Farewell Atlantis

[Chinook]

As many of you may know, the Space Shuttle Atlantis made a beautiful liftoff today at 2:20 PM for the ISS on what is scheduled to be her last flight. For the first time ever since I first heard of Space Shuttles some 15 years ago, I was finally able to go see a launch in person (It was a really big deal for me, the Shuttles are even what inspired me to take Mechanical Engineering, ultimately aiming for an Aerospace degree.). It was such a wonderful experience that I wanted to share it with you guys. We were up before sunrise, and got to Titusville about 4 hours before launch. It was circa 84 degrees, and my friend, my mother, myself and about all 40,000 other viewers got badly sunburned; many (but certainly not all) of the people were kinda rude, thinking they had more right to be there than anyone else; it was so crowded, we couldn't see Atlantis on the launch pad, and all things considered, those two or so minutes that she was visible at liftoff was more than worth everything. When they say it's like nothing on Earth, you better believe it, and if you love the Shuttles as much as I, there's really no words that can truly do the experience justice. For anyone who hasn't seen a launch I highly recommend you go if you have a chance. There were people from several other states who'd driven down just to watch, I personally intend to go see Endeavour and/or Discovery if I get the opportunity. I took my D50 with a 450-800mm lens with 2x teleconverter, and managed to get some pretty good pictures, despite crowds and initial lens-focusing troubles. If anybody else who saw the launch in person or followed it on the news, or anyone who has any memories, thoughts or experiences relating to the Shuttles, please share.

[Baya]

That's great! I heard about it on the news, but I am not an enthusiast regarding space travel and NASA in general. However, I'm glad you got to see it as it was a very big deal for you

For that sunburn you should probably get some ointment, and as for the pictures you should upload them on here

[Chinook]

Thanks! Yeah, I'll probably have to sleep on a coat hanger or something because of the burns.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get pictures of the instant of launch due to the crowds, and my first two photos of the launch were really blurred, but the others came out really well, as I'd expected them to be smudged at best. Some are a little out of focus despite my tripod, but that's to be expected from her speed.

[FlipMode]

[quote] many (but certainly not all) of the people were kinda rude, thinking they had more right to be there than anyone else; [/quote]
You mean like people who think they know so much about that kind of stuff, that anyone who is just interested can't be in the same vicinity as them? It's called arrogance, and is not a disease but just spreds like one in alot of public events like these .

And the pictures look great! My father took me to see a shuttle launch somehwere once. It was a long time ago though, I don't remember where or even what shuttle it was. However I do remember distinctly, that I enjoyed it and it's one of those memories that even though are hazy, are still one of the best memories I have of childhood.

Are you still studying Mechanial Engineering? If so I wish you all the best with that, you certainly seem to have the enthusiasm for it ^^.

[Chinook]

Yes it's sad really, this is really a reason for people to come together, not shun each other. It's really great that you saw a launch and know for yourself how cool it is. It's something that you don't forget but perhaps you could ask your father, he might remember more? The pictures were difficult to take as Atlantis lifted flew northwards as she rose, not straight up, and in the end I just tilted the whole camera on its tripod and followed her like that. And yes, I'm still studying Mechanical Engineering. My school doesn't have an Aerospace program so I plan to graduate as a Mech. Eng. Major then go for an Aerospace Engineering degree somewhere else, probably like Embry—Riddle Aeronautical University.