Awesome is this event! NASA got Discovery off again. The title link above, from Reuters, is an excellent article, from which I quote these very descriptive words:
Space shuttle Discovery blasted off its seaside launch pad, ending a ban on night-time flights imposed after the 2003 Columbia disaster, and began chasing the International Space Station on Sunday.Halfway round the world, BakuToday.net, a website from Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia in the Caucuses, carries another very good story and great pictures of the spectacular launch of this very important NASA mission.
With its twin booster rockets blazing, the shuttle and seven astronauts lifted off at 8:47:35 p.m. EST on Saturday . . . with a thundering roar and a brilliant white light that momentarily dispelled the darkness at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
. . . The crew's first job on Sunday, like all flights since the accident, will be to inspect the shuttle's heat shield for damage. Columbia was destroyed after a piece of foam insulation fell off its fuel tank during launch and damaged its heat shield. The shuttle broke apart as it attempted to fly through the atmosphere for landing, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
NASA had banned night flights to make sure cameras had good lighting to see any debris flying away during liftoff. But with improvements to the tank, as well as radar and other systems to monitor for debris strikes, NASA decided to return to night flights, opening up more shuttle launch opportunities.
In a far different world- This is a NASA picture of a sunset on Mars, taken by the Mars Rover in 2005. Here's a hat tip to Wil Wheaton for the link to this breath-taking picture. In an earlier incarnation he played "Wesley Crusher" on Star Trek. Wheaton is now a very popular blogger. As my readers know I am a big Star Trek fan. I will quote from his post to honor last night's magnificent launch of STS-116:When you ask people why they like Star Trek, one of the top answers is always some variation of "it gives us hope for the future." I always thought that sentiment was a little simplistic, but over the last couple of years, I've come to agree with it, and even embrace it. This morning, I realized that I can personally apply it to science fiction, back yard astronomy, and real-life space exploration as well.
. . . NASA kept Spirit awake so it (and we) could watch the sunset. Isn't that just beautiful? We sent a robot all the way to another planet, and then had it do something humans have been doing since before we touched the monolith. We didn't even learn anything from it . . . or did we? . . . I hope so. I hope a lot of people will look at that picture of our sun, setting over another planet, and remember that the Earth is not the only place in the universe where there is beauty and mystery.
This daylight picture is also of the Discovery space shuttle, STS-114, as it triumphantly lifted off in July 2005. I used it to illustrate my 7/26/05, S/SW post, my first post on the subject of space. (Click on the "space" label at the end of this post to see the rest of my space posts).Quoting from this July post,
This magnificent photo captures the excitement of NASA flying again. Catch sight of further developments at this NASA website link. This image stays with me today.
Godspeed! Discovery crew, we are with you.
My "creative post" today at Southwest Blogger is a poem about space flight.
4 comments:
I can't get enough of these NASA photos. I hope they succeed in their critical mission.
So do I, Fay! Am I correct that NASA pics are in the public domain? Note that it took me a while to compose the poem at my creative site, but it is up now. I am such a space junkie that there are many ways to celebrate the peaceful use of space.
HI Carol,
Yes, NASA submitted pictures are in the public domain. I'm a space junkie too. So, I understand :-)
Thanks, Fayrouz. BTW, just a word to tell you what fun it was to meet the Iraq volleyball team!
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