Sunrise Space Shuttle Launch

ILSstud

ILSstud

Well-Known Member
My initial plan was to drive over to the Cape with my girlfriend this morning to see the launch of STS-131, but we ended up staying in and watching it from her balcony. I have seen nearly every launch since I was a little kid, but this one may have been the most beautiful I have ever seen. The photographs do not do the early morning light/launch justice! Enjoy....:D



Several second exposure of the ISS passing overhead about 10-15 minutes before launch.
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Liftoff
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Closed-Loop guidance trajectory
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SRB Sep
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Underexpanded nozzle flow
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View from my bedroom
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Exhaust plume in morning light
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I am currently living in Orlando. What was awesome about this launch too is I have never seen a launch from here period. You get to see the exhaust plume from a totally different angle than at the Cape or on the coastline. Looking at these pictures though, I wish I had a tripod and DSLR. Shame there are only 3 more launches of the Orbiter left, but that is a WHOLE other conversation....
 
ILSstud said:
I am currently living in Orlando. What was awesome about this launch too is I have never seen a launch from here period. You get to see the exhaust plume from a totally different angle than at the Cape or on the coastline. Looking at these pictures though, I wish I had a tripod and DSLR. Shame there are only 3 more launches of the Orbiter left, but that is a WHOLE other conversation....
Click to expand...

I missed this one (because I'm an idiot) but we can see them from St. Pete.
 
For all the Floridians on here, can you imagine when these launches are over? I know we can get into a whole debate on cost/benefit and how effective and/or ineffective the Shuttle program has been, but I can still remember being 7 yrs old and going out to the soccer field in school to watch them. This continued even in high school and college. It's sad on a purely sentimental level I suppose.
 
Damn, that nozzle flow picture is amazing.

I saw the last one from NYC - you could only see the last two minutes of it, plus the OMS bursts after MECO, but it was very visible (due to it being nighttime) and the speed was incredible. I was hoping to make it out to this one, but there was high overcast to the south, so...no luck.
 
ILSstud said:
For all the Floridians on here, can you imagine when these launches are over? I know we can get into a whole debate on cost/benefit and how effective and/or ineffective the Shuttle program has been, but I can still remember being 7 yrs old and going out to the soccer field in school to watch them. This continued even in high school and college. It's sad on a purely sentimental level I suppose.
Click to expand...

But at the same time, most people didn't appreciate them when their days weren't limited. I remember trying to get people at work to come outside for a moment to see it and being unsuccessful. Crazy.
 
Those are amazing:clap:! It must of been some site to witness that in person.
 
I saw this launch from MCO as I was doing the walk around. The FO was in the cockpit loading the FMC and doing inside stuff. Knowing the shuttle launch was about to happen, I volunteered to do the walk around. The FO was a little out of sorts when I returned to the flight deck and told him I had just witnessed the last night launch of the shuttle.
:rotfl:
 
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