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Shuttle Launch Tonight
Posted: Mar Sun 15, 2009 1:17 pm
by MadEye
So. Anyone going to watch the launch tonight on TV or in person (see it out your window or watch the sky)?
Hopefully it won't be too cloudy here. I'll try and get some pics if its a clear night.
Discuss.
Posted: Mar Sun 15, 2009 1:21 pm
by elizabethswann
What time is the launch at?
Posted: Mar Sun 15, 2009 1:44 pm
by MadEye
7:43 PM or 4:43 PM California time.
Posted: Mar Sun 15, 2009 1:55 pm
by Jacca5660
I watch all the launches I can. I wish I could just look up and see it in the night sky!
Posted: Mar Sun 15, 2009 2:24 pm
by elizabethswann
Oh perfect! It's launching from Cape Canaveral (don't think I spelled it right) or somewhere else?
Posted: Mar Sun 15, 2009 3:09 pm
by MadEye
The Cape tonight... I was unaware of any other places in the US they launch.
Posted: Mar Sun 15, 2009 3:18 pm
by Jacca5660
elizabethswann wrote:Oh perfect! It's launching from Cape Canaveral (don't think I spelled it right) or somewhere else?
The shuttle always launches from Florida. It doesn't ever launch from Edwards.
Posted: Mar Sun 15, 2009 3:49 pm
by Dr. Ravenscroft
Jacca5660 wrote:elizabethswann wrote:Oh perfect! It's launching from Cape Canaveral (don't think I spelled it right) or somewhere else?
The shuttle always launches from Florida. It doesn't ever launch from Edwards.
Jacca is correct it only lands in different locations if the weather is bad at the cape. There are 3 End of mission landing sites Kennedy, Edwards, White Sands Space Harbor.
Then these are the Emergency landing locations:
Amberley, Australia
Amilear Cabral, Cape Berde
Anderson AFB, Guam
Arlanda, Sweden
Darwin, Australia
Dyess AFB, TX
Ellsworth AFB, SD
Esenboga, Turkey
Gran Canaria (Las Palmas), Canary Islands
Grant County (Moses Lake), WA
Hao, French Polynesia
Hickam AFB, HI
Hoedspruit, South Africa
King Khalid, Saudi Arabia
Kinshasa, Zaire
Koln/ Bonn, Germany
Lajes Field, Azores
Lincoln Municipal, NE
Mountain Home AFB, ID
Nassau, Bahamas
NSA Souda Bay, Crete
NSF Diego Garcia, Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean
Orlando IAP, FL
RAF Fairford, United Kingdom
Roberts International (Monrovia), Liberia
Tamanrassett, Algeria
Posted: Mar Sun 15, 2009 4:06 pm
by MadEye
Dr. Ravenscroft wrote:Then these are the Emergency landing locations:
...
Orlando IAP, FL
...
Wow. Imagine the look on tourists faces if that happened!!! Talk about a cool vacation.
Posted: Mar Sun 15, 2009 4:10 pm
by agingerbugg
I might be able to see it from my front yard tonight, it depends on the light level. Night launches I can see, day launches are too far away to really see the launch. While growing up in Winter Haven, FL we could see all the launches from the yard despite the time of the launch.
Posted: Mar Sun 15, 2009 6:29 pm
by MadEye
Well. Less than 30 minutes to go with nothing to set the launch back and it looks like mostly clear skies to the east. I'll try and take some pics and post as soon as I can... If I can figure it out.
Posted: Mar Sun 15, 2009 6:55 pm
by elizabethswann
Drat, I must have missed it. I'll have to watch the replay on the 10 o'clock news.
Posted: Mar Sun 15, 2009 7:07 pm
by MadEye
What a launch!!! And I'm closer than I thought. If you caught it on TV, it didn't do it justice. I'll try and post pics soon.
Posted: Mar Sun 15, 2009 7:40 pm
by Dr. Ravenscroft
MadEye wrote:
Wow. Imagine the look on tourists faces if that happened!!! Talk about a cool vacation.
Actually that location is for emergency re-entry not for when the shuttle is taking off. For an emergency abort during launch these are the locations:
Myrtle Beach, SC
MCAS Cherry Point, NC
NAS Oceana, Virginia Beach, VA
Dover AFB, DE
Otis ANGB, MA
Pease ANGB, NH
NAS Bermuda
As for the launch I hope the bat that attached itself to the External fuel tank got away alright. I heard about that and thought "Man is he/she going to get one heck of a nasty wake-up call"
Posted: Mar Sun 15, 2009 8:10 pm
by MetalRage
I can watch it from my house. Even though I live 2 hours away (west palm beach) it looks like a fireball at night! Its so cool