Kennedy Space Center

STS-125 Atlantis Launch long version [HD]

After a smooth countdown and picture-perfect liftoff, space shuttle Atlantis and a crew of seven astronauts are in space, ready to begin their 11-day mission to service NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis lifted off Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 2:01 pm EDT, 11 May 2009.

External Tank Gets Lift for “Checkout”

The external fuel tank for space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-134 mission was lifted into a “checkout cell” on Sept. 29 in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. ET-122 arrived at Kennedy on Sept. 27, and was taken off its transport barge and moved into the Vehicle Assembly Building on Sept. 28. The tank will be inspected for its flight in the cell for about 15 days and then moved onto a mobile launch platform where it will be attached to two solid rocket boosters and eventually Endeavour. The STS-134 mission to the International Space Station is targeted for liftoff in February 2011. The video includes time-lapse video of the initial lifting of the external tank.

Shuttle Endeavour Attached to Boosters, Tank for Final Mission

Space shuttle Endeavour was bolted to its external tank and twin solid rocket boosters on March 1. This “mating” took place in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida following the orbiter’s move from its processing hangar. Endeavour is slated to rollout to Launch Pad 39A next week for STS-134, its final flight. During the 14-day mission, Endeavour’s six astronauts will deliver to the International Space Station the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a particle physics detector designed to search for various types of unusual matter by measuring cosmic rays. The crew also will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier 3, a platform that carries spare parts that will sustain station operations once the shuttles are retired later this year. Endeavour’s launch is targeted for April 19.

STS-127 Landing, 7/31/09

Here was the landing of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, mission STS-127 on July 31st, 2009 at the Cape. As always, I superimposed a clock on the lower right so you can cue up to the landing. This is via NASA TV, and fair use under current copyright laws.

Space Shuttle Era: External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters

The space shuttle relied on an external tank and a pair of solid rocket boosters to get into orbit and carry out its missions.

Orlando Vacation / Urlaub 2011

Some clips and pics from our orlando vacation in 2011. Music: Kevin MacLeod”

APOLLO 11: PROOF OF MOON LANDING

The Flag. The ideal conspiracy believer says: “The flag placed on the surface by the astronauts flapped despite there being no wind on the Moon.” But the astronauts were actually moving the flag into position. Without air drag, these movements caused the free corner of the flag to swing like a pendulum for some time. A horizontal rod, visible in many photographs, extended from the top of the flagpole to hold the flag out for proper display. The flag’s rippled appearance was from folding during storage, and it could be mistaken for motion in a still photograph. The top support rod telescoped and the crew of Apollo 11 could not fully extend it. Later crews preferred to only partially extend the rod. Videotapes shows that when the flag stops after the astronauts let it go, it remains motionless. At one point the flag remains completely motionless for well over thirty minutes.