Shuttle to fly home with gouged belly

Floridaze · Post by **Floridaze** » August 21, 2007 12:48 pm

welcome home...was outside and heard the double sonic boom and saw it just before touchdown...great mission!!!

RinglingRingling · Post by **RinglingRingling** » August 21, 2007 12:56 pm

Floridaze wrote:welcome home...was outside and heard the double sonic boom and saw it just before touchdown...great mission!!!

heard that too on the video feed, crossed the fingers a little tighter.

surfpirate · Post by **surfpirate** » August 21, 2007 12:58 pm

Floridaze wrote:welcome home...was outside and heard the double sonic boom and saw it just before touchdown...great mission!!!

Cool. One of these days I'll have better timing when I visit my sister and her family in Rockledge, FL and actually catch a launch or a landing myself. I always seem to miss it by a week or so.

Have you seen a night launch? Now THAT must be amazing.

~~~~~ surfpirate

Floridaze · Post by **Floridaze** » August 21, 2007 1:03 pm

surfpirate wrote:
Floridaze wrote:welcome home...was outside and heard the double sonic boom and saw it just before touchdown...great mission!!!
Cool. One of these days I'll have better timing when I visit my sister and her family in Rockledge, FL and actually catch a launch or a landing myself. I always seem to miss it by a week or so.

Have you seen a night launch? Now THAT must be amazing.

~~~~~ surfpirate

Night launches are quite impressive...Only 14 more Shuttle launches left...if you are ever here..drop me a line and we will toast a launch!!!

We will have some "big rockets" in our future if we can keep the Moon/Mars project on track and funded after the Shuttle retires in 2010...

Skibo · Post by **Skibo** » August 21, 2007 1:18 pm

It is a great relief that they are home safe. Now could some rocket scientist figure out how to keep the foam from falling off the tanks? Please?

flyboy55 · Post by **flyboy55** » August 21, 2007 2:12 pm

Sweet!!!

Bubbaphan · Post by **Bubbaphan** » August 21, 2007 2:37 pm

Sigh of relief! Welcome home!

freaky4tiki · Post by **freaky4tiki** » August 21, 2007 2:40 pm

excellent news!!!

TropicalTroubador · Post by **TropicalTroubador** » August 21, 2007 2:40 pm

Bubbaphan wrote:Sigh of relief! Welcome home!

Amen!

flipflopgirl · Post by **flipflopgirl** » August 21, 2007 2:45 pm

Floridaze wrote:welcome home...was outside and heard the double sonic boom and saw it just before touchdown...great mission!!!

WOOOOO HOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WELCOME HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Daze i have to call my dad and see if he heard it!

Bubbaphan · Post by **Bubbaphan** » August 21, 2007 3:20 pm

Yathink the astronauts have ANY idea how many people were thinking about their safe return?
Or how much Phin power was phocused on 'em?

Floridaze · Post by **Floridaze** » August 21, 2007 4:03 pm

Here's a couple links to images of the tile from space and after landing..not much difference..thank goodness....

After landing: http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/1872 ... pd2305.jpg

From Space:
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/1872 ... pd2303.jpg

Next Launch is set for Oct 23rd:

STS-120 is the 23rd shuttle mission to the International Space Station, and will launch an Italian-built U.S. multi-port module for the station.

Air Force Col. Pamela A. Melroy will command the STS-120 mission to take the Node 2 connecting module to the station.

flipflopgirl · Post by **flipflopgirl** » August 21, 2007 4:06 pm

Floridaze wrote:Here's a couple links to images of the tile from space and after landing..not much difference..thank goodness....

After landing: http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/1872 ... pd2305.jpg

From Space:
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/1872 ... pd2303.jpg

Next Launch is set for Oct 23rd:

STS-120 is the 23rd shuttle mission to the International Space Station, and will launch an Italian-built U.S. multi-port module for the station.

Air Force Col. Pamela A. Melroy will command the STS-120 mission to take the Node 2 connecting module to the station.

Hey Daze! Thanks for the links! My dad was swimming in the town pool and got to hear the BOOM and saw a glimpse!

Floridaze · Post by **Floridaze** » August 21, 2007 4:41 pm

flipflopgirl wrote:
Floridaze wrote:Here's a couple links to images of the tile from space and after landing..not much difference..thank goodness....

After landing: http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/1872 ... pd2305.jpg

From Space:
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/1872 ... pd2303.jpg

Next Launch is set for Oct 23rd:

STS-120 is the 23rd shuttle mission to the International Space Station, and will launch an Italian-built U.S. multi-port module for the station.

Air Force Col. Pamela A. Melroy will command the STS-120 mission to take the Node 2 connecting module to the station.
Hey Daze! Thanks for the links! My dad was swimming in the town pool and got to hear the BOOM and saw a glimpse!

Hey FFG..those sonic booms make me jump every time...

flipflopgirl · Post by **flipflopgirl** » August 21, 2007 4:49 pm

Floridaze wrote:
flipflopgirl wrote:
Floridaze wrote:Here's a couple links to images of the tile from space and after landing..not much difference..thank goodness....

After landing: http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/1872 ... pd2305.jpg

From Space:
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/1872 ... pd2303.jpg

Next Launch is set for Oct 23rd:

STS-120 is the 23rd shuttle mission to the International Space Station, and will launch an Italian-built U.S. multi-port module for the station.

Air Force Col. Pamela A. Melroy will command the STS-120 mission to take the Node 2 connecting module to the station.
Hey Daze! Thanks for the links! My dad was swimming in the town pool and got to hear the BOOM and saw a glimpse!
Hey FFG..those sonic booms make me jump every time...

