Have you ever wondered how the rocket scientists prepare the Space Shuttle for launch?
Well, as the final Shuttle launch quickly approaches, I found this time-lapse video that was obviously created by someone with all-access privileges at the Kennedy Space Center.
I have always been a "space fanatic" and am always intrigued by everything involved with exploring the heavens. My visit to the KSC many years ago was like going to the holy land. I even saw two shuttles return that day on the back of the modified 747's.
Any way, enough with my geek memories. Have a look at this video and I think you'll be quite impressed.
NOTE: There is no sound to the video until near the very end. Also, you can view the video full screen by clicking on the square with the four arrows.
Showing posts with label Shuttle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shuttle. Show all posts
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Shuttle & Space Station Fly By
Space shuttle Discovery and its seven astronauts pulled away from the international space station on Tuesday and headed home.
"Houston and station, from Discovery, physical separation," an astronaut radioed at 3:26 p.m. EDT as powerful springs in the station's docking mechanism gently pushed the shuttle away as the two spacecraft sailed above central Asia in orbital darkness.
While all of those cool things were happening 351 km above the earth and at a mind boggling speed of 27, 700 km/h, I was waiting on the ground preparing for their arrival.
You see, I had checked the NASA Human Space Flight website to find out when the shuttle and ISS were going to go over so I had my camera ready to shoot.
At 9:17 p.m. EST the lights in the sky became visible as they approached from the south-west. They were moving fairly quickly across the sky so I only had a few minutes to get a couple of photos.
The first photo was just a quick exposure of 2.4 seconds but you can clearly see the shuttle on the right with the space station close behind.
Copyright © All rights reserved.
The next photo was a longer exposure of 23 seconds and you can see how the two trails have crossed paths and run side by side with the front one being the shuttle and the lighter rear one being the space station.
Copyright © All rights reserved.
It was a cool experiment and it was quite an interesting site to see on a clear September evening.
Note: You can click on the photos to see them bigger.
"Houston and station, from Discovery, physical separation," an astronaut radioed at 3:26 p.m. EDT as powerful springs in the station's docking mechanism gently pushed the shuttle away as the two spacecraft sailed above central Asia in orbital darkness.
While all of those cool things were happening 351 km above the earth and at a mind boggling speed of 27, 700 km/h, I was waiting on the ground preparing for their arrival.
You see, I had checked the NASA Human Space Flight website to find out when the shuttle and ISS were going to go over so I had my camera ready to shoot.
At 9:17 p.m. EST the lights in the sky became visible as they approached from the south-west. They were moving fairly quickly across the sky so I only had a few minutes to get a couple of photos.
The first photo was just a quick exposure of 2.4 seconds but you can clearly see the shuttle on the right with the space station close behind.
Copyright © All rights reserved.
The next photo was a longer exposure of 23 seconds and you can see how the two trails have crossed paths and run side by side with the front one being the shuttle and the lighter rear one being the space station.
Copyright © All rights reserved.
It was a cool experiment and it was quite an interesting site to see on a clear September evening.
Note: You can click on the photos to see them bigger.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
News Junkies Annonymous
As I'm sure many of you know, I'm a news junkie. I always need the latest news and information on what is happening both locally and around the world.
I guess having been in the media for so many years it's in my blood. In fact, it amazes me how some people can be so totally oblivious to what is happening around them or of what news is happening. I realize that some people lead busy lives and may not be able to find the time to pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV long enough to get an information fix but I also know there are some people who just don't care. They live in a cocoon where the only thing that matters is what affects them personally. I can't live that way.
As an information sponge, I had a tough time keeping myself away from the TV and the computer with so many crazy and interesting things going on during this time.
The bridge collapse in Minnesota was both horrific and mind-boggling. How could something like that happen and on such a large scale. As bad as it was it certainly could have been much worse had the traffic been heavier. Those fortunate enough to survive the disaster will no doubt be cashing in on this one. Lawyers were probably lining up to help the survivours out of their vehicles and out of harms way and asking the victims if they needed a representative in their lawsuits.
