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Date: 09 Jun 2007 01:56:18
From: Flyguy
Subject: Shuttle STS-117 First orbit siting
Friday June-8 9:30 PM-EDT.

Just saw the Shuttle STS-117 go over on it's first full orbit after the
launch this evening. It was moving much faster than usual for a Shuttle
siting. It might have been near perigee in it's currently elliptical and
low orbit, when it passed over my area in the northeast US. That would
explain the higher velocity. There's still time for observers in the
central and western US to see it go over before the orbit becomes higher
and more circular.




 
Date: 10 Jun 2007 07:51:19
From: Jason H.
Subject: Re: Shuttle STS-117 First orbit siting
On Jun 9, 8:15 pm, "Florian" <s...@seeyouinthedark.com > wrote:
> Jason, i'm wondering... could you hear it as well?
>
> .Florian

No, not this time. A news crew that was out there at the time also
said that it wasn't as loud as other times and speculated that maybe
the wind was blowing the other way, but I think some other people
outside of Merritt Island heard it pretty loudly. A few years ago we
thought we heard it as a couple of deep muffled thumps. The thing
that we usally hear and can be certain of are the sonic booms when it
returns. If one forgets or isn't aware of it, all kinds of sources
for the explosions can be imagined, and your whole house shakes. It's
great!



 
Date: 09 Jun 2007 12:37:53
From: Eric
Subject: Re: Shuttle STS-117 First orbit siting
Flyguy wrote:

> Friday June-8 9:30 PM-EDT.
>
> Just saw the Shuttle STS-117 go over on it's first full orbit after the
> launch this evening. It was moving much faster than usual for a Shuttle
> siting. It might have been near perigee in it's currently elliptical and
> low orbit, when it passed over my area in the northeast US. That would
> explain the higher velocity. There's still time for observers in the
> central and western US to see it go over before the orbit becomes higher
> and more circular.
Well, if I'm going to see it here in the "Great NorthWet" its going to have
to be below 1000 feet :-)
Thanks Anyway,
Eric



 
Date: 09 Jun 2007 09:10:24
From: Johnny Borborigmi
Subject: Re: Shuttle STS-117 First orbit siting
On 2007-06-08 21:56:18 -0400, Flyguy <Flyguy@bluesky.net > said:

> Friday June-8 9:30 PM-EDT.
>
> Just saw the Shuttle STS-117 go over on it's first full orbit after the
> launch this evening. It was moving much faster than usual for a Shuttle
> siting. It might have been near perigee in it's currently elliptical
> and low orbit, when it passed over my area in the northeast US. That
> would explain the higher velocity. There's still time for observers in
> the central and western US to see it go over before the orbit becomes
> higher and more circular.


Nice! Thanks for that!



 
Date: 08 Jun 2007 19:47:33
From: Jason H.
Subject: Re: Shuttle STS-117 First orbit siting
On Jun 8, 8:56 pm, Flyguy <Fly...@bluesky.net > wrote:
> Friday June-8 9:30 PM-EDT.
>
> Just saw the Shuttle STS-117 go over on it's first full orbit after the
> launch this evening. It was moving much faster than usual for a Shuttle
> siting. It might have been near perigee in it's currently elliptical and
> low orbit, when it passed over my area in the northeast US. That would
> explain the higher velocity. There's still time for observers in the
> central and western US to see it go over before the orbit becomes higher
> and more circular.

Here are some shots from before completion of its first orbit :^) as
seen from my driveway, about 55 miles from the KSC
launchpad, as a windows slideshow/movie (only around 584k in size)

http://setisociety.org/AtlantisLaunch8June07.wmv

If you can't watch windows movies, here is each frame individually
(which you could download and page through as a slide show):

http://setisociety.org/100_5173.JPG
http://setisociety.org/100_5174.JPG
http://setisociety.org/100_5175.JPG
http://setisociety.org/100_5176.JPG
http://setisociety.org/100_5177.JPG
http://setisociety.org/100_5178.JPG
http://setisociety.org/100_5179.JPG

in this next to last one you can still see it as a white dot if you
expand it to its full size (just follow the arc of the smoke over near
the trees)

http://setisociety.org/100_5180.JPG

and lastly just the smoke plume
http://setisociety.org/100_5181.JPG

Taken with 5MP Kodak EasyShare camera (with only a 14mm diameter
objective lens), which is the same one I used in my previous image
posts here on Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon.
Regards, Jason H.




  
Date: 09 Jun 2007 07:05:55
From: Harry F. Leopold
Subject: Re: Shuttle STS-117 First orbit siting
On Fri, 8 Jun 2007 21:47:33 -0500, Jason H. wrote
(in article <1181357253.729050.131670@e65g2000hsc.googlegroups.com >):

> On Jun 8, 8:56 pm, Flyguy <Fly...@bluesky.net> wrote:
>> Friday June-8 9:30 PM-EDT.
>>
>> Just saw the Shuttle STS-117 go over on it's first full orbit after the
>> launch this evening. It was moving much faster than usual for a Shuttle
>> siting. It might have been near perigee in it's currently elliptical and
>> low orbit, when it passed over my area in the northeast US. That would
>> explain the higher velocity. There's still time for observers in the
>> central and western US to see it go over before the orbit becomes higher
>> and more circular.
>
> Here are some shots from before completion of its first orbit :^) as
> seen from my driveway, about 55 miles from the KSC
> launchpad, as a windows slideshow/movie (only around 584k in size)
>
> http://setisociety.org/AtlantisLaunch8June07.wmv

Nice, thanks for posting this.

--
Harry F. Leopold
aa #2076
AA/Vet #4
The Prints of Darkness
(remove gene to email)

³Out there, in some distant misty corner of the Internet, is the sound of
someone giving a ****. You need to go find that poor besnotted bobbleheaded
dungpile and talk to it instead.³-Doc Smartass



  
Date: 08 Jun 2007 21:02:54
From: Florian
Subject: Re: Shuttle STS-117 First orbit siting
> Here are some shots from before completion of its first orbit :^) as
> seen from my driveway, about 55 miles from the KSC
> launchpad, as a windows slideshow/movie (only around 584k in size)
> http://setisociety.org/AtlantisLaunch8June07.wmv


Jason, that's great! Thanks for posting!

.Florian




   
Date: 09 Jun 2007 17:15:01
From: Florian
Subject: Re: Shuttle STS-117 First orbit siting
Jason, i'm wondering... could you hear it as well?

.Florian