Video of the last Space Shuttle launch (Atlantis , STS-135) as I saw it on July 8th, 2011…
(thanks to James Daniels for the video editing/rotation effects)
This is from 7 miles way. If you listen carefully, you can hear the double-boom as the vehicle breaks the sound barrier.
This is the last time my code gets to fly to space, so it was pretty special for me to go see this launch happening…
ceo
Space Shuttle Endeavor lists off from laucn pad 39A
Yesterday Feb 8, 2010 was the last scheduled Space Shuttle night launch. STS-130 on board Endeavour. Night launches are spectacular. I should have made plans to go see that. My brother did.
Next there are only 5 3 missions left for the space shuttle fleet.
And not only the space shuttle program has been canceled, our moon program has been canceled as well, without any real plan behind it except ideas. In short, it seems the USA administration has cancelled/killed the manned program completely while military spending has been increased; what is wrong with that picture? Plenty.
And to keep others from saying the manned space program hasn’t been really killed, the president has thrown 2 bones at NASA: 1) increased NASA budget (but no real plan behind it) and 2) extended the operational life of the space station, except there is a problem with that.
Yes, the space station operations have been expanded to 2020, but our astronauts won’t have any capability to reach the space station, except by hitchhiking with the Russians or other. Not that I have anything against the Russians with their great minds and who have been leaders in the space program, but having no answer on how the USA will get to space except depending on other countries is just sad.
And ironically, while the USA has canceled the moon program, the Iranians are claiming they are planning to go after it…
The Russians and Chinese and now the Iranians, seem will rule the space program — at least they have the vision (and it all starts with vision). The USA manned space program seems to be more and more on the hands of the private sector-lead endeavors; maybe, I hope.
So there goes, the aerospace engineering minds of the USA, “no place” to go — and I wonder if they will end up on other countries building their national space programs? I hope some of those engineers have entrepreneurship spirit and go start their own aerospace firms.
I’m proud of my time working in the Space Shuttle program, the awesome people that I worked with, the software that I wrote that flew and still flies, the twenty-something missions that I supported at the Mission Evaluation Room, my Silver Snoopy, and each time the bird flew was/is so exciting, and together with other thousands of people helped keep the manned space program going, flying and leading the way… There is NOTHING like working in the space program.
If am very concerned for the next generation of aerospace engineers, many going to school right now, my nephew being one and the son of a good friend of mine another, and I bet are confused, asking to themselves “…what the hell; should I really continue to follow my dreams? What should I do?”. That concerns me a whole lot…
Let’s see what will happen next…
ceo
Image source: NASA via the EPOCH Times
Great article on Obama’s NASA Dilemma (The Technology Review).
“When president-elect Barack Obama takes office in January, he will be faced with a rare situation. Within his first 100 days, he will have to decide the fate of America’s space program.”
:
“As president, Obama will support the development of this vital new platform to ensure that the United States’ reliance on foreign space capabilities is limited to the minimum possible time period,” the document stated. “The [Orion] CEV will be the backbone of future missions, and is being designed with technology that is already proven and available.”
:
“In addition, investing in space exploration could help the next president deliver on promises of creating jobs in high-tech industries during the current economic crisis. “One way to look at the space program in these economic times is that it is a jobs program,” AIAA’s Bell says. “It would be bad to encourage people to go into science and technology and then get rid of one of the agencies that is the primary employer for those types of people.”
My take is that the Space Program is important, as it creates jobs, and expertise and knowledge in science, math and engineering, in operations and other areas, which are all extremely important skills for our future, and which are skills that are applicable beyond the space program itself… A good example close to the readers of this blog is the “deep space Internet” (Disruption-Tolerant Networking) test, a “new” network protocol that was recently tested:
“(DTN is a) …software protocol, which must be able to withstand delays, disruptions and disconnections in space, was designed in partnership with Vint Cerf, a vice president at Internet search giant Google.”
I’m sure some of that innovation on (wireless) network robustness and reliability will be applicable to our own wireless networks here on Earth…
ceo
A beautiful night launch of the Shuttle Shuttle Endeavour and the STS-126 mission (PDF)… See the launch in High Definition, or in standard definition version on Spacevidcast.com‘s YouTube channel.
In Endeavour’s payload bay, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo is packed full of about 14,500 pounds of equipment and supplies, making it one of the heaviest modules in shuttle history.
Also included in the payload, are additional sleeping quarters, a second toilet, an exercise device and other household-type equipment.
The prime objective of the 15-day mission is to prepare the International Space Station to accommodate six members for long-duration stays.
Four planned spacewalks will focus on servicing the station’s two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, or SARJ, which are needed to track the sun for electric power.
Endeavour and its crew are set to land at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after more than two weeks in space.
Follow the mission on NASA TV.
ceo
