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Shuttle Discovery Lifts Off

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the our-starblazers dept.

An anonymous reader writes "CNN is reporting that the Space Shuttle Discovery has lifted off, marking the United States' returned to manned space flight for the first time since the Columbia disaster in February 2003"

28 of 445 comments (clear)

  1. MSNBC Commentator is a jackass by SoCalChris · · Score: 5, Funny

    "There are large vultures circling the launch tower, we've got to ask ourselves if they know something that we don't". Jackass.

    1. Re:MSNBC Commentator is a jackass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      That's why you watch CNN and Miles O'Brien if you need a commentator. The guy is an enthusiast, and his excitement comes across the screen quite well.

      Watching the shuttle seperate from the fuel tank was amazing, and you could tell he was just as excited about the new video feed from NASA as I, or any self respecting nerd, was.

    2. Re:MSNBC Commentator is a jackass by ErichTheWebGuy · · Score: 5, Informative

      That's why I watched it on the Science Channel. No political commentary (not that I even know if the other networks offered any or not). Nothing but coverage from the scientific aspect of it. They had current and former NASA guys offering commentary.

      I gotta say that it was the best coverage of a launch I have ever seen, even better than NASA TV's coverage!

      --
      bash: rtfm: command not found
    3. Re:MSNBC Commentator is a jackass by nuggetman · · Score: 4, Informative

      it was a former nasa crewmember, commenting on his thoughts during one of his own launches

      --
      ...and that's all there is to it.
    4. Re:MSNBC Commentator is a jackass by Drachemorder · · Score: 5, Funny
      "That's why you watch CNN and Miles O'Brien if you need a commentator. The guy is an enthusiast, and his excitement comes across the screen quite well."

      He ought to know what he's talking about. He spent enough time patching up the Enterprise and DS9 that.... oh. Never mind.

    5. Re:MSNBC Commentator is a jackass by badasscat · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I gotta say that it was the best coverage of a launch I have ever seen, even better than NASA TV's coverage!

      I was watching HDNet's coverage before heading out to work - I can't wait to get home and watch the actual launch in HD (it's DVR'd). I did take note of the overall tone of the coverage, though, which was great - very little commentary at all, mostly just a run-down of what was happening at any given time. The goal was to inform, not to editorialize, and there was obviously no pressure to "fill in the gaps" left by silence. It really almost gave you a feeling of being there.

      Their coverage also began about three hours ahead of time, with at least half a dozen HD cameras (a few of their cameras were in SD, unavoidably). You really got to see everything, including the astronauts driving up to the launch pad, then riding up the elevator, suiting up and buckling in. The shots of the launch pad in HD looked really amazing, and I can just imagine what the launch itself looked like. I wish they'd show all launches like this!

    6. Re:MSNBC Commentator is a jackass by Predius · · Score: 5, Informative

      Fuel SENSOR, not valve. One of 4 redundant units, which only come into play when a few systems above them, which are duplicated for redundancy, fail. For this particular system to botch, the three other sensors would also have had to fail.

      After draining the tank, NASA could not reproduce the failure. Wiring was tested/replaced/etc, no failures.

      The decision was to test multiple times before the launch, including one last test at 9 minutes before. The only conditions that would allow launch to continue, the sensor works, or fails in the exact same mannor as before. Any other behavior patterns would have halted the launch. Had it failed the same way, the behavior would have been predictable, and the systems setup to ignore the faulty sensor and rely on three other duplicates.

    7. Re:MSNBC Commentator is a jackass by Jivecat · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I agree that Miles is the very best we've got, but in terms of enthusiasm and sheer geekiness there was no one better than his predecessor, the late great John Holloman. Loved it when John would say "I'm not sure, let me check" and then haul out his 4-inch-thick binder of the Shuttle Operations Manual. Hey vultures, I've got some MSNBC commentator's bones for you to pick!

      --
      "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."--Feynman
    8. Re:MSNBC Commentator is a jackass by MonkeyGone2Heaven · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The goal was to inform, not to editorialize, and there was obviously no pressure to "fill in the gaps" left by silence. It really almost gave you a feeling of being there.

      You just hit the nail on the head as to what ails American TV broadcast of live events, most commentators don't know when to STFU. You'd never know a picture's worth a thousand words with all the inane drivel being spewed. Sportscasts are the worst in this regard. What I wouldn't give for the ability to filter out the commentators but keep the event/crowd sounds. Sigh...

  2. We've Returned Baby by null+etc. · · Score: 5, Funny
    marking the United States' returned to manned space flight

    Here's hoping to United States' returned to proper grammar and editorial spellchecking.

  3. Camera Views by Deinhard · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What was fascinating about this launch were the number of cameras catching the action. Watching the orbiter separate from the main tank from the tank itself was fantastic.

    --
    Successfully condensing fact from the vapor of nuance since 1998.
    1. Re:Camera Views by CRepetski · · Score: 5, Informative
      The Washington Post has a video of the launch in case you missed it.

      Yeah, the liquid fuel tank camera view was incredible. I hope that I can find the clip of the shuttle executing its roll with earth in the background.

    2. Re:Camera Views by ptackbar · · Score: 4, Informative

      From NASA's web site:

      "When the External Tank is empty, it separates from the Orbiter, too. It breaks apart, and its pieces fall in the ocean."

