In the early 90's, some time during the middle of a clear night, I sat upon my roof with a radio and wrist watch. On the radio, I was listening to a live broadcast of a SS night launch.
Before lift-off, it was reported to the public that the Shuttle's flight path would be east of the U.S. coastline heading north on it's way into space, and residents of NYC would be able to see it when it flew by.
Knowing the distance from the Cape to NYC and the average speed of the SS, I estimated 10 minutes would pass before I saw it.
After hearing "lift-off" on the radio, I looked at my watch and started my countdown for the sighting.
Exactly 10 minutes later, I began scanning the eastern horizon. To my amazement, about 15 degrees above the horizon, I saw a glowing orange shockwave that looked like this < . The glow lasted for about 30 seconds, with the remaining seconds flickering on and off, until the shuttle entered the vacuum of space.
What A sight!
2006-07-01 15:07:20 · 7 answers · asked by Cleared For Take-off 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
SS was still in the atmosphere 10 minutes after lift-off. C'mon, you very well know it doesn't fly straight up on it's way to space, it flies in a climb that curves, as it heads for it's orbital altitude. If I could see it's super heated shockwave from the ground, it was still in the atmosphere. Although technically it was in space, it was not in the total vacuum of space.
2006-07-02 05:00:01 · update #1
We both, can go back and forth on this.
I have seen meteors burn up as they entered the atmosphere, and I know what they look like.
Super heated air molecules can be seen on the ground being caused by a hyper-sonic SS in the shape of a shockwave. I did see the shockwave, although near the edge of the super thin atmosphere.
In addition, the glowing < , was in a climb, not in a descent or horizontal pass, as meteors sometimes do on their way back into space.
If you were with me that night, with watch in hand, you too would have seen the SS.
Besides, that was the planned flight path for Shuttle that evening. This was a widely publicized event for all, living in the NE coastal states.
Yes, SS does cook!
2006-07-03 10:30:23 · update #2
yes, i have seen it a few times, all different missions. the last one i saw with my own eyes was STS-107, better known as Columbia. As it flew through the sky, I saw it break into pieces. I am still working my hardest to achieve my lifelong dream of becoming an astronaut. :)
2006-07-01 15:12:10 · answer #1 · answered by Sarah 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
10 minutes? The shuttle is in orbit well before that..
Edit:
Here is the NASA blog from last year:
10:48 a.m. - Main engine cut-off -- and jettison of the External Tank! Discovery has reached orbit! Commander Eileen Collins confirms a good separation.
10:46 a.m. - Discovery traveling 3,300 miles per hour, altitude 65 miles, and 615 miles downrange from Kennedy.
10:45 a.m. - Discovery has rolled back to a heads-up position now as it soars toward orbit.
10:44 a.m. - Space Shuttle Discovery is traveling 6,700 miles per hour and is 200 miles from Kennedy.
10:42 a.m. - Space Shuttle Discovery is now 85 miles east of the Kennedy Space Center.
10:41 a.m. - Mission-elapsed time two minutes, five seconds and Discovery's twin Solid Rocket Boosters have separated successfully.
10:39 a.m. - 3... 2... 1... and liftoff of Space Shuttle Discovery... beginning America's new journey to the moon, Mars and beyond... and the vehicle has cleared the tower.
_________________
Ok, you see that 9 minutes after liftoff, discovery was in orbit and had already jettisoned its external tank. What you saw wasn't the space shuttle. It was the external tank crashing down, or possibly a meteor. See how fast the shuttle cooks?
2006-07-01 17:28:38 · answer #2 · answered by jgain 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I haven't seen it in flight, but I sort of saw the shuttle on the launch pad a few days before the 10th shuttle flight back in 1984 during a tour of the Kennedy Space Center. I think that it was covered with something, but the booster rockets were visible. Pretty cool, eh?
2006-07-01 15:16:04 · answer #3 · answered by Ѕємι~Мαđ ŠçїєŋŧιѕТ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was at a launch about 5 years ago. Amazing.
2006-07-01 15:26:18 · answer #4 · answered by redunicorn 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well all i no is dat a shuttle needs to attain speeds of up to 11km/sec so maybe we cant see it
2006-07-01 15:12:36 · answer #5 · answered by baboon 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes
2006-07-01 15:51:28 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I haven't but from your experience it sounds interesting.
2006-07-01 15:29:55 · answer #7 · answered by Wizdom Bomb 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