STS-117 Shuttle Launch : June 9, 9:38 AM AEST

[iceman]

Hi all

Keep this date/time in your diaries!

Space shuttle mission STS-117 is due to launch on Saturday morning, 9:38AM AEST.

The main shuttle page at NASA is here (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html).

NASA TV (http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html) - for Live viewing of the launch.

Looking forward to this!

[Dennis]

Oh dear – I was not aware of this impending launch and had an awful dream last night where the Shuttle had problems on the launch pad at take off and buckled….one of the boosters peeled off. The crew module did separate and land safely, but then I woke up. Hope I’m not a prophetic dreamer. :scared:

Cheers

Dennis

[matt]

Thanks, Mike.

I love watching these live launches.

Very cool:D

[RB]

Thanks for the heads-up Mike.

Dennis, for the first time, we all hope you're just dreaming. :D

Godspeed guys !

:thumbsup:

[Dennis]

Me too! The dream was made up from the kaleidoscope of the ejectable crew module of the F-111C, the Launch Escape Tower (LET) from the Saturn V and the Shuttle; quite a night eh?

Cheers

Dennis

[RB]

Sounds like how Rocket Boy feels after an all-nighter.........:lol:

[StarLane]

One thing I would like to do before I die, is to be there and watch a launch live as it happens, and hear the amazing noise it makes.
One day......Not sure how long the shuttle program will continue though???

Has anyone out there actually been there to witness a launch???

[33South]

Great 10 minutes of TV. :thumbsup:

[[1ponders]]

If you do an advanced search for "shuttle" by member rowena, and "Find Threads started by" you will get a few.

here is 1
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=11421&highlight=shuttle

[Mick]

Yes it was a sweet launch. There may be a chance that some of us may get to see the Atlantis chasing the ISS tomorrow morning, from my location we have a visual pass to the north east around 5:00am. Most of Qld and some of NSW should be able to see it if the weather clears. The attached map of this track is from Heavens above.

[[1ponders]]

Pretty lucky here, we will get three passes in three days at about the same time.
1. June 10, max 36 deg NE @ 05:15, 0.7 mag
2. June 11, max 39 deg SW @ 05:35, -0.4 mag (should be a good view with this one :thumbsup: )
3. June 12, max 11 deg SW @ 05:56 1.4 mag (rats, might have to go to Monteville or Maleny for this one :sad: )

BUT on June the 10th we'll get a -2.0 mag shuttle pass at 67 deg NNW @ 05:33 :D

[Bobj]

Try this link
http://spaceflight/nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/index.html (http://spaceflight/nasa.gov/realdata/sightings)
0511 for the shuttle and 0533 for the ISS sunday for those in the Mackay area

[jjjnettie]

Aaagh, missed it.
I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for the passovers.

[Rob_K]

Couple of good early morning shuttle passes for SE viewers on 11 & 12 June (from Heavens Above):

Cheers -

[sheeny]

Yeah, me too! I was having such an great sleep in... didn't even give it a thought...

Al.

[33South]

Hey Mick love the avatar,

DSV2 - One of my favourite fictional spacecraft, slowly but surely collecting all the DVDs.
:thumbsup:

[StarLane]

Just witnessed a nice pass by the Shuttle in chase of the ISS.
To make the most of it, I went to the beach so I could see from horizon to horizon, well almost to the horizon in the NW.
The ISS went past at about 30 degrees above the north eastern horizon then the Shuttle went past 15min or so later at 65 degrees elevation. The Shuttle past just above the waning moon from my position.
The Shuttle was a lot brighter than the ISS. Both travelling fast, duration was less than expected.
First time I had seen the Shuttle. I used binoculars to try and get a closer look. I could not really make out the shape, but the ISS and the Shuttle definately looked different from one another through the binos.
I will check it out tomorrow morning when they will be very close together at around 43 degrees elevation @ 05.34 from my location.
Very cool...:thumbsup:

[Mick]

Took some photos this morning, the first is Atlantis and the second is the ISS.

[StarLane]

It looks like the Shuttle has finally caught up with the ISS and docked.
This morning I could not make out the individual craft.
It past by in the south western sky at about 40 degrees from my location here on the Gold Coast.
I have attached a pic.
The Shuttle and ISS pasted just over Sagittarius. The pic unfortunately has alot of light pollution creeping in at the bottom. I have also managed to capture a faint meteor in the same frame, just bellow the Shuttle and ISS. Difficult to see at this low resolution.
It would have been great to see the Shuttle and the ISS still apart but in the same sky following each other. Maybe next time.

[StarLane]

Here are some more shots from this morning.
The one on the left is a cropped version of the original I posted earlier with slightly less noise, the one on the right is the approach from the north west.
I also took one shooting south after it had past but the city is in that direction and there was way too much light pollution.
It was at it`s brightest in the first shot on the left, shooting wsw.
Camera: Fujifilm S3pro DSLR, Lens: Nikon 20mm 2.8D wide angle,
Exposure 33 secs @ f2.8 (left) 21 secs @ f2.8 (right) ISO 800.

[Dennis]

Those are excellent photos Paul; great captures of the ISS and Atlantis - well done and thanks for posting the results.

Cheers

Dennis

[StarLane]

Thanks Dennis, much appreciated. :)

Paul.

[matt]

Just heard the return has been delayed by a day, due to bad weather

[StarLane]

Yeah, it's been a troublesome mission.

The ISS computers failed last week. Among other things, the four computers run the life support systems for the astronauts using power from the solar panels to run systems that produce oxygen.
They bypassed power from other systems to enable two computers to start up again. I guess they are all working again now.

They also had a problem with the insulation foam on Atlantis that needed to be repaired. This extended the mission also.

Just heard that Atlantis has only a day of on board power left. They really need to come home but the weather is not helping the situation.

What a stressful job an astronaut has.

[erick]

I suspect they are paid commensurate to the risk. And it's 7 days on, two years off, isn't it, approximately??

But I agree - It's some job they do! Just read about cosmic rays causing flashes inside their eyeballs! Only Buzz and Neil, who weren't going to fly again, admitted to them - the rest thought they'd be grounded on a medical condition. By Apollo 16, it was a true experiment - close your eyes and see if you see flashes!