feed for touch/phone users.

I'll be out looking for the Station and the Shuttle tonight - should be one good ISS flyover and one for Shuttle. They'll be surprisingly far apart given that they're docking tomorrow. Sadly, docking is a bit early tomorrow for me to see the two of them go overhead together.
 
djellison said:
I'll be out looking for the Station and the Shuttle tonight - should be one good ISS flyover and one for Shuttle. They'll be surprisingly far apart given that they're docking tomorrow. Sadly, docking is a bit early tomorrow for me to see the two of them go overhead together.
Click to expand...

You need to get somewhere a little darker, saying that your photos are stunning.
 
The light pollution in Leicester is bloody dreadful. I don't do any observational astronomy, and for an ISS pass, getting further away just isn't worth it. Should be a good iridium flare tonight as well :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back