[don-o]

First?

[KevinDavis]

[ErnBatavia]

I wanna see this!

[Army Air Corps]

Godspeed to the crew and their ship. I wish them a clean launch and a safe return.

[Old Sarge]

Thanks, Kevin! I can watch the launch live, after all!

[Loyal Buckeye]

Can we put the immigration bill on the shuttle?

[NormsRevenge]

Thanks! Looking good for tomorrow's launch!

A bird flies as space shuttle Atlantis sits on launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, June 7, 2007. REUTERS/Carlos Barria (UNITED STATES)

[real saxophonist]

Friend of the family: Sonny Carter

[JRochelle]

I haven’t seen a thing about this in the news today.

Then I see launch is for Friday.

[Jewels1091]

thanks

[BallyBill]

Finally have the NASA channel on DISH now. Can’t wait!

[NonValueAdded]

Heading out to the beach for this one. It won’t exactly be a night launch but when it gets some altitude, the setting sun should light it up nicely against the darkening eastern sky.

[burzum]

Let's just get this station built so NASA can go on to do more useful things. Here goes yet another truss segment and solar panels. This will be the third truss installation in a row, not to mention the cycle before the Columbia accident with three truss installations and three general maintenance missions. Oh, and STS-118 (the next mission) is also a truss installation mission. For future space stations I hope they use a 100 ton rocket to put the truss up in one piece, and then use their smaller rockets to add the other components. Building it one piece at a time is annoying!

Element	Flight	Launch date	Length (m)	Diameter (m)	Mass (kg)
Z1 truss	3A – STS-92	October 11, 2000	4.9	4.2	8,755
P6 truss – solar array	4A – STS-97	November 30, 2000	73.2	10.7	15,824
S0 truss	8A – STS-110	April 8, 2002	13.4	4.6	13,971
S1 truss	9A – STS-112	October 7, 2002	13.7	4.6	14,124
P1 truss	11A – STS-113	November 23, 2002	13.7	4.6	14,003
P3/P4 truss – solar array	12A – STS-115	September 9, 2006	73.2	10.7	15,824
P5 truss	12A.1 – STS-116	December 9, 2006	13.7	3.9	1,864
S3/S4 truss – solar array	13A – STS-117	no earlier than June 8, 2007	73.2	10.7	15,824
S5 truss	13A.1 – STS-118	no earlier than August 9, 2007	13.7	3.9	1,864
P6 truss – solar array (relocation)	10A – STS-120	no earlier than October 20, 2007	–	–	–
S6 truss – solar array	15A – STS-119	July, 2008	73.2	10.7	15,824

[sig226]

7:38 pm now. I’ll have to follow up tommorrow, I could make that one. I haven’t been to a launch in a while. If I go, I’ll get photos.

[Larry Lucido]

So what’s the latest with the strike?

[AppyPappy]

Space Shuttle Atlantis to carry special Virginia Tech tribute flag on mission

By Larry Hincker
Flag being carried on space shuttle.

BLACKSBURG, Va., June 7, 2007 — Under the Florida twilight sky, the Space Shuttle Atlantis, STS-117, and its seven astronauts, scheduled to launch into space Friday, June 8 on their mission to the International Space Station, will carry a Virginia Tech flag as a tribute and symbol of the resilient spirit of the university community following the tragedy of April 16 at the university.

The special, custom designed Virginia Tech flag will be on the Atlantis’ payload and will be flown during the mission. Atlantis is scheduled to launch at 7:38 pm EDT on June 8 from Kennedy Space Center launch pad 39A. “We are honored to be recognized by NASA in this way,” said Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger. “The relationship between Virginia Tech and NASA is long and deep with many hundreds of Virginia Tech alumni that work in NASA today and the many other Hokies that have contributed to its rich history and accomplishments.”

“Our spirit of recovery is strong at Virginia Tech and we share in the pride of being a part of Atlantis’ mission,” Steger added.

Astronaut and Virginia Tech alumnus Charlie Camarda had carried a smaller VT flag aboard the space shuttle Discovery, STS 114, during the July 26- August 9, 2005 mission. STS-114 was the first return to flight following the loss of Columbia on February 1, 2003. Camarda presented that VT flag to the university in November 2005.

On April 25 a Pegasus rocket was launched and sported a Virginia Tech memorial ribbon logo in memory of the students and faculty members that were lost on April 16. The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) spacecraft is on a two-year mission to study noctilucent clouds, which are clouds that shine brightly at night and are typically concentrated around the poles, to discover what is causing them to appear more frequently and at lower latitudes.

[N. Theknow]

If you can't view the launch on Cable or Satellite you can go to the Nasa site to view launch live.

Me?

Take my glass of wine and my cigar and sit in my backyard and watch.

Too bad it won't be dark. THOSE launches are spectacular!

[EnjoyingLife]

Space Shuttle Atlantis, STS-106 Mission, 8 September 2000

Image Link
http://chamorrobible.org/images/photos/gpw-20040817k-processed-STS-106-NASA-KSC-00PP-1416.jpg (1200 x 1044 pixels)
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/images/large/00pp1416.jpg (original)

Via
http://chamorrobible.org/gpw/gpw-20040817.htm , photograph #11

[IL Republican]

Does anyone know how much of the initial thrust is used to carry the fuel? I seem to recall it being something like 80%.

[Textide]

Posted this on the other thread....

Storms all seem to be moving west, away from the launch pads. Looks like a nice evening for a launch!

Melbourne, FL RADAR

Spaceflightnow.com Launch Status page

NASA Webcast

Official Launch Clock