First things first: The Shuttle is scheduled to liftoff for the Space Station at 19:55 EST today (00:55 GMT). As I write this, the Endeavour’s crew is getting strapped in and readied to go. You can watch the launch online at NASA TV. They have a camera on the command deck! Awesome.
Update: Launch was right on time, and looks good so far. There was an issue with a door not being latched in the White Room, the retractable room where the techs batten down the Shuttle’s hatch before launch. That was not on the Orbiter itself, so it posed no danger. I suspect they’ll need a new White Room, though. Can’t wait to see the pictures of it!
Second, the Indian Moon probe Chandrayaan-1 is now orbiting the Moon! It dropped a small impactor which has reportedly smacked into the south pole crater Shackleton. I haven’t seen any images or data online yet, but check Emily’s blog; she is usually pretty quick on such things.
Update: a couple of images are now online at ISRO, but they are unlabeled– i have no idea how far up they were taken, what the scale is, nothing. But they’re cool!
I will probably talk about these events during my Second Life interview tonight at 21:00 Eastern (US) time (02:00 GMT)
November 14th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
There are two images from the probe on Indian Space Agency site
http://www.isro.org/pslv-c11/photos/moon_images.htm
They look so Apollo
November 14th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Thanks for the heads up, Phil. I would probably have missed the launch otherwise.
November 14th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
bigjohn756 – Yeah, launches never get the amount of coverage that they should anymore. I wish they would show the live feed on big networks on TV so at least more kids might get to see it.
… I still can’t believe there is no Fark thread yet. It just doesn’t feel right watching a launch without Farkers.
November 14th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Hey, have a great time in SL. I won’t be in SL tonight since I’ll be at the local astronomy group: San Antonio Astronomical Association. But it would be fun to “see” you in game, so you’ll have to do it again sometime.
Way cool on the Indian probe.
I wishing the Endeavour crew a safe and successful mission, too.
Cheers!
John B. Sandlin
November 14th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
I hope y’all are watching NASA-TV to see the gorgeous shots of the launch vehicle and the Moon. I am not capturing it, so, I hope to find some hi-res pics to upload and set as my desktop.
November 14th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
This site details every move Chandrayaan-1 has taken so far:
http://www.chandrayaan.bharatchronicle.com
I must say a magnificent achievement for a developing country like India.
November 14th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Has Hoagland already found ruins in those pictures?
Sorry, couldn’t resist …
November 14th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
ConceptShips, an excellent spaceship-themed art blog, has a tribute to the shuttle program up right now. There is some really nice work there, that’s worth looking at: http://conceptships.blogspot.com/2008/11/tribute-to-nasas-space-shuttle-program.html
November 14th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
NASA TV ready and loaded! *watches in fascination* I am so glad I checked BABlog now, otherwise I would have missed it XD
One day, I SO want to see a launch in person. …Or, you know, be on one.
November 14th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
So far so good….
November 14th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Ok, that was totally cool.
November 14th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Watched. CNN always seems to have the best coverage (well, next to NASA TV). Faux is usually the worst (on TV or online).
November 14th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
«bønez_brigade» Says:
November 14th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Watched. CNN always seems to have the best coverage (well, next to NASA TV). Faux is usually the worst (on TV or online).
The faux comment: I believe that was going to be Newtons next law as a mathematical constant.
November 14th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
where in secondlife, few buildingd in the location you gave
November 14th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
bigjohn – if you do find a good picture of it let me know. I was a brilliant sight to see.
Naomi – I want to see a launch live one day as well. Knowing my luck though I would plan the trip (from Australia) just to have it scrubbed for some silly reason like weather
November 14th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
@Monkey,
Consider it the 1st Law of Mass Communication.
@undercover,
True, CNN can really over-sensationalize some stuff, but they usually provide lengthy coverage of shuttle launches and landings (and that’s a plus).
November 14th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
My answer is not to have a TV, and just get my entertainment online.
