THE LAST SHUTTLE

self | July 09, 2011 | swampsniper

[GSP.FAN]

Thank you SS,great pics..

[Guenevere]

The pictures are beautiful...Thank-you!!!

Now for the reality ...... thousands out of work at the Cape...

..thousands more out of work in the local communities.....

...the same at Houston.

My (aerospace) husband was part of this for the past 30+ years....Soon after we moved here we saw a night launch-(rocket, not shuttle) up close and personal.....it was spectacular!

The era is passing ....very sad on the Space Coast.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

It was a mess, I've never seen things that bad.

The assembly building is huge but it was hard to see with the naked eye, like looking through a dirty window.

[brytlea]

Wow, thank you. I had hoped we would be able to get up there, but nope. Thank you thank you thank you! :)

[brytlea]

I managed to get a few shots of a night launch in '08 and '09 from Delray Beach. It was the most awesome thing to see (even from this far away. I'm so sorry I never got to see it closer. We saw it streak across the sky twice in TX and sadly heard Columbia breaking apart. Oh, and twice I've gotten to take 4th graders to NASA for overnight trips under the rocket (which is pretty fun). It has been part of virtually my entire adult life, and I can't believe it's just over. Like that.

[brytlea]

I’m jealous! When I was a little girl, I wanted to be an astronaut! :) Of course, I wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of all of the people now who are being downsized. I have several friends who work in the industry, not sure what will happen to them. :(

[LucyT]

.

Thank you, SWAMPSNIPER. Great photos.

[pandoraou812]

Very cool, thank you for sharing .

[MikeD]

Nice shots! I was on the apex of the 406 causeway, and my wimpy camera just wasn’t up to the job. :(

[MikeD]

I’ve heard as many, too, although the top of the bridge wasn’t all that crowded. I heard it’s the most people to see a launch since Apollo 11 in 1969.

[Daffynition]

AWESOME! Breathtaking in its wonder; melancholy in its ending.

Space shuttle tracker;See the position of the shuttle, the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope as they orbit the Earth.

[Two Thirds Vote Aye]

Thanks for the ping, Jem.

[dixiechick2000]

You were there! I love your pictures!

We lived on Florida’s west coast when the shuttle missions began. We got up early to watch the first launch, and were in the area long enough to see more launches and the first landing. Ha! That one rattled my plates! All of it was totally amazing to me, and I am very saddened that it’s almost at an end.

Thank you so much for posting this thread.

[Condor51]

*** It was a mess, I've never seen things that bad. ... The assembly building is huge but it was hard to see with the naked eye, like looking through a dirty window. ***

:-) Up here near Chi, when the heat and humidity rises like it has been of late that's my sky & lighting conditions too (like right now). Taking photos outdoors then is not a happy time.

But it still beats the 'old days' (60's-70's). Back then a Real Blue Sky was rarer than rare up here, and UV and haze filter was mandatory. But with Color print or slide film, they still came out mostly like (blank). Going with Black & White film and a multitude of B&W colored filters was the only way to take a somewhat presentable photo. [my Ansel Adams days :-)]

I'm far from an eco-Nazi Nut but the air is 100% cleaner now than it used to be (no/less Ozone from car exhaust) due to some of the EPA reg's. But you get to a point where enough is enough.

[chessplayer]

“What The Space Shuttle Did For You”

“Space Shuttle derived technology and advancements include the artificial heart, better prosthetic limbs, cancer treating drugs, refined diagnostics and many other benefits on Earth. Narrated by Star Trek’s William Shatner.”

http://www.space.com/12176-space-shuttle.html

What a waste of money the US manned space program was. We did`nt need any of that crap. sarc/

[ThreePuttinDude]

Thanks SS, you’re the greatest.
I’m sharing this with some of my Face Book folks.

[pigsmith]

"He has told the world that he wants to level the playing field. To do that, he must bring us down to their level and he doing a good job at doing just that."

Yep. His next mission for NASA: Muslim Outreach.

[Cincinatus]

Great pictures -- many thanks for posting them.

I was at the launch of STS-98 back in 2001. It was one of the most memorable in the Shuttle program in that it launched just as a full Moon was rising above the Atlantic. As the Shuttle rose out of Earth's shadow, the water vapor in the exhaust plume created a natural prism and made a rainbow -- whose rays appeared to converge on the rising Moon!

Absolutely stunning and incredibly beautiful. I'll never forget it.

[smokingfrog]

Nice!