04-07-2009 - Space

Many years ago, when I was at the Noble Planetarium at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, I had the honor and priviledge of interviewing Donald K. (“Deke”) Slayton, one of the original Mercury astronauts. I talked with him at his NASA office in Houston about the US and Soviet Space programs, although he said that it really was not possible to compare them because they were like “apples and oranges.” We also talked about the latest NASA project in the works, which Slayton insisted was a “space truck” for transporting cargo into and back from space. Officially known as the “Space Transportation System” or STS, its vehicles would become the Space Shuttle fleet.

Then several years later, I also had the great good fortune to be present at the very first launch of a manned shuttle, Columbia, on April 12, 1981 at Cape Kennedy. It was, to say the least, awe-inspiring. From just about three miles away from the launch pad, we could see the engines ignite and the great glowing rocket immediately rise, unlike the old Saturn V’s that lumbered slowly off the pad. There was odd silence until about 15 seconds later when the sound waves rushed over us in an intense, rapid-fire buffet that literally rattled your ribcage. The effect was surprising, stunning and certainly unforgettable.

Although I have never witnessed another launch in person, I have observed Shuttles on numerous occasions, in flight, as they passed over Denver. I intend to take every opportunity to see the Shuttle Atlantis during the flight of STS-125, currently scheduled for launch on May 12 on the 5th and final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

If you have never witnessed a shuttle passage overhead, I urge you to do so at your next opportunity, because soon there will be no more opportunities. The Space Shuttle program is mandated to end on September 30, 2010, less than a year and a half from now. The final Shuttle Mission, STS-134 (Discovery), is scheduled to launch on September 16, 2010. After that, say goodbye to the Space Shuttle program. Barring any unforeseen and unexpected extenstions, Deke Slayton’s “space truck” will fly no more after that.

Observing the Shuttle is easy, but you have to look in the right direction at the right time. You must know where East, West, North and South are, and preferably you should be familiar with altitude and azimuth. Otherwise, all you need are your eyes, but binoculars can be useful. The Shuttle looks like an exceptionally bright star that moves across a typically wide area of the sky within a few minutes at most. Tracking a shuttle in even a small telescope is challenging, so I don’t suggest it unless you are very experienced.

There are several sites to tell you when and where to look from your location, but don’t bother to check until the Shuttle launches. The precise timings and directions depend on exactly when the Shuttle is launched, so wait to check on observing opportunties until after the Shuttle achieves orbit. (Note: the International Space Station [ISS] of course stays in orbit, so you can check on observing opportunities for it at any time.)

For observing times and directions, check out details from NASA at this page for the U.S.:
US

and here for Canada:
Canada

Elsewhere, you can still find out the possibility of observing the space shuttle and/or ISS here:
World

For a simple site based on your US Zip or Canadian postal code, check out Spaceweather.com’s Satellite Tracker:
Satellite Tracker

Say “goodbye” before it is too late!

Written by Larry Sessions

6 Responses to “Preparing to say goodbye to the Shuttle”

1. a p garcia says:

   April 19, 2009 at 11:19 am

   I did see the Shuttle once and it is a moment I will never forget. It was at a more reasonale 28 degrees inclination. Now that it mainly flies at 51 degrees inclination, to match the ISS, it rarely passes overhead and not easily visible from my location (low on the horizon if at all). Perhaps the Mission to fix Hubble will mean it will be visible from my location.

   Reply
2. Larry Sessions says:

   April 19, 2009 at 1:35 pm

   a p
   You’ll be happy to know that the STS-125 mission, the Hubble Servicing mission, scheduled to launch on May 12, is set for a 28.5 degree orbital inclination to better match the HST. This will be good for folks in low latitudes, but will restrict possible sightings from high latitudes north and south. Assuming that you are at a lower latitude (was it Florida?), the lower inclinations may allow you more frequent sightings, but you should also have a chance with the higher inclinations as well. I can’t speak to the specifics, but there is nothing about a 51 degree orbital inclination that would prevent it from pass overhead if you live anywhere between 51N and 51S, which includes most of the populated areas of the planet. An orbital inclination of 28.5 degreess restricts overhead passages to 28.5N to 28.5S. Although you may get more frequent passages at your latitude with 28.5 degree inclinations, the rest of the world gets higher chances at 51 degrees inclination.

   LS

   Reply
3. Kelley says:

   April 21, 2009 at 1:29 pm

   Hi,

   I will be there to see the launch (keeping fingers crossed) on May 12. It will be awesome for me because I was present at the press conference that Space Telescope Science Institute released the first images after the last servicing mission. And a few weeks after this launch, I might be at the press conference again where they show the newest images after the repairs.

   Clear and dark skies,

   KKH

   Reply
4. Larry Sessions says:

   April 21, 2009 at 4:41 pm

   Kind of exciting, huh? I was out at JPL during one of the Voyager encounters in the early 80s. Wow, what a rush to see that stuff coming in. Not quite the same as seeing a shuttle launch, but cool nonetheless.

   LS

   Reply
5. Claudia Crowley says:

   April 26, 2009 at 8:47 am

   I never saw a launch, but I did get to work on the manuals for the shuttle in the early 80s. Our office was right there in the Astronaut Office Building. Coolest place I ever worked–I guess that goes without saying.

   Even seeing one being carried back across the country on a plane was awe-inspiring–or just plain inspiring.

   Hard to believe the program is over, but after all it has been nearly 30 years.

   Reply
6. Larry Sessions says:

   April 26, 2009 at 10:13 am

   Sorry that you didn’t get to see it, but there still are several more launches planned, including one coming up in a couple of weeks. It’s worth the trip. I was in the Astronaut Office Building many years ago, as well as a number of of buildings. I used to come down to Houston fairly often and a couple of times I got to go to one of the storage facilities, which at the time were out on Gemini as I recall. I got to go through lots of space hardware including suits and instruments, to pick out for display at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. Man, that was a fun time! One thing I wish I had done was to go into the mission control. Never got to do that, but maybe someday. And you really should go see one of the few remaining launches if you can. With your connections, you might get up close in the press or VIP area just a couple of miles away — just be sure to take lots of mosquito repellent!

   Reply