I still get really fired up watching these launches. It’s magic, like the moon landings every time: I never seem to take it for granted.
Those images from Chandrayaan look very nice! Can’t wait for more…
November 14th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
I saw the shuttle live!
First on NASA TV, then in the skies outside my house.
I still get a good feeling whenever I see the shuttle go up, even though I’ve seen more times than I can remember.
I can hardly wait to see the Orion go up as well. I’ll be on edge when the first flight of the Ares takes place.
November 14th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Absolutely a spectacular and marvelous launch!!! Couldn’t have been better. Followed the coverage straight for over six hours.
Made my day, and combined with Barack Obama victory and other huge successes, the month November 2008 becomes the best month of my life, yet!
Congratulations to everyone, and especially to NASA for its courage and hard work, under the political challenges it faced for over the past decade!
November 14th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Yes, it was a great launch! I was busy taking screenshots for my blog every few seconds and just holding my breath til 72 seconds had passed… but a stunning launch… that beautiful rising moon really added to the beauty…
Today was a good day for space stuff; blogged about the Chandrayan images, did some reading about magnetars… and then the launch. What a day!
Went to the SL interview but kept getting told the area was “too full” and to wait a few seconds. I eventually gave up after more than a few characters starting hitting on my avatar…
November 14th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
I saw the launch tonight from Titusville in Spaceview Park. There was a big crowd for the event for this great fall night. It was the most beautiful launch I have ever seen on a perfect night with a (near) full moon. The photo on the NASA site with the moon in the background was exactly how it looked (except the moon was on the other side from my perspective in Titusville).
Night launches are always spectacular. I was able to follow the shuttle for a very long time.
The best part is hearing the crowd cheer at various stages. Just before the sound arrived someone shouted “hear it comes”. It is always special to see launches with such an enthusiastic group.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Phil, the talk was great! Thanks for answering my questions – I was the one who asked about post-shuttle options and the oscillating universe thing. (I had just been watching Cosmos, did it show? XD)
November 14th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
The articles I looked at through Google News said that the Indian moon probe had “touched down” or “landed” on the surface. Didn’t sound right to me. A great accomplishment in any case.
November 15th, 2008 at 1:56 am
Just woke up (in Germany) and realised I missed the launch *Rats*. The replay of the launch was great to see. Do they really use English units (miles & MPH & horsepower)? Is that NASA TV translating for the US viewers? After the “problems” confusing the units on other missions I hope they have that ironed out.
November 15th, 2008 at 3:19 am
Great space day all around. And Spirit is back, although they are letting it rest some more to save power.
For those interested in the Moon Impact Probe, check out the Indian and Asian news sources (The Hindu, PTI, IANS, Times of India, etc) It’s a real perspective changer from the news reporting we get here since space launches, while still great, are almost routine. A lot more political, too.
November 15th, 2008 at 3:49 am
Isernbreegen asked: “Has Hoagland already found ruins in those pictures?”
Never mind the Moon, I’m waiting for him to claim he can see structures on Fomalhaut b from those Hubble pictures.
November 15th, 2008 at 4:13 am
Early this morning at home (UK):
Computer, NASA TV, launch of Endeavour.
The TV was on at the same time – BBC2, two episodes of Star Trek, Next Gen. The second episode was written by Nicholas Sagan, son of Carl Sagan.
November 15th, 2008 at 4:25 am
I saw the pictures from the moon impact probe as it was landing. Not sure what the value of the pictures is, other than to prove that the probe actually got there.
Yes — there is some patriotism involved in “we got our flag there” but to me the moon probe is the least exciting part of the mission. After all what they did was to throw a 35 KG sized pebble at the moon from about 100 KM up.
The more exciting part of the mission is the potential to generate detailed maps of the moon. Also — the cooperation that the Indians have managed to get in terms of payloads from other countries is noteworthy. Imagine… a NASA payload on an Indian satellite. Who woulda thunk that even a few years ago?
