STS-129 News and Updates

[Art]

Loading up the boats!

Heading out with USCGAUX region 7 to help play water security on the Intercoastal Waterway again tomorrow morning. I'll try to get us some launch pictures!
They scrubbed the Atlas launch for today :thumbsdown:, so I have been in the hotel room playing on the computer.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Launching in:
[eventTimer]2009-11-16 19:28:00;%dd% Days %hh% Hours %mm% Minutes %ss% Seconds[/eventTimer]

 

[Xyon]

The STS-129 launch time in GMT is: 07:28:04pm Mon 16 Nov.

Atlantis + the jettisoned External Tank may be visible over the UK between ~7:35pm to ~7:45pm GMT. Look West and you should see it. You can't miss it - one white dot & one orange dot below it! :thumbup:
Below is a photo of Shuttle Discovery + the ET over the UK about ~20 mins after the STS-128 launch (I saw it, it was awesome ).
http://twitpic.com/fnziy/full

Thanks for that, and awesome pic! I might go out to the coast and watch for her.

 

[daniash]

[ ]

 

[SiberianTiger]

Now try to figure out from this thread alone if the Altantis launched or not at all . Oh, I know, it's just another boring shuttle flight. They draw no more attention than a crow flying outside one's window.

 

[DaveS]

Now try to figure out from this thread alone if the Altantis launched or not at all . Oh, I know, it's just another boring shuttle flight. They draw no more attention than a crow flying outside one's window.

Launched on-time at 1928:10 UTC. No real issues worked during the count down. PLBDs should be open by now.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Thanks, Dave!

 

[agentgonzo]

It was an almost totally clear night down on the south coast of the UK (Southampton), but no sight of the shuttle. Was out watching for the whole time it flew over, but it must have been in the shadow of the earth as it wasn't visible. I saw it before (STS-126 maybe) and as Xyon said, it was an amazing sight. Two dots, both bright and both different colours tracking eachother across the sky about half the diameter of the moon apart.

 

[daniash]

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[Donamy]

I've come to accept that the majority of this forum is anti-shuttle, or maybe the ones that are, are just the loudest, which is a shame in my opinion seeing this is the Orbiter spaceflight sim forum. I have made the effort not to talk about the shuttle anymore, for fear of attacks.:tiphat:

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

It was an almost totally clear night down on the south coast of the UK (Southampton), but no sight of the shuttle. Was out watching for the whole time it flew over, but it must have been in the shadow of the earth as it wasn't visible. I saw it before (STS-126 maybe) and as Xyon said, it was an amazing sight. Two dots, both bright and both different colours tracking eachother across the sky about half the diameter of the moon apart.

I was looking too, but I didn't see anything.

 

[agentgonzo]

I've come to accept that the majority of this forum is anti-shuttle, or maybe the ones that are, are just the loudest, which is a shame in my opinion seeing this is the Orbiter spaceflight sim forum. I have made the effort not to talk about the shuttle anymore, for fear of attacks.:tiphat:

I'm definitely pro-shuttle. I know that it's dog-expensive and never realised what they were wanting it to do, but from the viewer's perspective, the romance of the shuttle is unparalleled and a return to the capsule is a shame in my opinion. It is probably better economically, but for the sheer joy of watching and dreaming, the flight of STS-133 (or whatever the Shuttle's swansong may be) will be a sad sad day in my heart. I wish they could keep it going longer (I know they can't do it indefinitely because they are old and are wearing out), but when there was talk in the early days of the Augustine commission of extending the shuttle to 2012/14, that was what I was hoping for.

 

[DaveS]

PLBDs are open, Ku antenna deployed. Star tracker doors have been opened. Crew has been given a GO for orbit ops.

 

[daniash]

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[Star Voyager]

Not sure if this was addressed, but when astronaut Randy Breznik is on this mission, his wife will give birth:

http://m.www.yahoo.com/_ylt=ArDlE.E6pqiSUGjSVgKR3mKbvZx4;_ylc=X3oDMTVoYWhhYTV1BF9TAzIwMjM1MzgwNzUEX3MDMjE0MjY1MTEyMARhAzA5MTExNiBuZXdzIGFzdHJvbmF1dCBJVgRjcG9zAzYEZwNpZC0xNTM0MwRpbnRsA3VzBGl0YwMwBGx0eHQDQXN0cm9uYXV0JiMzOTtzdW5mb3J0dW5hdGV0aW1pbmcEcGtndgMxNQRwb3MDMgRzZWMDdGQtZmVhdARzbGsDdGl0bGUEc2xwb3MDRgR0ZXN0AzcwMQ--/SIG=135rp6ald/**http%3A//cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/%3Frn=3906861%26cl=16669673%26ch=4226722%26src=news

 

[orb]

Have they resolved the problem with digital video camera downlink yet?

 

[Brycesv1]

talk about bad timing

 

[Xyon]

I was looking too, but I didn't see anything.

Likewise. Though I think in my case it was a particularly well-placed cloud that did it, too.

 

[Shadow Addict]

I'll be sad to see the shuttle go, and I wish I'd paid attention to it before 2008. However, I didn't get the chance to live through Apollo, and I'd be excited to see Orion come to fruition.

 

[agentgonzo]

In my hope of seeing it, however, I did see a flashing dot light that was probably a plane, but it was the right trajectory, the right speed, and the right sort of very smooth motion that satellites have. However I don't think that the Shuttle has any flashing lights (can anyone confirm?), and if it has, I don't think they'd be visible from 150 km.

The shuttle does have lights, but not flashing ones and they won't be visible from Earth to the naked eye. You need the shuttle to be in sunlight to see it (and you being preferably in the dark).