Wonderful Profile
Space shuttle Atlantis leaps from the launch pad on the final flight of the space shuttle program as STS-135. Burning over 20,000 lbs of fuel every second, Atlantis will accelerate to 28,000 km/h over the course of eight minutes.
Handoff to Houston
Space shuttle Atlantis clears the tower on the final launch of the space shuttle program, STS-135. Once clear of the tower, control is transferred from the Kennedy Space Centre to Mission Control in Houston for the duration of the flight.
Monsoon Season
A remote camera set up on a dry lake bed captures space shuttle Atlantis clearing the tower during launch of STS-135. Heavy rains preceding launch day dramatically changed the nature of this photograph, turning the foreground from a brilliant landscape of caked and broken earth to something approaching a mudbowl.
Where The Wind Blows
Wreathed in her own launch plume, space shuttle Endeavour lifts off on the final launch of her career, hauling the US $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station. After landing, she’ll be processed and turned over to the California Science Center for permanent display.
Across The Pond
Space shuttle Endeavour streaks toward the clouds as photographed by a remote camera set up on Kennedy Space Centre’s dike road.
Branch
Space shuttle Discovery reaches for the sky on her final mission, consuming over 20,000lbs of propellant every second. Coincidentally, the Ongiara’s maximum vehicle load just happens to be 20,000lbs, which the shuttle consumes every second.
One More Time
Space shuttle Discovery lifts off from the launch pad for the final time. Within twenty seconds of missing her launch window and being forced to abort, she had a flawless ascent to orbit.
SSME Stabilization
Space shuttle Discovery’s SSMEs (Space Shuttle Main Engines) stabilize after ignition in this sequence. From left to right, the rough orange flame stabilizes to form a smooth blue flow, displaying the characteristic “Mach diamonds”, formed by the supersonic flow of the engine’s exhaust.
Pillars of Fire
Riding twin pillars of fire, veteran space shuttle Discovery embarks on her final voyage to orbit from LC-39A. After this final mission, she’ll be processed and turned over to the Smithsonian for permanent display.
Remote I Liftoff
While we don’t get too many space shuttles around these parts, it was the Island’s environment that let me build and test the remote camera enclosures that led to this photograph, the launch of space shuttle Atlantis (STS-132), from beside launch pad 39A. While launch is targeted for a specific date, things don’t always go […]