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#680
by
lsullivan411
on 16 May, 2010 04:16
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For those wondering about the SRBs, LeRoy Cain said in today's post-MMT briefing:
"Plan is to do slip operations on Monday. Open assessment on Tuesday."
So on Monday sometime, they'll come past Jetty Park and through the Canaveral locks. I don't know what time. I wonder if they have to come through in daylight -- could easily check previous viewing threads for that, although instead I think I'll go out for a run on the beach 
Very likely the ships will come through early. Twice that I've gone down the first ship was through around 6am, 2nd around 8am - my guess is that they will arrive in Port Canavaral sometime late Sunday, and go through the locks at first light - with about a 2 hour separation between ships. I beleive they can go through the locks anytime, day or night, but they would want the docking operations done during the daylight I'm sure.
Also these links were originally posted by someone else the last flight, sorry I couldn't find the post to give the original poster credit:
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?MMSI=338991000http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?MMSI=338990000Tracking of Freedom Star with the tank was fairly accurate, though they don't always show a current tracking if not near land.
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#681
by
DaveJes1979
on 16 May, 2010 07:33
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My wife and I were fortunate enough to get congressional tickets to see the STS-132 launch. We did indeed enjoy the company of the other NSFers at the dinner outing that Chris arranged for us. As a matter of fact Rob Ross was at the table with my wife and I.
We arrived at the Sears parking lot on Merritt Island at around 10:00, where the buses were lined up for us. Traffic coming out of Orlando was pretty rotten, and thankfully we were able to take Highway 520, which was empty, to our destination on the south side of Merritt Island, or we might not have made it in time.
Worryingly, our bus did not get underway until 10:45, but for some reason they did not bring us by the Visitor's Complex to send us through metal detectors or bag checks. I actually brought a ridiculous amount of camera equipment in 3 different bags (my Rebel for stills, a Canon 7D for video, two tripods, a Sigma 80-400mm lens, and goliath Canon 500mm f/4L lens).
As a surprise treat for us, astronaut Janice Voss came onto our bus while we were waiting and talked to all of us. We were all tickled to have her speak and she took a few questions from us before she moved on to the next bus. My wife and I thought that was very sweet of them.
We arrived at the causeway long after most everyone else had already arrived and staked out positions along the causeway. I was dismayed since the only places left that I could place my cameras was in the back toward the road. Fortunately, this did not prove to be a problem, since the shallow rise up to the road still placed my cameras a few feet above everyone's heads as long as they weren't standing within 20 feet right in front of me.
All of that is to say that we had no real advantage over the paying ticket-holders. We had to stake out our spot in the same area and with the same limitations as the paying ticket-holders.
I had lots and lots of folks come by wanting to see through my viewfinder on the Rebel, which was attached to the very conspicuous 500mm lens. I was happy to oblige.
I note that it took me nearly two hours to set up both cameras and dial them in, leaving only 10 minutes until launch time. I had borrowed my father's 7D and had never taken any serious video footage before. This was attached to the 80-400mm Sigma lens on a fluid-filled pan-tilt head I had purchased for my Manfrotto tripod. The Rebel was attached to a ball head on a carbon fiber tripod with a ball head with the 500mm lens and remained fixed for the whole launch. I used a wireless shutter release so that I could view the launch with my eyes.
I pre-focused and pre-metered both cameras ahead of time before the launch, and then turned both lenses to manual focus so that the autofocus functions would not get confused trying to lock onto the shuttle. I also turned the exposure settings to manual for the same reason.
I turned on the video on the 7D about a minute before launch, and viewed the shuttle through the Rebel at T-minus 7 seconds so that I could see the shuttle main engines turn on. I took a number of shots as the exhaust cloud grew and covered the shuttle. At that point I backed away from the camera and viewed the shuttle directly. I also stopped taking pictures for a few seconds since the shuttle stack was entirely obscured by the exhaust cloud. This gave the buffer in the camera some time to catch up. When I saw the shuttle poke out of the cloud of its own exhaust, I mashed down on the shutter release again. It fired continuously until I knew the shuttle was out-of-frame.
Since I was trying to view the shuttle with my own eyes, rather than through a viewfinder, I blindly zoomed out the lens on the 7D and tilted the camera up when I sensed it was out of frame. This actually ended up being fairly effective, if not particularly professional. But I can say I have no regrets and did enjoy the experience thoroughly.
It is interesting to note that my wife and I were expecting the launch to be louder than it was. I have been to an Atlas V launch, as well as 3 Delta II launches (some with the full compliment of 9 SRBs) at a distance of about 5 miles, and the shuttle was about as loud as those experiences, perhaps only a little louder. Other folks on the causeway who were veterans of shuttle launches also remarked that the sound was far less than they had experienced in the past from the causeway. One person even said that they had experienced a louder launch from Titusville! One NASA employee we talked to afterward, who viewed the launch from the Saturn V center/Banana Creek VIP area also told us that it was quieter than usual. I do wonder what could account for that. Wind conditions? An improvement to the water sound suppression system?
We got back aboard our bus and departed for the Sears parking lot. It took 2 hours to get there because of the traffic. My wife and I did not particularly mind since we were tired, and took a nap on the mercifully air-conditioned bus. We ate at the mall, burning time by drinking adult beverages, waiting for the traffic to die down. We departed at 7 p.m., and even then it took 1.5 hours to get back to our hotel near Disney World in Orlando (Kissimmee), due to significant slowdowns on Highway 528 before the airport.
