Will the shuttle lift off tonight? What do DUers think?

[karlrschneider]

...

[edbermac]

1. I've got my fingers crossed.

:scared:

[karlrschneider]

2. It appears the weather isn't as much a worry as they thought earlier.

We'll see...

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. I hope so

I'm planning to go down to the Prairie to watch. It's clear and cool and the crew is in the capsule.

[Blue_In_AK]

4. The pilot is from Anchorage

Our local TV news guy has been down there for a week waiting for the story, poor guy. :) I'm sure he's suffering.

[Nickster]

5. I'm watching on nasa.gov. n/t

[karlrschneider]

8. Channel 213 on Dish Network if anybody needs to know

ks

[Nickster]

9. Any ideas if it's on Directv? I couldn't find anything in the guide.n/t

[karlrschneider]

13. I'm pretty sure DTV carries it but don't know the chan #

sorry

[Nickster]

16. I just found it, channel 376 on directv. n/t

[karlrschneider]

17. Thanks, I couldn't remember.

ks

[malaise]

32. CNN has coverage now n/t

[Nomad559]

15. Direct link to

Streaming Video

:)

[chknltl]

44. Thank you Nomad559

I wanted to watch in Hi Def on TV but unlike the last launch this one was not covered on ANY cable channel that I had. The only way I could watch AT ALL was through your link. Thank you for that.
::):

[napi21]

6. I don't know, but I doubt it. I just heard a news report on KGO radio

that saidthe weather is not looking good! I think NASA knows better than to take a chance just for a show!

[Nickster]

11. NASA TV just said that the weather was still within parameters. n/t

[karlrschneider]

14. Yep, so far...it's still about an hour away though. Wind seems to be the

major concern.

[Wiley50]

7. R they Taking Chimpy and Darth? If so, I'm Interested

What's Up more Military stuff?

[karlrschneider]

12. Space station stuff I think

...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. Looks good so far!

Watching on NASA's cable channel. I love this stuff.

[theguvnorgc]

18. absolutely

they're going

[napi21]

19. Here's the latest update on the NASA web site.

7:53 p.m. - T-9 minutes and holding for approximately 45 minutes.

This mission to the International Space Station will be one of the most complicated ever. The seven shuttle astronauts and three space station astronauts will work with flight controllers at Johnson Space Center, Houston to reconfigure the station's electrical power and cooling systems


http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts116/launch/launch-vlcc.html

[Blue-Jay]

20. I'm hoping for a "go".

Godspeed, heroes.

[applegrove]

21. Godspeed!

[MsFlorida]

22. its been intermittent cloudy-looking like rain all day

still, it would be great to see a night launch - they are the most beautiful.

[karlrschneider]

23. Have you gone over to the coast, close-up? When I lived in Tampa

we drove over to Cocoa for a couple. None at night though but we could see them. I took pictures of the Challenger and didn't realize what was happening (from my back yard) until we went inside and saw the TV.

[MsFlorida]

26. i live on the coast

we usually have launch parties or did until I had this stupid car accident.

[karlrschneider]

27. Oh, sorry, read your profile, saw Orlando.

:D

[MsFlorida]

40. small place I live in

wilbur by the sea.

[karlrschneider]

43. Ah, I know it. We have lots of friends in the Daytona area.

:D

[Warpy]

30. I've only seen it from my pop's house 14 miles south

and during the day.

[originalpckelly]

24. Bless these explorers!

God Speed Discovery!

[ToolTex]

25. May the force of humankind be with you Discovery.

[Warpy]

28. I just flipped over to the NASA station

and it's struck me that those old boys drag a countdown out almost as much as professional football does.

It's like watching grass grow, paint dry, and pots boil.

[karlrschneider]

29. 7 minutes to go

;-)

[Manifestor_of_Light]

31. it's too bad that the technology is so old

Because the politicians cut funding for NASA, the supercollider in Waxahachie, and other such scientific projects, the technology of the Shuttle and the computers are disgracefully old. No reliable funding because of Congress.

Did you know there are NO original blueprints for the Saturn V rocket?? The one that was state of the art asshauling for Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions?

They didn't listen to Richard Feynman after the first shuttle explosion, at the hearings, and his demonstration of brittle rubber in icewater.

Space travel is inherently incredibly complex and dangerous, and I salute our astronauts as being incredibly brave.

I met some former astronauts recently at a discussion of future space exploration, down near Mission Control, sponsored by The Planetary Society(yep, the one founded by Carl Sagan) and the local Lunar and Planetary Institute.

I hope everything goes well for them, at all phases of the trip.

Astronauts: :yourock:

[karlrschneider]

45. The fact it still actually works is a pretty good tribute to the guys who

developed it 40 years ago. Sagan was something of a hero to me, in a unique way, for many years. I met Neil Armstrong back in...1974?? I was waiting for my passengers at Southwest Airmotive in Dallas and a NASA plane parked next to mine. The crew went inside the terminal and left the door of their plane open so I just walked over and went inside. Nobody was there so I sat down in the front left seat and was perusing the panel (didn't touch anything) and didn't hear people coming in. They saw me sitting there and one guy started to yell a bit, I said "I didn't touch anything, that's my plane right over there" And then I recognized the other guy, it was Neil. We chatted for a few minutes, everything was cool. Stupid me, I could have gotten him to sign my logbook but didn't think about it until way later. :D

[PCIntern]

33. Kasich of FAUX is so frigging dumb

it's scary.

But the best was the Doctor/Astronaut who said, when Kasich asked him what it's like to walk in space: "It's a once in a lifetime experience. I've done it three times!"

Guy's perfect for the Bush Administration!!!

[originalpckelly]

34. Oh, that's a keeper!

:rofl:

[Greeby]

35. 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

Liftoff

[SeattleGirl]

36. That's so cool -- a night launch!

:bounce:

[ToolTex]

37. Thanks for the thread, Karl.

[karlrschneider]

39. :D

thanks

[MsFlorida]

38. a truly wondrous sight!

lift off!! so very very beautiful!

[chknltl]

41. yep... launched just fine

[DoYouEverWonder]

42. Just got back

That was awesome!

Especially since the moon isn't up yet, the sky was very dark and then the shuttle flew north - northeast so we had a good view until we lost sight of the engines going over the horizon.

[Hand]

46. I'm envious!

I was hoping to get a glimpse just before main engine shutdown as it went into orbit (I'm in Nova Scotia), but we're clouded over here. Must have been awesome!