Comments on: Atlantis set for 2:45 pm (ET) launch

By: Paul A.

Paul A. — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 21:26:10 +0000

They land in Florida. If they land anyplace else, like Nevada, they have to strap the Shuttle on top of a special Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft which is expensive (millions of dollars) and a little bit risky.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttle_Carrier_Aircraft

By: Peter B

Peter B — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:45:36 +0000

Barton said: “I believe they land in Nevada.”

No, normally the Shuttles land at Florida if they can. They only land in the west (Edwards Air Force Base?) if the weather at Florida is dodgy.

I’ve never seen a Shuttle landing with my own peepers (living in Australia makes it unlikely), but I’d imagine it be pretty exciting. Just not as spectacular as a launch.

By: Barton Paul Levenson

Barton Paul Levenson — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:28:34 +0000

Pat writes:

[[I read on the NASA site that this is an 11 day mission. Turns out I’ll be down in Florida during that time. Has anyone seen a shuttle land and if so, is it worth my time?]]

I believe they land in Nevada.

By: Barton Paul Levenson

Barton Paul Levenson — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:27:31 +0000

Paul A. writes:

[[What keeps it upright at the moment of launch and in its early phase while its clearing the tower?]]

I think the thrusters are gimballed, so they’re probably aligned so that the net vector of the thrust forces is straight up-and-down.

By: Sergeant Zim

Sergeant Zim — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:47:51 +0000

Greg, if I were to hazard a guess (that’s all it would be, since I am in no way trained in mererology or acoustics), I would think that the lack of noise would be dependent on the humidity of the air, and wind direction/speed. I know the winds were fairly calm, but if they were blowing from you towards the launch site, that might attenuate the sound. Also, humid air conducts sound less efficiently than does dry air (ever notice how quiet it is when it’s foggy?).

Again, just my $0.02

But from what I saw on my computer, it was a BEAUTIFUL launch!

Best wishes to Atlantis and all aboard her.

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 06:28:45 +0000

I was on the beaches of Daytona today when the shuttle launched. Just in you don’t know, it’s roughly 30 minutes or so away by driving upon I-95. Everyone around me saw the shuttle, of course, blaze into space through the cloudy skies, yet there was a big problem…. no sonic boom or rumble that you hear minutes after the shuttle blasts off.

Was this do to the atmosphere and then inclement weather in any way? It began to rain in Daytona Beach about 30 minutes later.

I’ve lived in Daytona Beach for almost 20 years now, and I know there’s always a loud, rumbling sound as the shuttle takes off and of course two thunderous bangs as the shuttle returns to Earth and Kennedy.

So what’s the deal Mr. Bad Astronomy??? Why no sound in Daytona Beach after the take off??? (and yes, my ears are clean and work properly)

By: Moist Rub

Moist Rub — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:25:11 +0000

I haven’t seen a launch in a while. I watched today. I forgot how awesome it is.

Rocket ON!