thuttle up, We are in Space again
thuttle up, We are in Space again
I watched this morning holding my breath watching , and anticipating what was going to happen. Thankfully it go go for lauch and it was successful so far. I know I couldn't ever go up in space. I guess some people are alot braver then me.:wah:
kmhowe
thuttle up, We are in Space again
Has it taken off yet ?
thuttle up, We are in Space again
Way to go , Safe journey folks.:driving:
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chonsigirl
- Posts: 33633
- Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2005 8:28 am
thuttle up, We are in Space again
It was a beautiful launch, and I loved the camera they had attached to the large fuel tank. The view as they reached higher into space, with the curvature of the Earth in the background was magnificent! Way to go Discovery!
thuttle up, We are in Space again
Caught a small snippet on the news here in Scotland cant wait to see some of the images.
thuttle up, We are in Space again
If you've never been to space or near-space, the view is incredible. Photos just don't so it justice.
I was in an F-15 ,flying for the Air Force Reserves in the early '90s and we were experimenting with very high altitude operation in preparation for the THAAD program. (Theater High Altitude Area Defense) We were outfitted with booster rockets to make the jump to near space, and after we had cruised to our max altitude, around 55,000 ft. We ignited the boosters and jumped up to 70,000 ft.
The view was spectacular! From where I was over New Mexico, I could see the entire United States all the way to the Eastern Seaboard! The curve of the Earth was very distinct. The sky above had turned jet-black and the stars were nothing but hard points of light, no twinkling at all. And there were billions of them!
The atmosphere lay over the Earth like an incredibly thin blue blanket. I'll never forget that view! I thought, "What an incredibly fragile place to live, one asteroid and it's all over for us. But it sure is beautiful."
Attached files
I was in an F-15 ,flying for the Air Force Reserves in the early '90s and we were experimenting with very high altitude operation in preparation for the THAAD program. (Theater High Altitude Area Defense) We were outfitted with booster rockets to make the jump to near space, and after we had cruised to our max altitude, around 55,000 ft. We ignited the boosters and jumped up to 70,000 ft.
The view was spectacular! From where I was over New Mexico, I could see the entire United States all the way to the Eastern Seaboard! The curve of the Earth was very distinct. The sky above had turned jet-black and the stars were nothing but hard points of light, no twinkling at all. And there were billions of them!
The atmosphere lay over the Earth like an incredibly thin blue blanket. I'll never forget that view! I thought, "What an incredibly fragile place to live, one asteroid and it's all over for us. But it sure is beautiful."
Attached files
All the world's a stage and the men and women merely players...Shakespeare
thuttle up, We are in Space again
Wow that sounds amazing Jives, its beyond most folks dreams to be able to go that far, but hey the way things are moving maybe we will have the chance sometime in the near future .
BTW did you ever spot anything unusual when you were up there ?
BTW did you ever spot anything unusual when you were up there ?
thuttle up, We are in Space again
scotty wrote: BTW did you ever spot anything unusual when you were up there ?
Not that time, no, but plenty of other times.....
In the Air Force, one of the duties required of all pilots is to spend a week (on a rotating basis) doing what is called "alert duty". During that time, you are required to be in your flightsuit and be prepared to fly at a moment's notice. You can travel around the base, but most of us chose to stay at the "alert shack" which was a small building at the end of the runway.
it was quite comfortable, outfitted with a foosball table, a couple of pool tables, a big screen TV, and tables for cards, etc. The other room held bunks and toilet facilities. it was generally a boring duty. But twice a week, we would run a "scramble" alert.
All the pilots would rush out of the building to the planes that were parked just outside. The aircrews would already have the planes started by then, and you would just jump into the cockpit and takeoff nose-to-tail, seeing how fast you could get off the ground.
Usually, 99% of the time, you would just fly afterburners-on to a given coordinate, then be told it was an exercise and to fly back home. We usually liked that because in the absence of a given mission, we could have practice dogfights on the way home or engage in other non-permitted behavior such as flying low to the ground with transponders turned off.
Occasionally, you'd have to identify an unidentified aircraft which usually turned out to be a stupid smuggler or an off-course civilian. They were always more than happy to comply with instructions when surrounded by fighter aircraft. (We intentionally flew VERY close to them to make them even more nervous.)
Then there were the other times.....
I've come screaming up on many "UFO's" at closure speeds of up to 880 kias before. I seen them all, silver ones, bright lights that hang in the air, spinning cylinders with lots of details and no kind of flight surfaces at all. Most of them fell into the 'Mexican Air Force" category. A spinning silver plate, just like the one that flew through the Mexican Air Force's flight show a couple of years ago.
But the most impressive, by far, was the HUGE black frisbee that hovered over the mountains off the War Highway near El Paso Texas. I was flying as Baron 07 and my wing commander was Whiskey 19.
It was just about dusk, but there was still plenty of light. It was hovering about 2000 ft. above ground level. As we came up on it, I could see that it was jet black all over it's top and featureless. It was the size of a small city. What really got my attention, though, was the underbelly which was vbery visable from our position at a slightly lower altitude.
