Space Shuttle Endeavour Launches (at last)

mumkin writes: "Hey, STS-108 has finally launched! In addition to bringing a new crew to the International Space Station and performing an EVA, Endeavour will be releasing Starshine 2, another orbiting disco-ball for ground-based observers to track."

Comments

More Cargo

[flynt]

In addition to the things already mentioned, the shuttle also has 6000 American Flags, which when returned from space, will be given to the members of the families of the World Trade Center victims.

Re:ISS module stuck

[sweatyboatman]

If you're really curious to know, here's the story on CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/12/03/spacewa lk /index.html

Half the time estimated. Maybe NASA's learning to double their estimates. It can only make them look better in the public's eye.

To see the ISS & Shuttle yourself...

[Tsar]

Go to Heavens-Above and enter your location on earth, and it'll provide you with all the info you need to spot the ISS, the Shuttle, and a host of other orbiting objects as they pass over you before sunrise or after sunset. The site has a wealth of other information about satellites and space exploration in general as well, so it is with a very heavy heart that I expose one of my absolute favorite sites to the eminent threat of slashdottery.

Satellite Sighting!

[Anonymous Coward]

I invite you to check for ISS/shuttle sightings on the nasa website. Also Heavens above might be updated with the shuttle orbital information within the next few hours.

For example, I see there will be a nice pass almost straight above San Francisco, Thr Dec 06, 05:26 PM for ISS, and 11 minutes later (05:37 PM) the shuttle catching up with it! So I suspect similar opportunies for other US cities in the coming days, weather permitting of course.

Don't expect to see more than a moving point of light, but it is still quite cool.

Re:Satellite Sighting!

[MaxPower2000]

i took an astronomy class last year and one of the requirements was to watch the shuttle pass over blacksburg. well the time we decided to watch was special indeed. first the ISS passed overhead and then the shuttle (i forget which one) passed over head on its way to rendevous with the ISS. it was around the time when the ISS was being fitted with new and bigger solar panels.

the whole thing was very cool, and extremly fast. the two objects looked like very bright stars, about the magnitude of venus, and crossed the whole sky in under 90 seconds. it gave a great feeling of the speed that those guys were zipping around earth at.

if you get a chance check it out, you won't regret it.

GAS Payloads on STS-108

[Anonymous Coward]

STS-108 also contains GAS Payloads...which are basically just canisters that can be rented, usually by universities and space agencies. Experiments are flown in these canisters and they range anywhere from boiling water to growing plants, testing the effects of microgravity. I am the webmaster of the Utah State University GAS Team and we sent up a payload on this shuttle with 3 powered experiments and a few passive ones. Glad the shuttle finally got off the ground!

Re:Already unstuck.

[po_boy]

...managed to pull the piece out with a crooked stick.

All hail the inanimate carbon rod.

Re:Why do we bother

[Str1der]

Why do we bother sending people to space when there are so many problems on earth?... Terrorist attacks against America, terrorist attacks against Israel, unemployment, economy problems, homelessness, bad education, health care problems, etc...

Maybe to remind the world that there is a lot more to our existance than out (mostly) petty quarrels. Maybe to inspire a new generation to strive for a better education. Mabey to conduct zero-g research that will indirectly lead to inexpensive soulutions to many health issues. There have been countless spinoffs from the space program and there will be many more. I think it is a great way to spend that small fraction of our budget.

Re:So what exactly does this massive student proje

[ukryule]

From NASA:

The experiments include: STARSHINE-2, the Prototype Synchrotron Radiation Detector, Collisions Into Dust Experiment-2, Capillary Pump Loop, and Space Experiment Module-11.

STARSHINE 2 will be the third satellite of Project Starshine -- the Student Tracked Atmospheric Research Satellite for Heuristic International Networking Experiment -- to be deployed. More than 25,000 students from 26 countries will track STARSHINE 2 as it orbits Earth for eight months. The students will use the information that they collect to calculate the density of the Earth's upper atmosphere. Starshine will fly into space in a Hitchhiker canister in the payload bay of Endeavour and will be deployed 240 miles (387 kilometers) above the Earth.

So 25,000 students will be monitoring it - it wasn't built by 25,000 students :-)

Re:Memorial

[istartedi]

Was the cloud unusually bright? I've heard that sometimes that happens because the "cloud" is way up in the stratosphere where direct sunlight is still visible. I've never witnessed a launch, but I had the privelege to witness a sunset landing where the shuttle became visible as a bright white speck while making an approach turn. Then of course there was the CLAP! CLAP! double-sonic boom and the approach was close enough so that you could clearly see the windows of the shuttle. If you have the opportunity to witness a landing, don't sell it short. It was one of the highlights not only of my visit to KSC, but of my whole FLA vacation. Then again, I wonder if they will be allowing people that close to landings for a while.