Re: Saw STS-71 114 min after launch (was Re: Pre-launch STS-71 tle's)

From: <pchien_at_ids.net>
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 1995 01:02:04 -0400

David Moored wrote:

>Saw it!
>From 53.2742N, 6.3588W, 95m at 21:26:07.7UT+/-0.1s STS-71 passed just
>above Antares.
>
>That's 114 minutes after launch. A record?

Well, I saw it from a couple of hours before launch (a couple of days if you count through pouring rain) until about 5 minutes after launch - does that count?

Many high inclination night launches have been seen up the U.S. seaboard, most notably the STS-36 mission because it was the closest to land.

In some unusual cases observers in Europe have seen the shuttle, and one infamous Titan IV Centaur upper stage, during powered flight.

For STS-38 and STS-61 many of us at the Kennedy Space Center saw the shuttle within one orbit after launch, slightly less than 90 minutes MET. STS-61 was especially interesting. I snuck out of the post launch press conference to go out into the now abandoned viewing area and saw Hubble go overhead - quite clearly. Afterwards I went back inside to chat with the participants after the conference was finished, and somebody shouted that Endeavour was coming over the horizon - I had lost track of time. So we all went outside to see the shuttle that had just been launched an orbit earlier!

*sigh* for those of us at the Cape there are no even half way decent visible passes for the shuttle or Mir, and most of the good radio (e.g. SAREX) pass occur while the crew's asleep.

I've got to talk to Issac Newton about changing his laws to make the passes over my area at more suitable times for the next mission!

Philip Chien, Earth News - space writer and consultant PCHIEN_at_IDS.NET

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Received on Wed Jun 28 1995 - 01:20:38 UTC

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