The entire bottom of the object was open, a bright red light was suffusing from it. As i watched, other smaller red lights detached themselves from the object and traveled slowly to the ground. There, they joined many other small red lights moving around on ground level.
We closed at over the speed of sound, chattering to each other over the mics. "Whiskey 19, I have a bogey in sight, and what a bogey it is too! Do you confirm? Over."
"Uh, yeah, Baron 07, I'm seein' it, but I'm not believin' it. Request instructions from RAPCON, Continue...ummm....closing with bogey"
"Roger, Whiskey 19, I'm closin', but I'm not lovin' it. SierraHotel.... that thing is HUGE!"
As our DME (Distance Measured Equivalent) closed to 10 miles, suddenly all the red lights on the ground lifted off and streaked to the underside of the Gigantic Black Frisbee. It just four seconds, the Black Frisbee took off straight up at what had to be a 100G climb rate. (far beyond human endurance or the abilites of any known aircraft) The bogey shot off so fast we could hear the booming - thunder sound of air falling into the vacuum it made plowing through the atmosphere. In seconds it was gone.
"DAMN! Whiskey 19, did you see that? Where did it go?"
"Affirmative, Baron 07, the bogey took off like the space shuttle, I have no joy, can you see it?"
'Negative Whiskey 19, it's in the twlight zone!"
"Roger that, Baron 07, RTB (Return To Base) and chalk up another UFO with negative contact."
Not that time, no, but plenty of other times.....
In the Air Force, one of the duties required of all pilots is to spend a week (on a rotating basis) doing what is called "alert duty". During that time, you are required to be in your flightsuit and be prepared to fly at a moment's notice. You can travel around the base, but most of us chose to stay at the "alert shack" which was a small building at the end of the runway.
it was quite comfortable, outfitted with a foosball table, a couple of pool tables, a big screen TV, and tables for cards, etc. The other room held bunks and toilet facilities. it was generally a boring duty. But twice a week, we would run a "scramble" alert.
All the pilots would rush out of the building to the planes that were parked just outside. The aircrews would already have the planes started by then, and you would just jump into the cockpit and takeoff nose-to-tail, seeing how fast you could get off the ground.
Usually, 99% of the time, you would just fly afterburners-on to a given coordinate, then be told it was an exercise and to fly back home. We usually liked that because in the absence of a given mission, we could have practice dogfights on the way home or engage in other non-permitted behavior such as flying low to the ground with transponders turned off.
Occasionally, you'd have to identify an unidentified aircraft which usually turned out to be a stupid smuggler or an off-course civilian. They were always more than happy to comply with instructions when surrounded by fighter aircraft. (We intentionally flew VERY close to them to make them even more nervous.)
Then there were the other times.....
I've come screaming up on many "UFO's" at closure speeds of up to 880 kias before. I seen them all, silver ones, bright lights that hang in the air, spinning cylinders with lots of details and no kind of flight surfaces at all. Most of them fell into the 'Mexican Air Force" category. A spinning silver plate, just like the one that flew through the Mexican Air Force's flight show a couple of years ago.
But the most impressive, by far, was the HUGE black frisbee that hovered over the mountains off the War Highway near El Paso Texas. I was flying as Baron 07 and my wing commander was Whiskey 19.
It was just about dusk, but there was still plenty of light. It was hovering about 2000 ft. above ground level. As we came up on it, I could see that it was jet black all over it's top and featureless. It was the size of a small city. What really got my attention, though, was the underbelly which was vbery visable from our position at a slightly lower altitude.
The entire bottom of the object was open, a bright red light was suffusing from it. As i watched, other smaller red lights detached themselves from the object and traveled slowly to the ground. There, they joined many other small red lights moving around on ground level.
We closed at over the speed of sound, chattering to each other over the mics. "Whiskey 19, I have a bogey in sight, and what a bogey it is too! Do you confirm? Over."
"Uh, yeah, Baron 07, I'm seein' it, but I'm not believin' it. Request instructions from RAPCON, Continue...ummm....closing with bogey"
"Roger, Whiskey 19, I'm closin', but I'm not lovin' it. SierraHotel.... that thing is HUGE!"
As our DME (Distance Measured Equivalent) closed to 10 miles, suddenly all the red lights on the ground lifted off and streaked to the underside of the Gigantic Black Frisbee. It just four seconds, the Black Frisbee took off straight up at what had to be a 100G climb rate. (far beyond human endurance or the abilites of any known aircraft) The bogey shot off so fast we could hear the booming - thunder sound of air falling into the vacuum it made plowing through the atmosphere. In seconds it was gone.
"DAMN! Whiskey 19, did you see that? Where did it go?"
"Affirmative, Baron 07, the bogey took off like the space shuttle, I have no joy, can you see it?"
'Negative Whiskey 19, it's in the twlight zone!"
"Roger that, Baron 07, RTB (Return To Base) and chalk up another UFO with negative contact."
All the world's a stage and the men and women merely players...Shakespeare
thuttle up, We are in Space again
Sorry for not replying sooner , had nip out and got delayed.
Thats some story jives , would make a good movie.
Thats some story jives , would make a good movie.