Shuttle launch

[Ole crusty bastard]

I live on the west coast of Florida, so this is all we get to see.

I climbed on top of the house with a cheap camera and I don't think the zoom worked.

I remember watching Sputnik and am still amazed to see these things go up.

9850

The shuttle is to the right of the telephone pole.

[KidA]

Cool pic.

Also the Leonid meteor shower is tonight (0130 EST to dawn). Should be a couple hundred an hour if you are in low light pollution areas.

Asia is supposed to get a kick ass show.

[SOTB]

Also the Leonid meteor shower is tonight (0130 EST to dawn). Should be a couple hundred an hour if you are in low light pollution areas.

Asia is supposed to get a kick ass show.Oooh, oooh! Now is the moment to nuke Indonesia and Malaysia (massive crossthread points)....:biggrin::biggrin:

[Miguel]

OCB,

In the awareness over the past few days of NASA's plan to retire the Space Shuttles next year, your photo from the "WEST side of Florida" show me how much I have missed!

If the launch is that impressive from the west side of Florida, I guess I have totally missed a hell of a lot from my Dad's front yard in Viera!

Damn! I should have never mentally given the Shuttle Launches, the ole "Oh I'll watch it next time".......

Great photo.

[8Ball]

Oooh, oooh! Now is the moment to nuke Indonesia and Malaysia (massive crossthread points)....:biggrin::biggrin:
Nice. Only SOTB...:biggrin:

[random]

Awesome picture. That must be so cool to see.

It is a personal goal of mine to watch a shuttle launch in person. Nearly managed it on spring break but they delayed it to the day after I left. Murphy's Law.

[Oldpogue]

I was on a business flight from Boston to Jacksonville back in the early 80s during a shuttle launch. The pilot was kind enough to angle the plane so that everyone on the east side of the plane could see the shuttle going horizontally downrange. It was a pretty cool thing to see. It was in view for a good twenty to thirty seconds.

[ET1/ss nuke]

Is the occasion of a massive meteor shower the best time to send up a shuttle shown to be fatally sensitive to impact damage? They couldn't have waited two days?

[0699]

I went to HS on the west coast of Florida in the 80s. We used to go out and watch the shuttle launches from the parking lot, so your photo brought back a lot of memories.

[BKK]

I was there on the beach in Jan 86 when the Challenger came apart. Not a good day.

[hile]

My great aunt lived in Melbourne Beach when I was younger. I remember floating in her pool and seeing the shuttle roll over. I also remember her telling me about January 1986. She said she saw Challenger happen, said to herself, "I don't think that was supposed to happen", walked inside, turned on the TV. And then she realized what she'd just witnessed.

[BKK]

I saw it going up normally, and turned to get back into my car.

I kept watching it and noticed the two solid rocket boosters were detached from the main part, and were still providing thrust. I had seen enough of them to know that normally they are spent when they detach. I thought, that is not normal. Then things really started looking abnormal, and I could hear them say on someones nearby radio.."We have a major Malfunction here".

After that the sky was streaked with smoke trails of debris for an hour or more. They had a major search of the beach for the next few weeks, looking for any parts that came ashore. Not a good day for the majority of people who live in the area, and were tied to the Cape.

[Ole crusty bastard]

We just watched the Space Station go over, 06:07. Ready to watch another launch, suppose to be at 06:21.

My camera equipment is O/A, what there is of it, so I can't share a picture.

[floydjones]

What it looks like from PAFB

http://i41.tinypic.com/25thqnc.jpg

[Titleist]

WOW! That's all I can say. Sound was probably awesome.

[bohica10]

My great aunt lived in Melbourne Beach when I was younger. I remember floating in her pool and seeing the shuttle roll over. I also remember her telling me about January 1986. She said she saw Challenger happen, said to herself, "I don't think that was supposed to happen", walked inside, turned on the TV. And then she realized what she'd just witnessed.


Had the exact same experience as your aunt. Watched it from the roof of the house, saw a large cloud of smoke with no further upward momentum, and thought, "I don't think it's supposed to do that."

[floydjones]

So I had a front row ticket to the launch today, and It did not disappoint! Great view, and very loud! Gave me goosebumps watching it.

Before
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs507.ash1/29940_447003443503_595598503_5879043_3716990_n.jpg

after
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-sjc1/hs547.snc3/29940_446833053503_595598503_5876108_4351272_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs507.ash1/29940_447002938503_595598503_5879041_1494071_n.jpg

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs547.snc3/29940_447003503503_595598503_5879044_988329_n.jpg

anyone else in Florida see it?

[Ole crusty bastard]

Too many clouds over here on the west coast, nice pictures.

[HighDragLowSpeed]

Mission commander is a classmate from Navy and a friend from that time. '84, '85 (save one batshit crazy one), and '87 did pretty well astronaut wise.

Good luck to them.

[Dirty_Sanchez]

My view is about the same as OCB's. I am born and raised in FL and have never been to a launch. I am gonna go to one of those last two.

[pirana]

OK, there are few chances remaining to see this. Although not as spectacular as the launches, a view of the shuttle as it races across the night sky, or even better, as the shuttle either approaches to, or distances from the ISS, as both are clearly visible in proper conditions.

Go to NASA's Human Space Flight page.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/

At the bottom left, there is a link "Click here for help with text-based sightings information." This link gives you the quick rundown on how to access your information, and to locate the spot in the sky where your sighting will occur.

Then, return to the homepage, locate your country in the drop-down box. For me, United States. Next, your locality breaks down more. In the US, click on your state. In your state, the locality breakdown continues to a specific area within it. Click on the nearest municipality listed.

Voila! A page tells you where (in the sky) and when the next ISS and Space Shuttle sightings are possible in your locality.

Grab a good set of binos and watch. The webpage says it looks like a bright pinpoint or something like that. You can clearly see this stuff with the naked eye if you're far enough away from the fucking city. With binos, and a few margaritas you can easily envision the astronaut flipping you the finger. Without the margaritas, this is something great to share with kids.

I've enjoyed this marvel for years. There are only a few shuttle flights left, so not much time left. Sadly, the weather doesn't cooperate sometimes, as appears to be the case the rest of the week here in the mid-Atlantic.

Happy Human Space Flight gazing.