I think the ultimate benefit of this mission, beyond the mapping and other payloads is simply to burnish ISRO’s credentials as a space agency that can put satellites in precise orbits. The payoff will come eventually if and when they decide to offer satellite and launch services on a turnkey, “in-orbit-delivery” basis, and can do it inexpensively. Think of this as one heck of a $80 million advertisement…
November 15th, 2008 at 5:51 am
Very true. The cooperation is great, especially with India part of the Lunar Science Institute. I hope it continues.
BTW, I think even more impressive launch wise (while this is awesome, don’t get me wrong), was the 10 satellites at once on the PSLV. That’s a real winner there.
November 15th, 2008 at 8:30 am
The space shuttle was great. There were lots of clouds around me, but they all seemed to clear when the shuttle lauched. 20 minutes later, it was pouring, so the timing was great. I sure will miss these night launches…
Here’s some pictures/video that I took of the launch:
http://floridaeveryoneforgot.blogspot.com/2008/11/space-shuttle-endeavour.html
November 15th, 2008 at 9:05 am
that s very true steve.. ten satellites in a single launch.. that was an awesome display of power and precision
November 15th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Question: I heard about the one probe-thingy smashing, smacking, sacking, ramming, punching, crashing, hard landing into the moon for the sake of future soft landings. Now, given how we have previously soft landed on the moon, with people on-board no less, what was the point of testing for soft landings? Are we talking about fundamental differences in engineering between our past American probes and future Indian probes?
November 15th, 2008 at 9:47 am
I suppose now they can say the next landing will have to be softer than that.
November 15th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
@Cory
I’m not sure if anyone has smashed in that location, but all the same, this is only the fifth country (if you count Europe’s ESA as a country) to send a probe, and I’m not sure all of them even had impactors. So even if it has been done before, there’s still info we can get from it. NASA is sending also an impactor, LCROSS, next year on the Lunar Reconnaissance Mission.
But, yes, this is a tech tryout for a lander, too. The ISRO has already said its planning Chandrayaan-2 in 2011, and that will have a lander/rover built with the Russian Federal Space Agency Roskosmos. Just because the US has done it, doesn’t mean everyone automatically can. ISRO needs to build up the skill set, and the more agencies out there that have it, the better it is all around. Especially when they share information (I’m looking at you, Chang’e 1
)
As for fundamental differences in engineering, I’m not sure. The instruments are a lot different. Probably like asking why should you build an Xbox 360 if they already made Pong? The engineering changes probably has to do with making sure more complex instruments can land safely an last longer. That’s just a guess.
November 15th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
@ Jagadeesh Venugopal:
The real payoff will come when I get to relocate to a moon colony. Okay, so it’s a ways away. A moonbat can dream, can’t he?
November 16th, 2008 at 4:51 am
Agreeing with Steve
An extraordinay day for India…given that they’re relatively new onto the lunar stage.
But as for future plans and projected dates for a rover on the lunar surface by 2011/12, and a human-orbiting mission by 2015, these are very optimistic jumps for the country, as there’s a big jump between the two in terms of expertise, experience, and technology.
Still, India’s space agency has impressed the world already, so who knows what will happen? For now, lets all allow them enjoy the limelight. Well done India.
John – http://www.moonposter.ie
(A poster on important aspects about the Moon)
November 16th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Phil you have me interested in space race history.
enjoyed reading this very much
November 17th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
I’m sorry, I’m all for science and I’m certainly all for global participation in space exploration, but is no one else absolutely appalled that India would spend this kind of money on luna exploration when they have such pressing social needs on earth. I’ve been to Mumbai (albeit some years ago) and the human condition made me feel physically ill. The idea that they would spend this money on anything other than improving conditions for their people is a disgrace.
November 19th, 2008 at 7:54 am
In this moon mission, ISRO has spent just about 2 % of its total budget. ISRO has returned more than what it had spent over the years.. though its commercial wing Antrix Corporation,