MetaFilter posts tagged with SpaceShuttle

the composer of the future meets the city of the future

avocet — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:29:53 -0800

In 1985, Houston was preparing for a party: 1986 marked the city's 150th birthday, the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Texas, and 25 years since the opening of NASA's Johnson Space Center, the hub around which the city's aerospace industry blossomed. In comes French synthesizer pioneer Jean Michel Jarre, the "composer of the future", known for his spectacular 1979 Bastille Day show that attracted a million people to Place de la Concorde, and for being the first Western musician to play China in 1981. With the Space Shuttle Challenger due to take off on mission STS-51-L in January, Jarre penned a piece for Mission Specialist and saxophonist Ron McNair to record in space. The nation watched as McNair and his crewmates prepared for their journey and waved goodbye, only to perish in a haunting and iconic explosion. As Houston mourned the loss of the seven crew, who called the city home during their preparation for spaceflight, Jarre wasn't sure if the upcoming festivities should be held, but was convinced by astronaut Bruce McCandless that the show must go on. On April 5, 1986, 1.5 million people gathered downtown to witness Rendez-vous Houston, a massive tribute to America's pioneering spirit that used the city as its backdrop. The entire concert is also on YouTube – you don't get a sense of the scale or the visuals from this vantage point, but it's a pretty phenomenal set. Also, the traffic jam caused by the event inspired a memorable music video.

Found: unused space shuttle

latkes — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:28:38 -0800

No big deal, just found an abandoned space shuttle.

Send them your heart so they'll know that someone cares

Wordshore — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:53:45 -0800

To the tinkly piano tune of "We are the world", a video released last weekend from Uriminzokkiri, North Korea's official website, shows a dream sequence involving various rockets, Korean unification, a sparkle-powered North Korean Space Shuttle, and the apparent missile-based destruction of Manhattan. More from The Guardian, The Telegraph and the Washington Post. The original "We are the world" video.

Anniversary of 2nd shuttle disaster

Brandon Blatcher — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:47:51 -0800

10 years ago today, the flagship of the Space Shuttle fleet, Columbia, broke apart upon its return to earth. The disaster occurred after a successful 16 day mission due to a foam strike during the shuttle's launch. It was the second catastrophic failure of the program, resulting in the destruction of the vehicle and death of its crew. The accident resulted in a revamping of Shuttle launches and missions. Video photo analysis of launches and shuttles in orbit, along with limiting flights to the International Space Station (ISS) and retirement of the program. The question of whether to tell a crew it is doomed is still up on the air. The LA Times did a six part series on the accident. An attempt at reconstructing the final seven minutes. The Mefi thread about the official report on the disaster.

Super slomo high-resolution space shuttle goodness

googly — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 07:26:47 -0800

Each space shuttle launch was documented by 125 cameras aimed at its engines, solid rocket boosters, orbiter, and umbilicals. The 45-minute film Ascent compiles the "best of the best": astounding 400 fps footage from three missions (STS-114, STS-117, and STS-124), produced by NASA aerospace engineer Matt Melis, and narrated by Melis and photographer Kevin Burke.

Endeavour

grouse — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 09:05:33 -0800

Time-lapse video of space shuttle Endeavour's journey through Los Angeles from the Los Angeles Times.

How To Steal The Space Shuttle: A Step-By-Step Guide

Egg Shen — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:19:06 -0800

How To Steal The Space Shuttle: A Step-By-Step Guide

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...Oh wait, there's another space idea.

Brandon Blatcher — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 16:18:44 -0800

How did space travel turned into an office park when it was sold as being a unique adventure?

Nothin' but a post about space stuff

Brandon Blatcher — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:10:01 -0800

Meanwhile, around the solar system...

Sic transit gloria

bitmage — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 18:53:08 -0800

Up-close with Atlantis. A photo gallery of Space Shuttle Atlantis, as it awaits decommissioning in the VAB.

Second stage propulsion performing as expected.

egor83 — Tue, 22 May 2012 00:51:29 -0800

SpaceX's Falcon9 rocket carrying Dragon capsule to dock with the ISS, has launched successfully. Previous launch attempt on Saturday. See spacex tag for previous posts.

Private Space

egor83 — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:38:25 -0800

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon cargo capsule is scheduled to launch at 8:55 am UTC on Saturday, May 19, 2012 - a little less than 12 hours from now. Live translation at spacex.com starting 1:15 AM Pacific / 4:15 AM Eastern / 08:15 UTC That would be the first time a privately designed spacecraft would try to dock to a space station. SpaceX's founder and CEO, Elon Musk, was also a co-founder of PayPal. Read more: Guardian, NPR, Wired

"Obviously a major malfunction."

LondonYank — Wed, 02 May 2012 02:41:12 -0800

Chilling amateur home video of the Challenger disaster "Obviously a major malfunction." Those words have always haunted me, but to hear them here, echoing across a PA system as shocked onlookers come to terms with what they have just seen, they carry even more power than they did when they were just an anonymous voiceover on a TV shot.

Enterprise Lands at JFK

brownpau — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:10:45 -0800

Front-row window seat to Space Shuttle Enterprise landing at JFK.

Space Shuttle Discovery arrives at its new home

Brandon Blatcher — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:25:04 -0800

The Space Shuttle Discovery, known for launching the Hubble telescope, as well as being the workhorse of the fleet, made a final flight today. After being cleaned up and prepped, it was mated to a specially modified 747 and flown from Florida to Washington DC. Upon approach to DC, it was flown around the city before landing. The decomissioned spacecraft will become an exhibit at The National Air and Space Museum . Can't wait? No problem, there's an up close and personal tour of the orbiter, in three parts.

