Posts Tagged shuttle
From Orbit
Posted by Danielle in Perspectives on September 3, 2010
I wish I knew where this picture came from. Can anyone give me a hint? I think I got it from a forwarded email, so heaven only knows where it originated….
I chose this picture because it is pretty I am blogging to you… from orbit. Or, well, my body is here on the ground; my head is in orbit, for sure. I found out Wednesday that I was picked for NASA’s STS-133 Launch Tweetup, and it is neither punny nor exaggerating to say that I am over the Moon about it. Deliriously happy. Giddy, and excited, and overwhelmed with gratitude to NASA for this opportunity! I will definitely be talking about this more, closer to launch, and I will certainly be tweeting (and blogging) from Florida, come October 30th!
Orbiter Tributes
Posted by Danielle in Perspectives, Picspam on August 26, 2010
The Kennedy Media Gallery recently posted these beautiful “tribute” graphics to each orbiter — Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour. They are well worth downloading at the large size, so you can see all the patches and details. All five hang in Firing Room 4 of the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Scaled Endeavour
Posted by Danielle in Collectibles on July 13, 2010
I’ve long been a fan of Japanese goods—the detail, the quality—but this scale model of Space Shuttle Endeavour goes beyond anything I’ve seen. It’s simply gorgeous, and perhaps the most amazing thing is the amount of texture. No smooth-surfaced orbiter here:
At nearly $500, it’s out of my price range, but if you find yourself with the funds necessary this December, DO pick one up! (Hat tip to collectSPACE for the link and info!)
LEGO Blastoff
Posted by Danielle in Collectibles on July 1, 2010
As if 1,204 pieces of pure LEGO space goodness weren’t enough reason to immediately run out and buy the LEGO Shuttle Adventure set, AVAILABLE NOW… they’re also giving away an exclusive, space-LEGO-y magnet to go with:
Also, there’s free shipping. [more excited about the magnet] Space LEGOs, you are the same age as me. Yes, this greatly increases my desire for the magnet. I admit it.
Buran
Posted by Danielle in Perspectives, Picspam on June 1, 2010
All photos © drugoi @ LiveJournal.
For many years, I’ve been drawn to the Soviet space program, with its secrets, politically-creative explanations, and dreams as big as the motherland. The more that is declassified, researched, written about and digested by me, the more fascinated I get. How could such ambitions and technical advances fall so short, or be abandoned so suddenly?
Needless to say, when I found this photographic tour of the Buran assembly facilities and launch fields, I was utterly engrossed. These images — I’ve selected but a few — are amazing in scale, in scope, and in the end, are so poignant and sad. It breaks my heart to see such large-scale efforts rusting, abandoned in place. (Why have two launch pads, when you can have four, or more?) And to know that the one Buran orbiter that touched space was destroyed, when the assembly facility’s roof collapsed in 2002.
The program is long-dead, but test-mockup Buran lives on (and is viewable, and tourable.) And thanks to the dedication of this photographer, one gets a small glimpse into the sheer scale, the magnitude, of sending an earthbound vessel into space. It takes a lot of hardware.
I see these images, and my heart cries out, “such wondrous dreams were here!”
For full effect, you really need to see the rest here, and you can get a fairly decent translation through Babelfish (Buran means “snow-storm”, so if you see that in quotes a lot, that’s why.)
A Beautiful Bird
Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray and Tom Farrar
I admit, I download every launch and landing photo from KSC Media Archive, every shuttle mission. I have for some time. It’s gotten to the point where I can tell if they’re not done uploading the pictures to the gallery yet, because this or that angle is missing. Yes, I’m admitting just how nerdy I am, shut up with the laughing already. I’m not about to tell you “it all looks the same”, but there are recognizable angles, camera locations, etc. When a NEW view appears, like the landing photo above, I’m thrilled to bits!
Sadly, this may very well be Atlantis’ last mission. All good things come to an end… still, I root for her, that she might have one last hurrah with the spare ET/SRBs we’ll have left over. Time will tell!
Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
Across the Sun
Photo by Thierry Legault.
Thierry Legault has done it again: a beautifully sharp solar transit image of the ISS with Atlantis attached (on the left side.) Above is a crop at full resolution; below is the full frame (with a sunspot for… scale?)
Solar Transit of ISS and Atlantis on May 22, 2010. Photo by Thierry Legault.
Atlantis
Last Friday marked the (probably) final launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis. Now that we’re down to the “finals”, I’m not sure how to feel. :\ And strange as it seems to me, next time there’s a launch, I’ll be there in person. Somewhere.
Heavy Lifting
Image Credit & Copyright: Ben Cooper, LaunchPhotography.com
The VAB is something I’ve always wanted to see — the size boggles the mind. (At least, every photo or video I’ve seen of it has boggled my mind.) What can you say about a building that has its own weather inside?
Space Shuttle Atlantis embarks tomorrow on its final at the moment mission. Godspeed Atlantis and the crew of STS-132!
Atlantis has lifted off, but not from launch pad 39A. Instead, this sharp, wide-angle photo taken on April 13, shows the space shuttle orbiter lifted off the floor of Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building. Shortly afterwards, Atlantis was attached to an external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters prior to roll out. Now resting on pad 39A, Atlantis is scheduled for its actual liftoff on May 14. Embarking on the STS-132 mission to the International Space Station, that launch will represent the final scheduled launch for Atlantis. Atlantis was named for a sailing ship operated for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute from 1930 to 1966. The maiden voyage of the Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle-104, began on October 3, 1985. In 1991, Atlantis deployed the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.
Victory
Posted by Danielle in Collectibles on May 12, 2010
This is a very unique clash of the real and not-real: a Space Shuttle themed paint job on a Dr. Grordbort’s ManMelter 3600zx raygun. If you haven’t seen these rayguns, you are missing out. (And clearly you weren’t here when I featured the Goliathon 800 Moon Hater Death Ray.)
I think the best part of this expensive mash-up/toy is the descriptive text, openly mocking itself:
A laughably futuristic design, the OV 077 Victory may appeal to those with a leaning towards the bizarre.
Who would ever attempt space exploration using anything that ridiculous!?
A one-of-a-kind, hand painted raygun from the artists at Weta Workshop.
Based on a ManMelter 3600zx straight off the production line, this gun is unique.
…so unique, in fact, that it’s a one-off. And in case you can’t quite see the fine shuttle-rific detail:
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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.
This is a blog, NOT A SHOP. Click the images for their source or purchase link, if available.
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