The space shuttle Endeavor is currently orbiting the earth after a successful launch during my time off. Of course by successful I mean it didn't fall apart during the lift-off. Getting the astronauts home could be a different problem all together. Here they've launched this shuttle that has been overhauled and basically rebuilt for safety reasons and on it's first launch after all the work it suffers damage to some heat tiles. Of course I don't need to remind you of what happened to the last shuttle that tried to return home with damaged tiles. They're still trying to find all of the pieces in Texas. The thing I find scary is they've been in space over a week and there's still no decision (at the time I'm writing this) on what they need to do to fix the problem or if they're going to fix it at all. If they don't make an attempt to fix the hole and the worst case scenario happens during re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, heads will certainly role. Lets face it, with the Challenger and Columbia disasters and the psycho diaper wearing astronaut love triangle, NASA doesn't need any more bad press.
The other big story has to be the trapped miners in Utah. While I'm certainly hopeful for a positive outcome, after 10 days trapped underground with no food, water and an unknown amount of air, the chances of these men coming out alive and with all of their faculties intact grows slimmer with each passing moment. The one thing that really bothers me about this story is how the media was so quick to lay blame on the mining company and the manner in which they mined for the coal. The ONLY focus should be on the rescue operation at this time. There will be plenty of time to point fingers and place blame once the ordeal is over with. At the time of my writing this, the latest report had them hearing something from the mine and starting a new hole to try and determine what the sound was and where it came from. There's still hope for a happy ending but you can bet these officials won't make the same mistake as the executives did during the Sago Mine disaster.
So as you can see I have a need for news. Whether it's a cabinet shuffle on Parliament Hill, a missing child in Quebec or an earthquake in Peru...you can bet I've done my best to feed my hunger for information.
I guess having been in the media for so many years it's in my blood. In fact, it amazes me how some people can be so totally oblivious to what is happening around them or of what news is happening. I realize that some people lead busy lives and may not be able to find the time to pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV long enough to get an information fix but I also know there are some people who just don't care. They live in a cocoon where the only thing that matters is what affects them personally. I can't live that way.
As an information sponge, I had a tough time keeping myself away from the TV and the computer with so many crazy and interesting things going on during this time.The bridge collapse in Minnesota was both horrific and mind-boggling. How could something like that happen and on such a large scale. As bad as it was it certainly could have been much worse had the traffic been heavier. Those fortunate enough to survive the disaster will no doubt be cashing in on this one. Lawyers were probably lining up to help the survivours out of their vehicles and out of harms way and asking the victims if they needed a representative in their lawsuits.
The space shuttle Endeavor is currently orbiting the earth after a successful launch during my time off. Of course by successful I mean it didn't fall apart during the lift-off. Getting the astronauts home could be a different problem all together. Here they've launched this shuttle that has been overhauled and basically rebuilt for safety reasons and on it's first launch after all the work it suffers damage to some heat tiles. Of course I don't need to remind you of what happened to the last shuttle that tried to return home with damaged tiles. They're still trying to find all of the pieces in Texas. The thing I find scary is they've been in space over a week and there's still no decision (at the time I'm writing this) on what they need to do to fix the problem or if they're going to fix it at all. If they don't make an attempt to fix the hole and the worst case scenario happens during re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, heads will certainly role. Lets face it, with the Challenger and Columbia disasters and the psycho diaper wearing astronaut love triangle, NASA doesn't need any more bad press.The other big story has to be the trapped miners in Utah. While I'm certainly hopeful for a positive outcome, after 10 days trapped underground with no food, water and an unknown amount of air, the chances of these men coming out alive and with all of their faculties intact grows slimmer with each passing moment. The one thing that really bothers me about this story is how the media was so quick to lay blame on the mining company and the manner in which they mined for the coal. The ONLY focus should be on the rescue operation at this time. There will be plenty of time to point fingers and place blame once the ordeal is over with. At the time of my writing this, the latest report had them hearing something from the mine and starting a new hole to try and determine what the sound was and where it came from. There's still hope for a happy ending but you can bet these officials won't make the same mistake as the executives did during the Sago Mine disaster.
So as you can see I have a need for news. Whether it's a cabinet shuffle on Parliament Hill, a missing child in Quebec or an earthquake in Peru...you can bet I've done my best to feed my hunger for information.
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