The big waiting for the start of the Shuttle Discovery's last flight to the Space Station started for many visitors already early in the day and in the afternoon. Some were enjoying te pretty water views, some had already a drink or two, some were playing cards or just relaxing in the warm sunshine, like this man in the front.
And then, finally at 4.50 p.m. the Shuttle appeared flying high already into the sky
Some seconds after the start came the clouds, covering up the view and that's was it - an excitement of maybe 20 seconds, that's all.
This is what the Shuttle left behind: a lot of noise and this large and impressive looking smog cloud.
In less than two hours, NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to make its last trip into low Earth orbit. Discovery will be traveling to the International Space Station, carrying a large module packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as a robotic assistant named Robonaut 2. With the entire Space Shuttle program scheduled for mandatory retirement this year, Discovery is the most-flown spacecraft in history, traveling 143 million miles (230 million kilometers) over the course of its 39 missions since 1984, and spending nearly a full year in orbit. Gathered here are images of Discovery, its crew, and support staff from the past several months, while the spacecraft was being prepared for today's launch. This mission, STS-133, is scheduled for liftoff at 4:50 p.m Eastern Time.
If you're interested in learning more about this flight and to see great pictures, click here.
Hi my friends,
It was quiet an experience yesterday and big fun for me to watch the last flight of the Shuttle. My snaps are only a small collection of documentation what I have seen with my eyes - and with my camera. My big wish is to get one day more closer with my camera, to see the "real thing" close enough!!
Maybe someone out there by
NASA will read this...!? :))
Thank you so much also for all your kind comments to my last post. Gladly appreciated!
I wish you all a wonderful Friday - Weekend is just around the corner.... yeah!
~Susanne
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