Posts Tagged discovery
Shuttles
Posted by Danielle in Art & Architecture, Perspectives on August 26, 2011
I mentioned on Twitter last week that I noticed the other day, all of the space shuttles I drew in high school happened to be either Discovery or Atlantis, the two launches I saw in person. (Strange coinkydink, dontcha think?) @deliciousblur asked me to post them, so here they are (belatedly.) I have a much larger Atlantis in a frame which I may scan in future (if it’s easy to remove and put back, that is. Pen and ink pointillism is sorta my thing, by the by. Hope you like them!
GIVEAWAY WINNER: STS-133 Charm!
Congratulations to STS-133 charm WINNER, comment #2 – Joi!! :D
GIVEAWAY: STS-133 Sterling Silver Charm by Aviation Jewelry Designs
After watching space shuttle Discovery launch on its final mission (STS-133) in February, I definitely wanted a more permanent “souvenir” of my experience. Shirts fade, lapel pins get lost, stickers are… stuck to things. JEWELRY, on the other hand, LASTS FOREVER. (Or at least, a lot longer. And we already know I’ve got a thing for jewelry…)
When I first laid eyes on the STS-133 Special Edition Pendant by Aviation Jewelry Designs, I knew I wanted one. Once I saw it in person in November, on a tweep — memorably, in the Vehicle Assembly Building — I knew I had to have one. More precisely, I vowed that once I saw Discovery launch (which was, even at that early point, becoming questionable) I would buy myself one. It was everything I could wish for, and I’m incredibly pleased with the size, heft and lovely detail of the piece. I anticipate wearing it a lot.
I happen to have the pendant’s smaller version, the STS-133 Sterling Silver Charm, sitting right here on my desk, destined to go to one of you lovely visitors!! This charm is about the size of a nickel, and has been fitted with a sterling silver bail to be worn as a pendant. PLEASE NOTE: This charm lists Bowen and not Kopra as part of the crew. Edited to add: The orbiter rises up from the surface of the charm, so there’s lovely depth to the piece!
This piece was generously donated by Aviation Jewelry Designs (thank you so much for this opportunity!) AJD makes gorgeously-detailed aviation jewelry, and I highly recommend you check out their offerings. They are an awesome company, with terrific customer service, and I think I could easily buy any future shuttle-y/spacey items they may offer.
TO ENTER: Leave a comment on this entry (valid email please!) I will choose a random comment on June 10, 2011 using the Random.org random number generator. Winner will be posted on this entry, announced on Twitter and contacted by email for delivery arrangements. Best of luck!
One entry per person. Duplicate comments/entries will be deleted. Play nice, this is my first giveaway!
Edited to add: Since I can’t comment back to anyone, I’m posting answers to questions here:
- Pam: My pendant (the larger size) is slightly larger than a quarter, and more finely detailed.
- Janelle: One of the NASA Tweetup tweeps commissioned AJD to make a 133 pendant, and that was their first “shuttle” piece as far as I know. The owner said he was planning to make 135, and was working on a piece celebrating all the shuttles. He also does custom work, so if you want something in particular, he can most likely do it! :)
Three Months Later
It’s been three months since I witnessed the last liftoff of Space Shuttle Discovery, as part of the STS-133 NASA Tweetup group. I’m still thinking about it, still processing in a way — how bright it was, the sounds, the vibrations, and the way the launch plume was swept away by the wind, until the only indicator that a launch had taken place was the absence of the shuttle on the pad. (Well… that, and the amazing amount of traffic we drove home in. Clearly a launch had taken place!)
I feel so fortunate, given STS-134′s experience with low cloud cover, that we could watch the shuttle until it disappeared over the horizon, sans SRBs. I feel so fortunate to have met such wonderful people during both trips, friendships which I hope last a lifetime. It’s repetitive, but it sums it up: I feel so fortunate to have seen this, and done this.
There’s only one launch left now — STS-135, shuttle Atlantis — and NASA is having one last launch tweetup. I strongly encourage anyone to register: go here, it opens at noon EDT on on June 1st.
The Human Element
Posted by Danielle in Perspectives, Picspam on March 16, 2011
I think sometimes it’s easy to look at all these wonderful launch pictures and spacecraft pictures and forget that there’s people inside. It’s interesting (and somewhat rare) when you can see the craft and the people, as is the case if you zoom into the above photo:
Astronaut Nicole Stott gazing out the shuttle cockpit window
@Astro_Nicole posted another pic similar to this — very cute!
Final Landing
Posted by Danielle in News & Happenings, Picspam on March 9, 2011
Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
I choked up as I watched space shuttle Discovery land this morning, and wept as I heard Commander Lindsey say, “Houston, Discovery. For the final time, wheelstop.” Discovery had 27 years of service, 39 flights, traveling 148,221,675 miles. She made 5,830 orbits of Earth, with a total of 365 days in space. She took us back into space after the loss of Challenger and Columbia, and served us faithfully.
Godspeed, Discovery.
My Favorites
It’s hard to pick a favorite (or even two favorites) from the STS-133 launch photo selection taken by KSC, as they’re all excellent — many are in a larger aspect ratio, and are even nicer than usual! (Speaking as a “pro” who downloads practically every photo.) The above photo is probably my favorite launch photo, but the one below makes me smile because it shows where the photos come from! (I remember seeing cameras set up like this when we went to the launch pad on February 23 to see the RSS retraction.) I love to hoard these photos, and now I’ve seen where they come from!! ♥
Launch Highlights
The NASA Astrovan, photo by Danielle Signor
I’m still processing an actual written-account-type post of my experience at the STS-133 launch, so for now please accept some highlight photos from launch day. Above: we went out to the roadway to wave at the Astrovan as it went by, en route to Pad 39A. (It stopped briefly and opened the door, but alas, we did not see the astronauts, they were just dropping a few people off at Mission Control. Sigh.)
Next, here’s Discovery moments before launch — the nose cap has just moved out of harm’s way:
STS-133 just before launch, photo by Danielle Signor
When I heard this existed, I wandered around all the press buildings until I found it — not for lack of snacks, but for the sheer novelty of buying something from the NASA Snackmobile:
The NASA Snackmobile, photo by Danielle Signor
Finally, here’s what was left, post-launch. Ten or fifteen minutes later, it had turned into normal wispy clouds of vapor, and nothing was left but the empty launch pad.
The launch plume, photo by Danielle Signor
Discovery Launches
I took these pictures. I saw this with my own eyes. I am forever changed. And I’m giving you the whole sequence here, because why not? I was tapping the shutter on my iPod rapidly, as fast as it would let me, and then I put it down and just watched.
Discovery Revealed
Posted by Danielle in News & Happenings, Picspam on February 24, 2011
STS-133/Discovery revealed after RSS retraction, 2-23-2011. Photo by ME!
I’ve decided that being able to post MY VERY OWN SPACE PICTURE is an awesome feeling, beyond my capability to describe. I hope I have another VERY OWN picture to post tomorrow, and I will say no more that might border on jinxing anything.
Go Discovery!
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About Silver Rockets
This blog celebrates space exploration, human spaceflight and the heavens, through lots and lots ofimages.
My name is Danielle Signor, and I am a space cadet. STS-133 NASA Tweetup Attendee!
This is a blog, NOT A SHOP. Click the images for their source or purchase link, if available.
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