Space Shuttle Discovery Launch Live Thread (5:02 pm EDT)

05/31/08 | Kevin Davis

[stevie_d_64]

Just saw the first ET replay...

Right after SRB SEP...About 7-8 seconds...

What I thought at the time was a foam strike now looks like a shadow of a piece of the ET (whatever that might have been) was at the right place with the right angle coming from the sun to cast a shadow across where it looked like to me it might have hit...

Funny how the time can play tricks on you...

I was sitting here watching this, and it took that long about 2 more minutes for me to post what I thought I saw...By that time they are MECO and taking pictures of the ET...Getting out of the L&R suits, looking for the first bag of Tang...;-)

Geesh...And to think they get paid to do this??? hehehe

[SE Mom]

Cool- thanks!

[Squantos]

......great post !

My 74 year old Mom is visiting my Brothers family in Melbourne FL right now and I called her at the 36 second mark and she said they were all outside in the front yard watching the launch go. She was loving that launch ! The 3rd or fourth she has got too see ! I have seen one from Patrick AFB and watched a night launch from the cape where I was staying in Tampa on a clear night. Both were awesome !!

Still a very cool experience to be present and watch .

Stay Safe !

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

BBC Report:

Shuttle leaves for space station

[TheRedSoxWinThePennant]

Saw it from the supermarket in Riverview

[FReepaholic]

Took my camera out to Complex 39 today:

[RaceBannon]

please add me to the ping list

[NormsRevenge]

just another day at the beach... with big fireworks. ;-)

A woman watches from Titusville, Florida as the space shuttle Discovery launches
from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida May 31, 2008.
REUTERS/Eric Thayer (UNITED STATES)

[mcenedo]

We live in Jacksonville and have seen the shuttle from here but we have always said we need to go down to Canaveral to see a launch.

Today we took our girls (11 & 13) and the dog down to Canaveral National Seashore to see the launch. Very impressive.

We were more impressed by the dolphin that was under the bridge we were on. He stayed for the whole 45 minutes we were there. Pretty cool!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

My beach doesn’t have that kind of a show.....that’s beautiful!

[Riley]

I was at the KSC on Friday. I *just* missed it. I should have extended my trip by a day.

[RightWhale]

spaceflightnow.com
1104 GMT (7:04 a.m. EDT)

Discovery’s astronauts were just awakened to begin their first full day in space. Activities on the agenda today include using cameras on the shuttle’s robot arm to perform surveys of the ship’s heat shield to look for launch-impact damage, checking out the spacesuits to be used during the mission’s spacewalks and preparing the docking system for Monday’s linkup with the station.

Unlike the previous shuttle missions since the return-to-flight after the Columbia accident, Discovery is not carrying the 50-foot Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) for scanning the wings and nose cap. The Kibo laboratory payload is too big for the inspection boom to be carried during launch. The last shuttle flight in March left its boom at the station, so the Discovery crew will retrieve it Tuesday for full inspections later in the mission. Today’s observations with the robot arm will be far less comprehensive than the laser package on the OBSS can accomplish.

---

Another day at the office.

[floriduh voter]

FREEPER REPORT FROM LAUNCH: I was across the Indian River from the launch pad. (Going to Kennedy Space Center is somewhat closer but there's so many screenings that it was best to be across the river.) The community spirit was refreshing as I had not been to an event in a long time where there was a sense of community. There were no politicians in site (a real plus). There were no other rules either. Dogs:okay, ooolers: okay, food: okay. (On the other coast, we have rules for our rules. That was the America I used to know over by the Indian River yesterday.

We had a scanner but some ham operator got on the frequency and he was asked to go mobile. I heard the shuttle talk to the space station, heard the astronauts, heard Houston and that thing goes 17,000 mph. That was news to me. It looked like a twinkly star after the rocket booster dropped off. There was a rumble across the Indian River, a delayed rumble. My feet felt the ground rumble. It was breezy and cool weather there by the rocks. There are 7 more space shuttle launches. There will be a lull of FIVE YEARS then at KSC while engineers in another state design the capsule that's going to the moon.

A manatee was there to look at everyone - a large crowd, foreigners, people from the other coast, people from Miami and up the Atlantic Coast.

Picture Mark Twain meets Discovery. Fish were jumpin' in the shallow water and kids were wading and playing with big wooden planks covered w/moss.

It was surreal and so was the after-traffic. : )

[omega4179]

We just moved here and caught a great launch. It was a great moment of pride for us.

[NautiNurse]

Great report! We considered driving over for the launch yesterday (after making the trip for the last spectacular launch in the wee morning hours). Early yesterday, decided there would be oh-so-many crowds on a Saturday afternoon. Thus, we did house chores, watched the launch on tv, and followed the ascent from the balcony as it cleared the trees. The cloud cover over here was pleasantly accommodating.

The crowds for shuttle launches are fabulous. Indeed, it is a community.

[Sun]

WOW!! How exciting to live in FL in times like this.

[floriduh voter]

Florida’s never dull. I can say that again. Florida’s never dull.

[floriduh voter]

I got to see a manatee up close.

[Sun]

“Florida’s never dull. I can say that again. Florida’s never dull.”

This is true.

[floriduh voter]

Didn’t see any gators but Tampa Bay was represented. How do you spot a Tampa resident? Gasparilla beads on the rear view mirror and Bucanneer stickers all over their SUVs.