Friday, July 15, 2011

Friday Field Trip - We Have Liftoff

Last week Jason traveled to Florida to observe the final space shuttle launch. He was fortunate that the launch went off on schedule; in all our years of living in Orlando, few of them did. I'm sure the photographs are all the more meaningful given that they were taken live.

There aren't as many pictures as I normally share--but he had a 40 second window before the shuttle disappeared into the clouds. Enjoy this historic occasion!



Atlantis on pad 39A before dawn.




STS-135 Atlantis clears pad 39A around 11:28am EDT on July 8th.



Don't forget to click to see the rest!




Immediately after launch, Atlantis begins the "roll maneuver" to turn upside-down.





As the shuttle's speeds reach supersonic, you can see vapor cones around the top of the solid rocket boosters (SRBs).




Atlantis disappears into the clouds 40 seconds after liftoff.




See more of Jason's work here.

11 comments:

Mario Acevedo said...

Great pics. Your son was so lucky to be a witness. Thanks for sharing.

Terry Odell said...

Mario, I'd hate to calculate the cost per picture, but I think it was worth it just to be there. We lived in Orlando for 22 years and never drove over for a launch (but we could see them from our driveway).

Elise said...

These are fantastic pics. I live in Altoona, FL and could see it from my front yard. What a great trip to capture a historic moment :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Those are wonderful. It's hard to believe that's the last one.

Precy Larkins said...

That is so cool! My son would've loved to witness a launch. Thanks for sharing!

John Sharpe said...

Great photos. Hate to see the shuttle go. It's like putting my best horse to pasture.

Karen C said...

Amazing pictures, as was the video. I'm really sad that it was the last shuttle.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Amazing pictures. I'm glad he was able to go and that the launch went off as planned!

Jason Odell said...

Thanks, everyone! I had a blast (pun intended).

Wynter said...

Very nice. It was such a hazy day I couldn't see the launch from home, but I've witnessed so many, I can't be greedy.

Terry Odell said...

Wynter - we watched from our driveway when we lived in Orlando. But I think there was something special about the last launch--and I'm glad Jason got to experience it firsthand. (You don't think they cancelled the program because I no longer live where I can see them, do you?)