Watch space shuttle Discovery launch on NASA TV - Link provided

Beautiful sight from Orlando, Godspeed. I am gonna miss those night launches

If there can be such a thing as a good thing about the Challenger and Columbia disasters, it would be the addition of the cameras on the external tank. I just love the video from that camera! Simply amazing!

Was pretty neat to watch on spaceflightnow being some half a minute ahead of every other stream avaliable on the net. Its has to be one of the most prettiest launches I can remember photographic wise, from the SRB thrust propellant to the Arc/Halo effect of the Plasma on the ET Tank.

Here in the UK we was treated to one hell of a show from the launch ourselves as the craft and ET Tank came overhead just as the early dawn sun was coming up. This added to a flare effect on both the Shuttle and Tank and although ive seen a few shuttles servicing the ISS before, ive never seen one actually 20 minutes after launch and still reaching Orbit. Not to mention never seeing a External Fuel Tank before, the vivid red reflecting the sun was mind-blowing.
Ive seen pictures from a previous pass that I missed due to bad weather over here, but to see it for my own eyes was something else. Hopefully i'll get to the Cape to see the last Launch or Landing of one of the missions before its too late at the end of 2010.
For now I hope all goes well with STS-128 and i'll be watching the (hopefully clear) skies as the ISS passes in the coming mornings.

I drove over to Kennedy Space Center tonight to see the launch; I had a feeling everything was going to go over well and the launch wouldn't be scrubbed tonight; because, the weather was perfect here in Florida all day.

The launch was amazing, and getting to view it from only 5-6 miles away at the KSC visitor complex was a even better; wow...

I took some (lackluster) video with a borrowed hand-cam which I'll share, and I also shot some photos which came out decent:

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The video isn't great, but catches the excitement of the launch:



Anyone else get any pictures?

reply to post by CosmicClearance


Thanks for those images, really great!

You are so lucky, one of these days I#ll have to get over there and watch a launch, oh hang on, they're going out of commission soon aren't they!?

Damn, thanks again for the pics/video.

kiwi

reply to post by kiwifoot


I was just about to post about this........... it's quite exciting really watching a shuttle about to take off into space...........

Engineers will make a decision late Thursday on whether to raise the International Space Station's orbit slightly to avoid a piece of debris from a European rocket, NASA managers said Wednesday.

The debris, catalog number 29274, apparently is part of the dual-payload "SYLDA" adaptor used by an Ariane 5 rocket that launched Japanese and French communications satellites on Aug. 11, 2006. Such adaptors typically weigh around 1,000 pounds, but it's not known if the debris in question is intact. It is in a highly elliptical orbit, with a high point of about 20,000 miles and a low point of around 200 miles.

Tracking data indicates the debris will pass within about two miles of the space station at 11:06 a.m. EDT Friday. NASA managers are developing plans to change the station's orbit slightly to widen the miss distance if continued tracking shows more than a 1-in-10,000 chance of a collision.

John McCullough, chief of the flight directors office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, said a preliminary analysis indicates no such maneuver will be needed. But he cautioned that more accurate tracking data will be available Thursday and that a final decision will be made Thursday evening.

"Right now, it's looking very positive, it's looking like we probably won't have to do that," he said. "But we are building a plan to allow us to make that decision as late as possible."

If a reboost maneuver is required, the shuttle Discovery's primary maneuvering thrusters would be used to impart a 1.1 mph change in velocity over a two-hour period.

"It's called a config-1 reboost," McCullough said. "It's a tail and forward alternating firing of the primary jets. It's about a two-hour maneuver to get a half meter per second, so it's not exactly efficient, but it's a predefined (procedure)."

The station's Russian thrusters can be used for orbit adjustments, but mission managers want to conserve the lab's on-board fuel if possible. McCullough said using the shuttle to do a reboost would have no impact on Discovery's mission.

reply to post by ROBL240

Dang it, thanks for the heads-up. If they're in the middle of a long reboost maneuver Friday morning that will make it practically impossible to track them telescopically as I was planning. Their exact orbital elements will be constantly changing and an update won't be available online until hours afterwards.

BUMP as STS-128 is due to land at Cape Canaveral in some 4 hours time from now. Those in the UK will see a Pass of Discovery at 2054UT before this mission attempts the first landing try out of 2 tonight.
If weather conditions remain unfavourable then NASA will try tomorrow again at the Cape until Saturday where Edwards AFB in California is a option.

Originally posted by ROBL240
If weather conditions remain unfavourable then NASA will try tomorrow again at the Cape until Saturday where Edwards AFB in California is a option.

Are they no-go at this time? I figured they would be.

Originally posted by ROBL240
BUMP as STS-128 is due to land at Cape Canaveral in some 4 hours time from now. Those in the UK will see a Pass of Discovery at 2054UT before this mission attempts the first landing try out of 2 tonight.
If weather conditions remain unfavourable then NASA will try tomorrow again at the Cape until Saturday where Edwards AFB in California is a option.

OH POO!

I completely missed it, thanks for the update anyway, I would have really enjoyed that, it's a really clear night here too!

No-Go for landing today, Friday (today) is their next landing opportunity with NASA looking at Edwards AFB as a possibility for later. Landing times and orbital passes over the UK will be published later once parameters have been finalised again due to the Shuttle having to pitch back into orbital status.