Final Shuttle Launch Set For Friday (July 7, 2011)

Howdy folks,

I was indeed there for the shuttle launch--but AT&T couldn't cope with the number of people in Titusville and I wasn't able to do any live tweeting.

But, it was an amazing sight. One of the greatest moments of my life. Very, very glad I went.
 
Must have been. It's sort of sad, though, like an era has ended, even if no one seems to have cared about space at all for the last forty years.
 
Glad you went, i tried to see a launch last year, but it was delayed and evnthough i was in Florida, i was not able to make the launch..
Now we will have to hitch a ride with the Russians to get to the ISS. (we are actually paying them for the ride, and this is no luxury ride either, a cramped soyuz capsule designed during the Apollo Missions)
Isnt there a sying that states "if we dont learn from history, we are bound to repeat it"

Very glad you to to witness a shuttle launch live...
 
Hey guys,

I have been really busy and unfortunately, I wasn’t able to comment on this before.

Like LOAF, I was able to go see that last launch of Atlantis. I was lucky enough to get tickets for the NASA Causeway, which is the closest the general public can get to the launch pad to see the launch. It is about 6 miles away and have unobstructed views of the pad.

To get to the Causeway the security is quite tight, so you have to arrive several hours before the launch. Most of this time is spent sitting on the causeway waiting for hours, and I thought I would need some “light reading” to kill time until launch time.

So, here it is, some Wing Commander stuff was there for the launch :)
001wcu.jpg


I think LOAF took his pilgrim cross, so that makes at least two WC related things present in this historic occasion.

Here are some other photos of the launch. Sorry for the quality (or lack of) but as I mentioned, I was 6 miles away!

The weather was so bad early in the morning that the Shuttle Training Aircraft (basically a modified Gulfstream II) was practicing several approaches to the Kennedy Space Center runway to check visibility and make sure the orbiter could land safely in case they had to abort the mission. Note the main landing gear is extended, while to nose gear is not, to allow the airplane to simulate the obiter’s flight profile (a.k.a. “flying brick”).
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The air space around the launch pad is restricted, and fighter jets are deployed to patrol the skies and intercept any intruder. This F-15E Strike Eagle, assigned to the 4th Fighter Wing from Seymour Johnson Air force Base, North Carolina, broke the cloud ceiling for a few seconds and I was able to capture it in this picture. It was flying above 10,000 feet, so I apologize for the quality (or lack of) of the picture. If you want to see the pilot’s point of view that day check this picture:
http://www.seymourjohnson.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/110708-F-JU135-001.jpg
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This KC-130J Hercules assigned to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252, from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina is part of the search and rescue team that supports the launch. For the launch, the airplane is temporarily deployed to Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, and its main task is to provide in flight refuelling to HH-60G Blackhawk helicopters from the 920th Rescue Squadron, which carriers Pararescuemen that would rescue the shuttle crew in case of an emergency.
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This UH-1H is in charge of providing security around the perimeter of the launch pads. It patrols the area and make sure that boats, cars or people are outside the security zones for the launch.
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Atlantis sits proudly in the launch pad. The crew is onboard, and the hatch has been closed… The Launch Director informed the crew that they are GO FOR LAUNH. Commander Chris Ferguson replied: “The shuttle is always going to be a reflection of what a great nation can do when it dares to be bold and commits to follow through. We are not ending the journey today, we are completing a chapter of a journey that will never end. You and the thousands of men and women who gave their hearts, souls and their lives for the cause of exploration have rewritten history. Let’s light this fire one more time, and witness this great nation at its best… the crew of Atlantis is ready to launch!”.
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T minus 16 seconds… the sound suppression system is activated and water stored in a 290-foot-high, 300,000 gallon tank on the side of the pad is released just prior to the main engine ignition, to protect the orbiter and its payloads from being damaged by acoustical energy reflected from the platform during liftoff.
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T minus 5 seconds… All three main engines up and burning!.
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T minus 0! … Solid Rocket Boosters are activated, and the cloud of vapor created by the engines and boosters evaporating the water from the sound suppression system hides the shuttle momentarily.
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And liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis… The NASA announcer says “on the shoulders of the space shuttle America will continue the dream”.
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The shuttle's main engines and two solid rocket boosters are generating a thundering farewell as Atlantis quickly climbs up and away from Launch Pad 39A on a getaway path to orbit. After 30 years and 135 missions, residents and visitors to Florida's Space Coast are seeing this rocket's spectacular glare for the last time.
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After clearing the tower, the Shuttle begins a combined roll, pitch and yaw maneuver that positions the orbiter head down, with wings level and aligned with the launch pad. The Shuttle flies upside down during the ascent phase.
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The shuttle continues its climb, aiming at the international space station.
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Atlantis reaches the point know as “Max Q”, where the aerodynamic forces are at their maximum, and the main engines were temporarily throttled back to 72% to avoid overspeeding and hence overstressing the Shuttle, particularly in vulnerable areas such as the wings. At this point, a phenomenon known as the Prandtl-Glauert singularity occurs, where condensation clouds formed during the vehicle's transition to supersonic speed.
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And it’s gone… Atlantis climbs above the clouds and is no longer visible.
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Ops… not yet… we did get to see a little more through the clouds.
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Regards,

Vic.
 
Very cool, thanks for the photos!

I think LOAF took his pilgrim cross, so that makes at least two WC related things present in this historic occasion.


Uh oh, somebody actually reads my Twitter. :) I usually wear the cross--gotta have some kind of Wing Commander totem on my person...
 
Atlantis reaches the point know as “Max Q”, where the aerodynamic forces are at their maximum, and the main engines were temporarily throttled back to 72% to avoid overspeeding and hence overstressing the Shuttle, particularly in vulnerable areas such as the wings. At this point, a phenomenon known as the Prandtl-Glauert singularity occurs, where condensation clouds formed during the vehicle's transition to supersonic speed.
014shuttle10med.jpg

Ahh, that's what that is! On the new 787, these crazy contrails form right over the engine/wing right outside the window during takeoff. It's noticeably different than normal condensation/smoke you see on a regular commercial jet, and I didn't know how to explain it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prandtl–Glauert_singularity "The effect is also noticeable in modern super-high-bypass turbofan jet engines when operating at takeoff power, due to the low pressure and transonic fan blades in the engine inlet."
 
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