He said it scared the crap out of him!

i hope to get down for a launch now that my dad is living so close!

SharkOnLand · Post by **SharkOnLand** » August 21, 2007 5:13 pm

So... why do they go from 118 to 120? Is it an even-number thing?

surfpirate · Post by **surfpirate** » August 21, 2007 6:02 pm

Floridaze wrote:Hey FFG..those sonic booms make me jump every time...

So just why exactly is it a "double sonic boom"? The sound barrier's broken only once when the shuttle slows to below the speed of sound, right?

~~~~~ surfpirate (too lazy to google an answer or reopen my high school physics books)

Floridaze · Post by **Floridaze** » August 21, 2007 6:18 pm

surfpirate wrote:
Floridaze wrote:Hey FFG..those sonic booms make me jump every time...
So just why exactly is it a "double sonic boom"? The sound barrier's broken only once when the shuttle slows to below the speed of sound, right?

~~~~~ surfpirate (too lazy to google an answer or reopen my high school physics books)

From Spacelink.nasa.gov:

The distinctive double sonic boom heard when the space shuttle lands results because the shuttle is large (at least relative to the other aircraft allowed to travel at supersonic speeds over land.) The text below is taken directly from information available through NASA's Spacelink system (http:// spacelink.nasa.gov) and enter "sonic boom" in the Search box.

"The Cause"
"Sonic booms are created by air pressure. Much like a boat pushes up a bow wave as it travels through the water, a vehicle pushes air molecules aside in such a way they are compressed to the point where shock waves are formed."
"These shock waves form two cones, at the nose as well as at the tail of the vehicle. The shock waves move outward and rearward in all directions and usually extend to the ground. As the shock cones spread across the landscape along the flightpath, they create a continuous sonic boom along the full width of the cone's base. The sharp release of pressure, after the buildup by the shock wave, is heard as the sonic boom."

"The nose and tail shock waves are usually of similar strength. The time interval between the nose and tail shock waves is primarily dependent on the size of the aircraft and its altitude. Most people on the ground cannot distinguish between the two and they are usually heard as a single sonic boom. As the time interval increases, two booms are heard. A small fighter-type aircraft about 50 ft long will generate nose and tail shock waves of less than a tenth of a second (0.1 sec). The ear usually detects these as a single sonic boom."

"The interval between nose and tail shock waves on the Space Shuttles, which are 122 ft long, is about one-half of a second (0.50 sec), making the double boom very distinguishable."

PJ · Post by PJ » August 21, 2007 7:30 pm

SharkOnLand wrote:So... why do they go from 118 to 120? Is it an even-number thing?

If I remember correctly, shuttle missions are consecutively numbered in the order they are supposed to launch. Sometimes for one reason or another, launch schedules change. The launch sequence for shuttles is planned years ahead sometimes, and after Columbia and the decision to retire the shuttle fleet, the launch sequence calendar was drastically changed, yet the STS sequence numbers remained the same.

The real confusing aspect of the shuttle program was in the mid 80s (prior to Challenger) the missions were numbered based on the year and order of initial planned launch. Challenger (launched 1/28/86) was designated as STS-51L, because it was supposed to have flown in 1985 (hence the 5), it launched from KSC, the primary launch site (the 1) and the L was the sequence in the launch order

TropicalTroubador · Post by **TropicalTroubador** » August 22, 2007 5:50 pm

Floridaze wrote:
surfpirate wrote:
Floridaze wrote:Hey FFG..those sonic booms make me jump every time...
So just why exactly is it a "double sonic boom"? The sound barrier's broken only once when the shuttle slows to below the speed of sound, right?

~~~~~ surfpirate (too lazy to google an answer or reopen my high school physics books)
From Spacelink.nasa.gov:

The distinctive double sonic boom heard when the space shuttle lands results because the shuttle is large (at least relative to the other aircraft allowed to travel at supersonic speeds over land.) The text below is taken directly from information available through NASA's Spacelink system (http:// spacelink.nasa.gov) and enter "sonic boom" in the Search box.

"The Cause"
"Sonic booms are created by air pressure. Much like a boat pushes up a bow wave as it travels through the water, a vehicle pushes air molecules aside in such a way they are compressed to the point where shock waves are formed."
"These shock waves form two cones, at the nose as well as at the tail of the vehicle. The shock waves move outward and rearward in all directions and usually extend to the ground. As the shock cones spread across the landscape along the flightpath, they create a continuous sonic boom along the full width of the cone's base. The sharp release of pressure, after the buildup by the shock wave, is heard as the sonic boom."

"The nose and tail shock waves are usually of similar strength. The time interval between the nose and tail shock waves is primarily dependent on the size of the aircraft and its altitude. Most people on the ground cannot distinguish between the two and they are usually heard as a single sonic boom. As the time interval increases, two booms are heard. A small fighter-type aircraft about 50 ft long will generate nose and tail shock waves of less than a tenth of a second (0.1 sec). The ear usually detects these as a single sonic boom."

"The interval between nose and tail shock waves on the Space Shuttles, which are 122 ft long, is about one-half of a second (0.50 sec), making the double boom very distinguishable."

Once upon a time, I was privleged enough to see a Shuttle landing at Edwards AFB, back when I lived in southern CA. I believe it was STS-26, Discovery, one of the first flights after Challenger. You could not only hear the sonic booms; they were *visible* as they approached - two expanding arcs/circles of whiteness, overlapping a bit from my perspective.

While I lived in southern CA, I got used to that double-boom sound when Shuttles came back. You could hear them for quite a few miles away from the designated LZ, certainly over most of the LA basin and San Fernando Valley.