Space Shuttle Discovery

[x-y-no]

In all the years I've lived in Florida, I've only ever been to two launches in person - Apollo 17 (that was the night launch) and STS-61A which was the second to last Challenger mission.

Each really spectacular in its own way.

[O Town]

My husband got to see a night launch and said it lit the whole beach up like it was daytime. I heard them say on the news yesterday there will be no more night launches because they want to be able to have good light to watch all the cameras on the shuttles exterior. I guess he was lucky to just have happened to be on the beach that night, he did not plan it, just got lucky.

[HurricaneHunter914]

Yes.

These are the space shuttles that remain:
-Discovery
-Atlantis
-Endeavour

Endeavour is being repaired at this time.

And I beleive there is another one called the Enterprise, but the Enterprise is only used for test flights.

[gtalum]

Enterprise was a full size glider mockup used in testing the orbiter's flight characteristics before Columbia was built. It was never fitted with engines, though NASA did briefly consider the option before deciding to build Endeavour from spare parts from Atlantis and Discovery.

[NFLnut]

In all the years I've lived in Florida, I've only ever been to two launches in person - Apollo 17 (that was the night launch) and STS-61A which was the second to last Challenger mission.

Each really spectacular in its own way.

The shuttle is definitely spectacular in its own, but NOTHING beats those old Saturn V launches! I watched almost all of them from my rooftop in central Florida and those old rockets put the shuttle to shame!

[WindRunner]

Yes.

These are the space shuttles that remain:
-Discovery
-Atlantis
-Endeavour

Endeavour is being repaired at this time.

And I beleive there is another one called the Enterprise, but the Enterprise is only used for test flights.

The Enterprise is sitting in the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum's Udvaar-Hazy annex out at Dulles Airport. It won't be flying any time soon.

[cycloneye]

Look at the red arrow that is pointing to something that is falling.

[CHRISTY]

Look at the red arrow that is pointing to something that is falling.

Nasa stated this was likely to occur but wasn't going to be an issue.I hope they return safely.

[HurricaneHunter914]

Tiny particles do fall off during take off, but nothing serious like big chunks of foam.

[Downdraft]

Ice from the main external fuel tank falls off all the time at launch remember it's full of pressurized liquid hydrogen. All in all this was a good test of the new foam system and it passed. I wish I had been around to see the Saturn launches the folks that lived here then said nothing in the world including the shuttle is like they were.

[HurricaneHunter914]

I wish I was alive too back then, but those night launches in the 1990s were spectacular the skies were clear so you can see them perfectly (I was only 5 when I saw them though).

[cycloneye]

Discovery just docked with the Space Station.

[HurricaneHunter914]

YEAH!

[hurricanefloyd5]

i think this topics shoud be moved to the off topics post.....