Earl
04-05-2008, 06:54 PM
Well, while not the typical 'launch' photos posted on this site, I thought some might be interested to see this shuttle launch photo I made (timed exposure) of STS-123 (several weeks back) from Augusta, Georgia.
Yes -- I did say Georgia.
From Augusta, Kennedy Space Center is just about 400 miles south. While I have seen about five shuttle launches over the years from Kennedy itself, many of the high inclination launches (51 degrees) to the ISS are quite visible up the East Coast of the US.
I have capured on video about five of these launches from here in Augusta (at Bush Field; commercial jet airport just a few miles from the house here). This is the second one that I have captured on stills (Canon Rebel XT).
The photo attached, while highly compressed to make it a smaller download, is presented 'as framed' in the original. Knowing where it would break the horizon here, I was able to zoom in pretty much right on target to frame the shot lower right to upper left.
Time to appear on the horizon here is about 1:25 after liftoff at KSC. At that point, my rough calculations are that the shuttle stack is about 13 miles above the local ground (KSC), moving about 2300mph. We get to see about the last 30 to 35 seconds of SRB burn from here. Many who have tagged along to see these (this one was at 2:35am, so it's not always convenient) are amazed at just how visible these are from 400 miles away.
It ain't quite like being at KSC in person to see one go (then again, few things can match THAT excitement), but the 'drive' can't be beat!
Earl
Yes -- I did say Georgia.
From Augusta, Kennedy Space Center is just about 400 miles south. While I have seen about five shuttle launches over the years from Kennedy itself, many of the high inclination launches (51 degrees) to the ISS are quite visible up the East Coast of the US.
I have capured on video about five of these launches from here in Augusta (at Bush Field; commercial jet airport just a few miles from the house here). This is the second one that I have captured on stills (Canon Rebel XT).
The photo attached, while highly compressed to make it a smaller download, is presented 'as framed' in the original. Knowing where it would break the horizon here, I was able to zoom in pretty much right on target to frame the shot lower right to upper left.
Time to appear on the horizon here is about 1:25 after liftoff at KSC. At that point, my rough calculations are that the shuttle stack is about 13 miles above the local ground (KSC), moving about 2300mph. We get to see about the last 30 to 35 seconds of SRB burn from here. Many who have tagged along to see these (this one was at 2:35am, so it's not always convenient) are amazed at just how visible these are from 400 miles away.
It ain't quite like being at KSC in person to see one go (then again, few things can match THAT excitement), but the 'drive' can't be beat!
Earl