Shuttle launch tonight at 7:43 EDT

Ken S. Tucker wrote:
PS: What should we do with the Space Shuttles when
they are retired?
Bill Gates has offered to buy them for skeet shooting.


I assume one will end up on display down at KSC, another will go to the
Smithsonian A&SM, and the third will go... who knows? Houston?
Let's just hope all three get retired intact, rather than losing another
one somehow.

Pat

On Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:25:26 -0500, "Jorge R. Frank"
wrote:

Ken S. Tucker wrote:

PS: What should we do with the Space Shuttles when
they are retired?

Smithsonian has first dibs. All the orbiters will remain government
property "on loan" to the recipient, and the recipient must pay for the
inerting, ferry flight, and mate/demate, about $40 million per orbiter.

Gates has that in his wallet. :-)

Brian

Brian Thorn wrote:
On Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:25:26 -0500, "Jorge R. Frank"
wrote:

Ken S. Tucker wrote:
PS: What should we do with the Space Shuttles when
they are retired?
Smithsonian has first dibs. All the orbiters will remain government
property "on loan" to the recipient, and the recipient must pay for the
inerting, ferry flight, and mate/demate, about $40 million per orbiter.

Gates has that in his wallet. :-)

Sure, not denying that. The point is that this money doesn't "buy" the
orbiter; it remains US government property and vandalizing it would be a
property crime of Madoffian proportions. Gates better not have
skeet-shooting in mind unless he wants a closer (and longer) look at the
inside of Leavenworth than he ever dreamed of.

On Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:08:23 -0500, "Jorge R. Frank"
wrote:


Sure, not denying that. The point is that this money doesn't "buy" the
orbiter; it remains US government property and vandalizing it would be a
property crime of Madoffian proportions. Gates better not have
skeet-shooting in mind unless he wants a closer (and longer) look at the
inside of Leavenworth than he ever dreamed of.

By the way, Discovery flew over San Angelo at about 8:18 tonight, 95
minutes after liftoff. Very, very bright, and moving fast (must have
been very low.) Beautiful!

Congratulations, NASA!

Brian

Brian Thorn wrote:
On Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:08:23 -0500, "Jorge R. Frank"
wrote:


Sure, not denying that. The point is that this money doesn't "buy" the
orbiter; it remains US government property and vandalizing it would be a
property crime of Madoffian proportions. Gates better not have
skeet-shooting in mind unless he wants a closer (and longer) look at the
inside of Leavenworth than he ever dreamed of.

By the way, Discovery flew over San Angelo at about 8:18 tonight, 95
minutes after liftoff. Very, very bright, and moving fast (must have
been very low.) Beautiful!

Yes, very low. The post-OMS-2 orbit was 125x85 nmi.

Dang, I should have checked the sighting tables myself. Might have been
visible here in Houston.

On Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:29:25 -0500, Lofty Goat
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/

On Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:53:54 -0500, Brian Thorn wrote:
Uh, yes. That's what the first message in this thread said.

Uh, yes. And I think it is worth repeating, in case someone missed it.

-- RLW

On Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:08:23 -0500, Jorge R. Frank wrote:

... better not have skeet-shooting in mind....

It'd take a railgun to get through that tile. I'd like to see it.

-- RLW

Brian Thorn wrote:
By the way, Discovery flew over San Angelo at about 8:18 tonight, 95
minutes after liftoff. Very, very bright, and moving fast (must have
been very low.) Beautiful!

Congratulations, NASA!


Once they get the fourth solar array deployed on the ISS, it will be
very, very bright also - especially with the Shuttle attached.
IRCC, it's supposed to be around as bright as Jupiter.

Pay

On Mar 16, 3:52*am, Pat Flannery wrote:
- IRCC, it's supposed to be around as bright as Jupiter.

Pay

Apparently you have not watched the ISS very much, if at all. It is
often BRIGHTER than Jupiter at its most favorable apparition. The
apparent brightness of the ISS, and in fact any satellite, depends on
several parameters, viz., the phase angle of the ISS, atmospheric
haze, elevation angle, and so on. I have been watching and tracking
satellites since 1947, both in my professional work at Sandia National
Laboratories until my retirement in 1986, and continuing as a hobby
until now, so I have seen a great many passes of a great many
satellites, thus feel I can claim some experience in this matter. It
is of course true that the more reflecting surfaces the ISS has, the
brighter it CAN be, subject to the afore-mentioned parameters.

May your skies be clear and not too cold for watching these nice
passes! (Of which there won't be any more for me this week, due to
where I live--- sigh!)

Regards,

Grover Hughes

Hi Grover.
On Mar 17, 11:51 am, Grover Hughes wrote:

Apparently you have not watched the ISS very much, if at all. It is
often BRIGHTER than Jupiter at its most favorable apparition. The
apparent brightness of the ISS, and in fact any satellite, depends on
several parameters, viz., the phase angle of the ISS, atmospheric
haze, elevation angle, and so on. I have been watching and tracking
satellites since 1947, both in my professional work at Sandia National
Laboratories until my retirement in 1986, and continuing as a hobby
until now, so I have seen a great many passes of a great many
satellites, thus feel I can claim some experience in this matter. It
is of course true that the more reflecting surfaces the ISS has, the
brighter it CAN be, subject to the afore-mentioned parameters.
Grover Hughes

(I guess you meant 1957?)
We lucked out to view the shuttle docked to the ISS at ~46 degree
latitude just after sunset, it was still in the sunshine.
I'd say it was certainly as bright as I've seen Venus, also, I'm
informed, with good eyes, one can resolve it beyond a point.
Ken