Comments on: Shuttle launch from an airplane?

By: Patrick Harris

Patrick Harris — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:51:29 +0000

There is a Skydiving Drop Zone near Canavaral that does jump loads that coincide with shuttle launches..

Lots of cool photos of a formation with the shuttle launching in the background.

By: (HEARTS)

(HEARTS) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:55:39 +0000

I wouldn’t go as far as saying that the ‘no-swearing-rule’ is “really pretty silly, hypocritical and childish”. I just have slight issues determining what’s swearing and what’s not. Having learned a lot of my english in Australia, I do tend to use words or phrases that may come across as offensive in other parts of the world. And sometimes these things just slip, even though I am trying my best to come across as well-behaved. And to all the aussies out there, I’m not saying that you’re not well-behaved, don’t get me wrong

By: Rob the Lurker FCD BMWCCA

Rob the Lurker FCD BMWCCA — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:44:26 +0000

I dunno. It looks to me like the shuttle(?) is being launched from the ground.

By: wasg

wasg — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:51:18 +0000

I would tend to agree with the Delta folks. If it were the Shuttle, it would have been off downrange to the SE pretty early on.

By: agnostictrickster

agnostictrickster — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:33:16 +0000

Holy S*** is right! Very cool! Even though we don’t get shuttle launches here in SoCal, Vandenberg puts on a show every once in a while. Several times I’ve been able to see the rockets go through staging from Whittier [14 miles from downtiown LA]. As an earth science teacher, I’d say that having earthquakes and a better selection of rocks and minerals to collect makes up for the lack of shuttle launches. I was present at the first free flight of Enterprise at Edwards in the summer of ’77 – my best memory [since my camera light meter was trashed] is how long the sucker glided before it landed on the lake bed

By: leeobee

leeobee — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:06:29 +0000

Top notch live video-commentary! A man of few words, repeated endlessly. Not sure I’d be any better in the circumstances though :O)

By: StevoR

StevoR — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:07:34 +0000

(HEARTS) Says:
“Maybe replace ‘cr–’ by ’silly’, not sure whether it’s ‘ok’ to use ‘cr–’ in the comments. After all, this is America and being a non-native speaker, I tend not to take into account the full spectrum of the foreign language I’m using ..”

Yes, I’m never sure just what “swear words” are & aren’t allowed here.

Perhaps the Bad Astronomer would be kind enough to put up somewhere a list of all the words we can’t use so we can avoid saying them?

Seriously though, while thereareways around them and while everyone knoews what we’re meaning to say anyway this whole “no swearing’ rule strikes me as really pretty silly, hypocritical and childish.

Still, I do try to be polite & consider others here though .. No, really I do!

By: StevoR

StevoR — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:01:46 +0000

The original Shuttle ‘Enterprise’ was launched – orbiter only – to glide test it – from an aircraft wasn’t it? Jumbo jet I think … but that was way back around the late 1970′s – early 1980′s if I recall right?

By: Andy Beaton

Andy Beaton — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:40:40 +0000

When I read the title, I immediately thought of the the shuttle theft in Moonraker. Then I thought some future version of the shuttle would be launched from a plane to avoid all the fuel wastage from a standing start.
Then I saw it was what it was, and I was vaguely let down.

By: hambr

hambr — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:31:15 +0000

I don’t think that is a shuttle launch. I lived in St. Augustine and now I am in Orlando. Even from the distance the video was taken from some flames from the SRBs should be visible. I agree with those who say it is a Delta rocket. Even as far away as Jacksonville, and probably farther, the flames are easily visible. In fact, that is all you can really see, as well as the smoke plume of course.