      URL: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/k-4/feat ures/BO_index.html

  4. Succesful launch.. by spaztech · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Takeoffs are optional, landings are mandatory. Let's hope they have a successful mission and a safe return.

    --
    /. spaztech ./
  5. fun with conspiracy theories. by peculiarmethod · · Score: 4, Funny

    I saw the live feed from NASA.. I must say congrats.. but I'll give the conspiracy theorists something to ponder.. from the t-minus 30 minutes that I caught it, there was no switch to internal cameras to show the crew on-board.. this was not the case on the feed from the scrapped launch weeks ago. plenty of live shots on the crew that time. hmmmmm.. perhaps this mission is humanless??? hmmmmmmmmm???

    or perhaps they're sending te backstreet boys, cause they needed funding.

    RIAA FUNDS NASA!!

    hehe

    --
    ** "It's not my job to stand between the people talking to me, and the ones listening to me." -- Pego the Jerk
  6. A toast! by Gamingboy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I propose a toast:

    To Apollo One!
    To Challenger!
    To Columbia!
    To all those we have lost in the pursuit of human understanding and knowledge!

    Long live exploration!
    Long live science!
    Long live Earth!

    LONG LIVE.... DISCOVERY!

    1. Re:A toast! by lbmouse · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm excited because my 10 y.o. son is excited. Try living your life a little through your child's eyes. You'll probably lose some of your cynicism and enjoy things like you did as a child again. It's great.

  7. Mission Status Center link by RobertB-DC · · Score: 4, Informative

    The missing link: Spaceflight Now's Mission Status Center (text version).

    Darned Dallas newspaper printed the 10:39 time as though it were local, so I missed it. The Mission Status Center is the next best thing. Interesting tidbit: "Mission specialist No. 3 Andy Thomas ... spent four months living aboard the Russian space station Mir in 1998." So he's got experience patching up balky tin cans in space...

    --
    Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
  8. I wonder.. by pickyouupatnine · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I wonder if the amount of $$ being spent on running the current space shuttle program is worth it.. or if that money would be better spent in not going to space for the next 5 to 10 years and developing something to replace the current shuttle program.

    Even after all the precautions, there were still NASA employees crying foul at today's launch date - which raises the question, "What will it take to convince all NASA employees so the general public can be then convinced to fully back this program?"

    Best of luck to the current crew. Hope they fly high and land safely.

    --
    _Vishal www.squad9.com
  9. Relating Links by JonN · · Score: 4, Informative
    Check out

    Miles O'Brien's Launch Blog

    Shuttle Details

    Return to Flight

    --
    do.what.promptcmds
  10. Did you just hear a "thump"?!!! by Thud457 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Sad to say, but the examples you cited weren't lives lost in the pursuit of knowledge.

    They were lives lost to managerial short-sightedness and corner-cutting.

    It's one thing to take a calculated risk when you understand the odds. To take your fate in your own hands. It's totally different to put your fate in the hands of others, who then don't treat the situation with the diligence it deserves.

    You wanna try your luck with the Russian space program?

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  11. God Speed by iShaman · · Score: 4, Informative

    Eileen Collins, James Kelly, Charles Camarda, Wendy Lawrence, Soichi Noguchi, Steve Robinson, and Andrew Thomas.

    Good luck and come back safe.

  12. Big Chunk Of Something fell off by RobertB-DC · · Score: 4, Informative

    From Spaceflight Now:

    1512 GMT (11:12 a.m. EDT)

    T+plus 33 minutes. A few seconds after solid rocket booster separation, a large chunk of something broke free from the external fuel tank. The onboard video camera mounted on the tank showed the object flying away from the vehicle without striking Discovery.

    --
    Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
  13. Re:Torrent of HD stream? by Hogwash+McFly · · Score: 5, Funny

    In space, no one can peer your stream.

    --
    Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
  14. Object hits shuttle tail at launch by Wonderkid · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sky News (UK) have clearly shown an object falling onto the tail of the shuttle as it left the launch pad. The tail knocks the object with enough force to push the object upwards. Question is, is it the same type of object that was shown falling away at booster seperation?Hopefully no damage to the shuttle tail.

    --

    O'WONDERWe're working on it.

  15. Re:Godspeed!? by Rob+Carr · · Score: 4, Funny
    It's 0.99999999999999999999999091854725c, if I crunched the numbers right.

    That's the speed at which 4.5 billion years passes in 7 days. (6 days working plus one of rest).

    --
    This sig seemed like a good idea at the time....
  16. debris? by quark007 · · Score: 5, Informative

    SpaceflightNow reporting
    - An image from the external tank video shows the chunk of debris breaking away from the tank just after the solid boosters separated.
    See the image here

    --
    - Sh!t
  17. Re:Godspeed!? by Rob+Carr · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sure: The speed at which God would be moving that would result in 13.8 billion years passing in 6 days is 0.99999999999999999999999929053887c. All things considered, 0.9999999999999999999999993 is good enough for sig. figs. I used the Lorentz transformation and solved for v/c. I needed to know the ratio of the two time periods. 13.8 billion *365/6 gives you the ratio of days. I'm ignoring leap years, but it's insignificant. Now, that's a large number, and you take the reciprocal, square it, and then subtract it from one. The square root of that should give you v/c.

    --
    This sig seemed like a good idea at the time....