NASA Space Shuttle Discovery STS-128 Night Launch 8/28/2009 view NASA Causeway 6.5 miles

http://www.lauderdalechristmas.com/nasa-shuttle-launch.htm Click on link to read my article "How to view and photograph a NASA Space Shuttle Launch".
The night launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery STS-128 on Friday August 28, 2009 at midnight on launch pad LC-39A. I shot this test video to capture the phenomenon when the Space Shuttle lifts off at night in pure dark, while making the entire city of Titusville, FL glow like it is sunrise. Be sure that HD is selected or YouTube will not display it in HD mode for you. I used my high definition Canon Vixia HF-10 on a tripod, filming through 6 miles of humidity on the NASA Causeway inside the Kennedy Space Center. This is the closest that non-NASA related are humans are allowed to the launch pad.

This video is not meant to track the shuttle through the sky, but rather to just show the change of lighting at the launch pad and for miles around. The launch of Discovery STS-128 took place at midnight, but the brightness looks as though its at sunrise for several seconds.

At 2:40 into the video you can hear the rumble from the liftoff arrive, and crowd screaming sounds like they are riding on a roller coaster.

I have setup a very detailed tutorial for you on how to photograph a NASA Space Shuttle Launch day time or night, and strategies on finding the best viewing locations to watch a shuttle launch. Its here on my web site:

http://www.LauderdaleChristmas.com/nasa-shuttle-launch.htm

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• nasa
• space
• shuttle
• sts-128
• kennedy
• center
• causeway
• launch
• rocket
• liftoff
• blastoff
• flight

[mschaefer221]

haha, I hate to be the only one commenting on the camera rather than the launch, but did you have any special settings for that shot? or did you do some editing with software afterward? that has to be the best black I've seen from an HD digital camcorder...

And also, that was an awesome video. ;) loved the brightness as it launched.

[jeffostroff]

@mschaefer221 Yes I had the camcorder settings set to the lowest sensitivity possible. I did not edit the volors or anything in the video, you are looking at the raw video. I used a Canon Vixia HF10 high def camcorder. They have better models out now. I know I did not use auto exposure mode, I set exposure away from default 0 to probbaly -6 or even lower. That probbaly helped make the black blacker, plus great camera gives lower video noise to begin with.

[TNtrainboy15]

How early do we have to be to the causeway to be able to get a front row spot?

[jeffostroff]

@TNtrainboy15

The Kennedy busses must arrive at the Causeway spot 3 hours before the launch. As the busses arrive, there's sort of a mad dash for the front spots along the yellow tape, but the busses keep lining up behind you arriving about every few minutes. So the trick is ge toff your bus, have one or 2 runners to quickly move down the yellow tape before th eother busses arriv ebehind you and stake your ground.

[topdogg8812]

It sucks i was there for the original launch date but they scrubbed it 10mins before launch and I wasnt able to make it back but I did see it from Gainesville on a completely dark stretch of 441. My parents couldn't see it from Miramar that night though.

[jeffostroff]

We were at that first date also, left empty handed. We started driving up from FT. Lauderdale the next night, and my friend's wife called us when we hit Boynton Beach, that they scrubbed due to Hyrdogen. We only lost a 1/2 hour that night. Third time was the charm! The reason parents could not see it in Mirimar is the shuttle immediately turned north and rode a flatter trajectory up the eastern seaboard. Normally I can see them from FT. Lauderdale if they head more upward than sideways.

[Loves2diareah45]

putting christ back in christmas?? HAHAHAHAHA

[riyal50man]

is justin bieber on it..?

i hope so

[bahrest2]

lightspeed



[tel030]

wonder what the fish thought!!

[K8MCL]

And we have sunrise...

[Apjooz]

Did someone mention binoculars and the flash hurting his eyes? Ouch. :(

[ziggyboi1995]

I was in Daytona at this launch and it lit up the sky like day. In the morning, I could see the SRBs in the water, and being retrieved.

[nasa439]

i was on STS-128 the shaking is bad

[batie1980]

Whoop whoop, yeah! USA! USA!.......Fucking yanks!

[bamsb90]

@Loves2diareah45 Yes, sir. Problem with that?

[dinoloverist]

Cool that it lights up the night sky!

[MightySaturn5]

@mschaefer221 I was about to say the same thing -incredible contrast ratio! ...anyway have a great day and take care.