Shuttle is about to be launched in a few and can be viewed here...

[SUBMAN1]

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/

-S

[claybirdd]

cool thanks.:up:

[Onkel Neal]

Thanks for that!
Watching live on NASA channel, too.

Close that door and light her up!

[claybirdd]

probably wont see to many more go up. due to retire in 2010.

[sonar732]

Awesome watching the night launch!

[SUBMAN1]

I still get that tingling feeling watching that thing go up. Such an awesome sight to see.

-S

[Onkel Neal]

Same here,and a lot of pride, too.:up:

[Blacklight]

What I wouldn't give for a ride on that thing. It almost brings tears to my eyes watching it go up. It's at the same time a violent, scarry, and beautiful sight.

[Task Force]

did it already go, woooooooosh up into outerspace?:-?

[PeriscopeDepth]

It was fun to watch, been a little while since I'd followed a shuttle launch live. Wish the crew of STS-126 luck.

Their schedule is here (http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/mission_schedule.html), I'm not sure how much of it NASA TV will be covering though.

PD

[Task Force]

Ok, I missed it.

[Task Force]

Yay there showing reruns.:lol:

[HunterICX]

What I wouldn't give for a ride on that thing. It almost brings tears to my eyes watching it go up. It's at the same time a violent, scarry, and beautiful sight.

I rather see it go up :)
just the knowledge about the amounts of rocket fuel that surrounds you....this is a ride where its about grabbing your balls and pray that everything goes according to plan.

HunterICX

[Dowly]

I rather see it go up :)
just the knowledge about the amounts of rocket full that surrounds you....this is a ride where its about grabbing your balls and pray that everything goes according to plan.

HunterICX

Lol, just what I think when I'm about to get laid. :rotfl:

[SteamWake]

Ive seen it in person... twice.. Its an incredible experience not only the sights but the sound.

The solid propellent boosters give the appearance of thick solid colums of smoke being pulled from the ground skyward. Bet the enviromentalists have mixed emotions about that ;) The sound is not defaning but a dull low pitched shudder that you can feel and see in mirrors vibrating.

Ive also heard the double sonic boom from its re-entry on the rare occassion they land back in Florida.

Im sorry I missed this link as usual it hardley even gets a mention in the press these days. :oops:

(by the way Dowly your sig gives me migranes... lol)

[PeriscopeDepth]

I used to hear the sonic booms on Edwards landings when I lived in CA. Listening now (live) to the crew work the Canadarm to scan the thermal tiles using the OBSS. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbiter_Boom_Sensor_System)

I hope all turns out all right.

PD

[1480]

I was in high school physics class. Our teacher was attempting to make a point about friction and had us watch the last launch of the Challenger. That was the longest 40 minutes of silence I've ever endured.

[breadcatcher101]

Years ago I was a quality control inspector at Martin-Marietta in New Orleans where they make the external tank. To this day a launch thrills me.

[SteamWake]

I was in high school physics class. Our teacher was attempting to make a point about friction and had us watch the last launch of the Challenger. That was the longest 40 minutes of silence I've ever endured.

Forgive me but what does that have to do with friction?

[breadcatcher101]

The cause of the STS 51L Challenger explosion was on of a failure of one of the seams on the SRB, hot gases working their way through and searing their way into the external fuel tank. 72 seconds after launch was all it took. Bad design really but the way NASA is funded helped pave the way for it to happen. Everyone wants a piece of the pie so to speak. The SRB's are made in Utah which have to be moved to KSC which result in them having to be made in sections allowing the joints to exist in the first place. Having them made at the cape would have resulted in a one-piece cylinder with no joints to fail. Many other factors involved as well such as temp at launch. The seals can stand high temps but become brittle at cold ones, kind of like a garden hose being flexible during summer months yet snapping like a twig at very cold temps. Also a "rush to launch" factor which put pressure on NASA to second guess their logic in doing so in such cold weather. On the eve of the launch President Ragan had sent a team to the cape to investigate the launch delays. This situation, being "watched by the boss" so to speak led some to launch when otherwise they may not have. After mission failure this team took a quiet flight back to Washington.

On Columbia I could see where friction would be a indirect factor, having to have foam on the fuel tank to act as an ablator and it's other role as a way to keep fuel temp down. Friction was a dirent factor more in the Columbia loss than that of Challenger's. My job was electrical/machanical inspection. The foam was done by inspectors that did nothing but that, called TPS (thermal protection system). We worked side by side though and often looked over eachother's shoulders and learned much.

In New Orleans we made the tank in one piece so to speak, all was shipped to the cape on a modified navy barge. Only things missing were the fuel and the explosives for the RSS and bolts. Utah, being land-locked could not do that and as such the SRB's had to be made in sections.

I was still at NASA when we lost Challenger. I didn't know about it until I came into the office later that day, having slept through the launch. Everyone was milling about like the world had come to an end. That is when I first bacame aware of it and went and watched it on replay. At once I could tell what had happened as could the others, the plume was very noticable. It all had to be confirmed however, many weeks we worked pulling records and preparing for the long investigation to follow.

The SRB joints and the external tank foam have always been weak links in the STS design. I myself have always worried about the main engines and a possible turbine failure. With them so close to eachother and all has always been a concern of mine.

[PeriscopeDepth]

A fact that should certainly be noted on Subsim, Steve Bowen is the second qualified submariner astronaut:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/bowen-sg.html

Also, it seems there was a mishap on today's EVA. They lost a bag full of repair parts.

PD