Shooting the space shuttle

[BorisMD]

Hi all,

The shuttle is scheduled to launch during my next trip in March. It is scheduled to go off at 6:45 am in a pre-dawn launch.

My plan is to drive over to Titusville and stay in a hotel the night before (the hotel is on the Indian River, and is about as close as one can get without paying the space center). Supposedly I can just go out into the hotel parking area and see it well from there.

I am going to try to get some shots of the launch. I'll have my Canon Rebel XT with me, the kit lens, the cheap 75-300 zoom, the nifty fifty, and a 24-105L IS zoom.

Obviously, I won't be able to do lots of test shots. So I'm wondering about exposure settings. My thought was to use the IS lens, and set the camera to take rapid fire exposures. What I don't know is if I should use the "sports mode", or go to Tv or Av and where to put the settings. I'm afraid the darkness of pre-dawn will cause the camera to overexpose the shuttle if I use an auto setting.

Any advice?

Thanks,

Boris

 

[handicap18]

Check out this tread for 1 option:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1361659

 

[ukcatfan]

Please be aware that almost all first attempts are scrubbed. It will likely not go off until a few days later.

Kevin

 

[BorisMD]

Dang, that's not what I want to hear.

Any idea how much before the launch they announce the scrub?

I am staying in a DVC unit, and not checking out. I just booked a room in Titusville for the night. I have until 6 pm to cancel without paying. We have priority seating at LeCellier that evening, and I was planning to drive over after that.

If they're going to scrub, I'd rather not bother with the drive over and back, let alone wasting a $100+ on a hotel room when I could be in our 2BR DVC unit.

Thanks,

Boris

 

[Delphis]

Dang, that's not what I want to hear.

Any idea how much before the launch they announce the scrub?Boris

Sorry to bring you more bad news. They litterally can scrub a launch down to seconds before it was to go up, and have before. There are so many issues such as weather, technical problems.

 

[BorisMD]

Okay, so if it were you, would you go?

 

[Delphis]

It depends on how much of a space fan you are/ or how much it means for you to shoot the photos of it. I would hate for you to waste the money, time, and also be disappointed if it got scrubbed. I also can see that since your from out of state it'd be something very rare for you.

It's hard for me to give you an answer since I've lived in Central FL all my life (30 yrs in Melbourne, and almost 8 yrs in Orlando) and I still love to watch anything that launches from the Cape. I just shot (crappy)video of a Delta II launch a little over an hour ago, since I'm geeky like that.

 

[Virgo10]

Hey you could always come to my house. We have a great, if some what distant, view of all the launches. Here's what I saw tonight at 6:01!

I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for you. I've seen a night time launch but never one before dawn. That should be really cool if it happens.

 

[ukcatfan]

Okay, so if it were you, would you go?

Unless I lived less than an hour away... No.

 

[BorisMD]

Hey Virgo10,

What did you shoot those with?

Boris "who is going to have to break the news to two 14 yo space cadets"

 

[Virgo10]

Hey Virgo10,

What did you shoot those with?

Boris "who is going to have to break the news to two 14 yo space cadets"

My old Sony Mavica. Old as in it still uses floppies.

Don't give up yet. While cancellations are common, maybe you'll be lucky. I would love to see them launch the shuttle at that time of the day. Not sure how my neighbors will react to my maniacal screaming though. I just go nuts when I see these things from my backyard.

 

[Seahunt]

Sorry but bad news on the local TV station - the shuttle has been scrubbed for the March launch, due to hail damage while on the pad yesterday. It will now be about a month later (at least). Here's the info:

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA on Tuesday postponed next month's launch of space shuttle Atlantis after a hail storm left hundreds of small dents on the spacecraft's external fuel tank and on a wing.

The launch, which had been set for March 15, was pushed back to at least late April to give NASA time to make repairs.

NASA technicians planned to move the orbiter back to a giant hangar to examine the damage and decide if repairs can be made at the Kennedy Space Center.

"This constitutes, in our evaluation, the worst damage we have ever seen of hail on the external tank," said Wayne Hale, manager of the space shuttle program.

The need to make repairs had raised the likelihood that the launch would be delayed since NASA only had four extra days to spare in its launch-preparation schedule.

The damage was concentrated in the upper third of the 153-foot-tall external tank, a section which holds liquid oxygen propellant.

During their 11 days in space, Atlantis' astronauts must deliver a 35,000-pound addition to the international space station, the heaviest ever, along with a new pair of solar arrays. Crew members are also supposed to unfurl the solar arrays, fold up an old pair and conduct at least three spacewalks.

Monday evening's thunderstorms moved quickly and had winds of up to 60 miles per hour. The size of the hail was between a half inch and two inches and landed only at the NASA space center. The National Weather Service considers three-quarters-of-an-inch-sized hail to be "severe," said David Sharp, a meteorologist with the weather service.

"Most people didn't see thunderstorms, let alone severe thunderstorms," Sharp said. "It only occurred in one location, and that was NASA's Kennedy Space Center complex."

In 1999, hail from a storm made 650 divots in space shuttle Discovery's external tank, forcing NASA to delay a launch and return the spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building. In 1995, space shuttle Discovery was sent back to the Vehicle Assembly Building because of fuel-tank damage caused by a pair of woodpeckers that drilled about 200 holes in the rust-colored foam insulation, apparently in an attempt to roost and build nests.

Hail also hit the external tank of space shuttle Atlantis in 1990, causing minor damage.

The insulating foam on the external tank is of special concern to NASA since foam flew off space shuttle Columbia during lift off in 2003 and struck the orbiter. The damage allowed fiery gases to penetrate Columbia during re-entry, breaking up the craft and killing its seven astronauts.

NASA redesigned the external tank, removing large amounts of foam, before last year's three successful shuttle missions. The space agency plans another design change to the tank before the shuttle program ends in 2010.

 

[BorisMD]

Darn.

You'd think that for a mulimillion dollar space vehicle, they would invest in a few protective tarps until launch day.

Oh well, maybe some other year.

Regards,

Boris http://www.wdwinfo.com/images/smilies/sad06.gif

 

[2angelsinheaven]

I was disapointed as well when we returned home to the news...=o( We live a few miles away from the launch sites and I was really looking forward to this one. Of course I was glad we weren't home, the hail sounded like it was horrible and if the shuttle got over 7,000 dings/dents I'm glad my car was with us in Orlando...lol

I shot this one with my Kodak P/S so I'm sure you camera would take wonderful photos, heres hoping you can make it down for one.

 

[Seahunt]

Great photo 2 angels! Here's a nice one that was in the local paper, taken from the lighthouse in Ponce Inlet: