launch of STS-109, space shuttle columbia

i took these photos from just south of the pier in cocoa beach, fl, on the morning of 1 march 2002. this was columbia's last fully successful mission, and also the last one to service the hubble space telescope.

liftoff was at 6:22am. as the shuttle gained altitude, it reached the region above the earth where the sun had already risen. this accounts for the drastic brightening in its exhaust plume. also, if you look closely at the end, you can see two trails of smoke heading into the atlantic. these are the solid rocket boosters parachuting back to be retrieved.

the full pictures can be found at
http://www.ducksandrockets.com/rockets/sts-109/

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• space
• shuttle
• columbia
• sts-109
• launch
• hubble
• telescope
• atlantic
• cocoa
• beach

[jimgoss77]

if columbia broke up on sts 107, how could it launch an sts 109?

[kwakhed23]

@jimgoss77 The missions aren't numbered in order of when they occur, but when they were planned. The repair of Hubble done on this mission was planned for later, but got scheduled first.

[kwakhed23]

fatfreddy/cosmored/anonymousdi­pshit: 27 people have flown as far as the moon; 12 have walked on its surface. I will leave your comments stand for what they reveal - your ignorance and the similar ignorance of others who believe as you do.

[kwakhed23]

You can't fake telemetry. The Soviets would have called us out if we'd tried to do so. There isn't a single iota of hoax "evidence" that can't easily be explained away.

You also can't fake geology. 

It's best if people judge for themselves, but they should do so with a real and rigorous scientific understanding.

Hoaxes involving a few people don't stand up to scrutiny. How do you think that one that involves thousands of people over more than a decade could be perpetrated?

[rounder421]

I know that shuttle flights are ending, which is sad, especially for those of you who never saw a shuttle launch, but even more so those that never saw a shuttle launch at night from Cocoa Beach. It turns the night into day.

OV-099, OV-0101, OV-102, OV-103, OV-104, and OV-105, thank you for your service to humanity. and being the inspiration for the next wave of space explorers.

[kwakhed23]

@jeifylu

Because I'm also a scientist (Ph.D. at USC, 2010), and understand the scientific method. The scientific method is the most democratic process we have for verifying results. Anyone who can reproduce an experiment can use it. The list of known minerals is very long at this point, and there are processes that cannot be replicated on Earth. Moon rocks are produced by these processes.

Please educate yourself a bit before you pollute this video any more posts, under any pseudonym.

[jeifylu]

@kwakhed23

Geology can be faked. Suppose I'm a scientist and I pick up some random rock and tell you it's a moon rock. Who are you to argue whether or not it is, I'm a scientist. What do you have or know to counter and compare it to. You are forced to believe me because of my status. See that happen all the time.

[UndeadPizzaGuy]

@FatFreddy88 You were blocked because you are a spammer.Get over it already.

[UndeadPizzaGuy]

@FatFreddy88 Yes, because not even one would cry out "HEY WE HOAXED IT". Seriously, grow a brain. You're pretty much shitting on the graves of the people who had to die to make this wonderful project possible.

[FatFreddy88]

@kwakhed23

There's some stuff in the link I posted about the rocks and the Soviets. Here's a video series that puts forth some plausible explanations for the telemetry.

Do a YouTube search on "MoonFaker: Russia, Jodrell Bank & Frequencies".

[UndeadPizzaGuy]

@Cosmored Normally, I don't bother with ignorant people. Then again you are more than ignorant, you are shitting on the lives of four hundred thousand scientists, engineers, flight directors, and mathematicians. Not to mention the damned brave pilots who put their lives on the line for scientific endeavor, and others more who had to die for progress to be made. Your indoctrination of others only survives because it is online, because you can hide behind a cloak of anonymity.

[John19182004]

beautiful photos. disgusting music.