Dissecting OV's 103, 104 and 105.

zarq — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:10:02 -0800

Orbiter Autopsies "What NASA will learn from dissecting Space Shuttles Atlantis, Discovery, and Endeavour" before they transition into retirement. (From the May 2012 issue of Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine.)

Skywalker Sound

swift — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:00:20 -0800

Beautiful HD video, with enhanced sound, of STS-117 and STS-127 booster rockets launching and returning to Earth . Previously.

How many people traveled on the space shuttle?

Brandon Blatcher — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 06:37:37 -0800

How many people flew on the Space Shuttle?

A picture worth a thousand (space)ships

pleasebekind — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:27:29 -0800

Father and son "bookend" the first and last shuttle launch with this photo, which is a thing of beauty. The son, Chris Bray, described it as "[t]he picture we waited 30 years to complete." In an interview, Bray said that they almost didn't make it due to delayed flights and other problems. Quite a lot of comments in his Flickr page (where the photo was originally posted) like the changing technology, comparison of film vs digital photography, keeping a close father-son bond over the years, and whether he was wearing the same shirt or not. (previously and previously)

Where we won't go anymore.

bitmage — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 06:29:51 -0800

VR Panorama of the Space Shuttle Discovery's flight deck

Epic Photography

dry white toast — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:31:35 -0800

The last Space Shuttle launch, as seen from a students' Space Balloon with the help of Quest For Stars (caution: auto playing YouTube video) and NASA. That is all.

Final American Space Shuttle Launch Scheduled for Today

knile — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 07:55:54 -0800

The Space Shuttle Atlantis, STS-135, is scheduled to lift off this morning from Kennedy Space Center. The time was originally scheduled for 11:26 AM EDT, but that has been pushed back, despite "no technical concerns and... weather is a 'go'." Astronauts aboard are Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. Watch live coverage, with some archival footage, on NASA's Ustream or on NASA.gov. NASA has provided countdown highlights of the day to get you up to speed. Read NASA's feed on Twitter. At the time of this post's writing, the countdown clock is on a scheduled hold with 9 minutes to go. Previously, STS-134, on the Blue.

Apogee

Trurl — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 07:06:13 -0800

It is a stunning image and one that is bound to be reproduced over and over again whenever they recall the history of the US space shuttle.

It is in the DNA of our great country to reach for the stars and explore

disillusioned — Thu, 26 May 2011 02:23:17 -0800

On May 16, 2011, after one scrubbed attempt, the space shuttle Endeavour set off on her final mission, STS-134. Shuttle commander Mark Kelly had this to say after receiving a "go" from the launch poll:

On this final flight of space shuttle Endeavour, we want to thank all the tens of thousands of dedicated employees that have put their hands on this incredible ship and dedicated their lives to the space shuttle program. As Americans, we Endeavour to build a better life than the generation before, and we Endeavour to be a united nation. In these efforts, we are often tested. This mission represents the power of teamwork, commitment, and exploration. It is in the DNA of our great country to reach for the stars and explore; we must not stop. To all the millions watching today, including our spouses, children, family, and friends, we thank you for your support.

You've seen launches before, but NASA has uploaded a whole slew of angles that will truly amaze: Witness 4.4 million pounds of shuttle, fuel, and rocket boosters "twang" a full 18 inches as the main engines ignite. 1.2 million pounds of thrust push against a locked down stack, waiting for the solid rocket boosters to ignite. (The SRBs bring the total to 7 million lbs of thrust, enough to break all that binds her to the pad.) OTV Camera 71, a fantastic, short close-up. UCS-15 (TV-21A) provides a dead-on, close up shot of the launch. The South Beach Tracker shot offers a fantastic view as well. From 3.1 miles away at the Press Site, note the ~11 second delay before the piercing sound of the SRBs hits. And just released today, fantastic footage from the solid rocket boosters, including their trip to splashdown in the Atlantic ocean from 30 miles up. And finally, the classic NASA view, with some great data overlays by Spacevidcast. At T-31 seconds, auto-sequence control is handed off to the orbiter. This is followed by an SRB gimbal profile at T-21 seconds. At approximately T-16 seconds, the sound suppression water system activates (you hear it as a whining whirring sound), dumping 900,000 gallons of water per minute through 7-foot pipes, to keep the sound levels within operating constraints, and to prevent a devastating shockwave from traveling up the exhaust plume. At T-10 seconds, the hydrogen burn-off igniters ignite, sending sparks flying and ensuring all hydrogen is burned off. At precisely T-6.6 seconds, the space shuttle main engines ignite. The orbiter quickly verifies that all three engines are fully functional before T-0: Solid rocket booster ignition and liftoff. If the orbiter determines trouble in the main engines during that 6.6 seconds, it will abort liftoff. Called "Redundant Set Launch Sequencer Abort", this has occurred five times, in what can only be called a cruel tease. STS-41D, STS-51F, STS-51, STS-55, and down to the wire, STS-68.

A Journey's End

Heliochrome85 — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:59:05 -0800

Following on the heels of NASA's announcement of the final resting places of the various space shuttles, NASA, in conjunction with William Shatner, released a final video commemorating the program. (SLYT)