Observation of STS 94 re-entry

Mike McCants (mikem@fc.net)
Thu, 17 Jul 1997 06:12:45 -0500 (CDT)

Spectacular!

The re-entry path was only a little more than one degree below Polaris
at 5:30:18 CDT (10:30:18 UT).  This was definitely later and higher than
the NASA prediction.

The magnitude of the orange fireball seemed to be slightly fainter
than Jupiter, so I think -2.0 is a good estimate.

A double sonic boom was clearly heard 6 minutes, 32 seconds after
passage below Polaris.  The ion trail was visible in binoculars for
over 3 1/2 minutes after passage below Polaris and it appeared
to drift from the east to the west at a rate of about one degree
per minute.

NASA entry prediction:

     CITY         TIME         ELEV         AZ      ELSUN    BOOM
 Austin, TX     5:30:07 CDT    26.5  N    (357.5)   -13.2    7:24

Mike McCants
Austin, TX