I'll attach pictures on the following post.
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#682
by
DaveJes1979
on 16 May, 2010 07:41
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These are all unprocessed images straight out of my Canon Rebel Xsi. No cropping or white balance and color correction. Since I'm still in Florida I won't have the ability to clean up the full-resolution raw files until I get home to California, but I'm still pleased even with these low-resolution, uncorrected jpegs. These are all taken with a Canon 500mm f/4L lens I rented.
You will notice that there is still quite a bit of haze and distortion from convective heat rising up in the 6.5-7 miles of air in between me and the shuttle. This is why I considered it foolish to use any teleconverters or longer focal length lenses than the 500mm since any shot tighter than what I have here would just produce blurry, hazy close-ups of the shuttle. On a crop camera 500mm is fine from the causeway. I could have rented an 800mm and slapped a 2x teleconverter on, but I chose not to (although I did see some folks with 800mm lenses on the causeway!).
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#683
by
DaveJes1979
on 16 May, 2010 07:43
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#684
by
spacedog71
on 16 May, 2010 12:32
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It is interesting to note that my wife and I were expecting the launch to be louder than it was. I have been to an Atlas V launch, as well as 3 Delta II launches (some with the full compliment of 9 SRBs) at a distance of about 5 miles, and the shuttle was about as loud as those experiences, perhaps only a little louder. Other folks on the causeway who were veterans of shuttle launches also remarked that the sound was far less than they had experienced in the past from the causeway. One person even said that they had experienced a louder launch from Titusville! One NASA employee we talked to afterward, who viewed the launch from the Saturn V center/Banana Creek VIP area also told us that it was quieter than usual. I do wonder what could account for that. Wind conditions? An improvement to the water sound suppression system?
this observation ... makes me feel a LOT better about my launch experience.
my first launch was STS-128 (night), followed by STS-129 (76º under the lovely shade of one of those big tents), STS-130 (night) and STS-131 (night). i ... had no idea how spoiled i'd been.
i ran really late friday morning and our bus arrived so far east on the causeway i was well past all of the tents, so this was my first launch experience under the florida sun on a hot day. it was pretty brutal.
but the sound, that REALLY bothered me. the roar of the engines at a launch is one of the things that really propelled this obsession ("the Bottom," penn gillette once called it, "the loudest good thing you will ever hear"), and as i've gained more and more experience, there's been a gradual dilution of the impact of the experience. inevitable, i suppose -- and my pictures have gotten better as i've been able to concentrate more on things like zooming out as the orbiter leaves the pad behind -- but i was really hoping the "last launch" factor would leave me more overwhelmed.
my "workflow", if you can call it that, has consisted of taking pictures with my camera on the tripod as the launch starts, (watching it with my eyes instead of through the viewfinder
), taking my hands off of the camera entirely as the sound rolls in and just enjoying the Bottom, and then pulling the camera off of the tripod and watching the SRB sep through the telephoto lens.
friday afternoon, the sound rolling in seemed downright ... cursory. "phoned it in" is the expression used in the performing arts when an actor is distracted and not giving a performance their all. somehow, the engine noise seemed like they were phoning it in.
and it never occurred to me that the engine noise itself could actually be noticeably quieter than the earlier launches i'd seen. i just assumed my emotional detachment had reached an all-time high (which may very well have also been happening).
the "oh good, it wasn't just me" factor is tremendously reassuring to hear, so, thanks for that.
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#685
by
psloss
on 16 May, 2010 12:48
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Interesting notes on the sound...I only saw one causeway video, but the sound was noticeably quieter than compared to my expectation from mostly Pad B launches. Those were 10 years ago, but I do remember hearing more than once that the sound can be quite different from one launch to the next.
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#686
by
Furner
on 16 May, 2010 12:59
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For those wondering about the SRBs, LeRoy Cain said in today's post-MMT briefing:
"Plan is to do slip operations on Monday. Open assessment on Tuesday."
So on Monday sometime, they'll come past Jetty Park and through the Canaveral locks. I don't know what time. I wonder if they have to come through in daylight -- could easily check previous viewing threads for that, although instead I think I'll go out for a run on the beach
Very likely the ships will come through early. Twice that I've gone down the first ship was through around 6am, 2nd around 8am - my guess is that they will arrive in Port Canavaral sometime late Sunday, and go through the locks at first light - with about a 2 hour separation between ships. I beleive they can go through the locks anytime, day or night, but they would want the docking operations done during the daylight I'm sure.
Also these links were originally posted by someone else the last flight, sorry I couldn't find the post to give the original poster credit:
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?MMSI=338991000
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?MMSI=338990000
Tracking of Freedom Star with the tank was fairly accurate, though they don't always show a current tracking if not near land.
Looks like they are estimated in Port Canaveral 4:00 and 5:00 today. Is there any good location at the port to view them tonite? Have to get going back to Michigan tomorrow morning.
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#687
by
jeff2space
on 16 May, 2010 13:22
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A group of my coworkers attempted to view the ISS and Shuttle passing sort of overhead half an hour ago from Old Faithful. We couldn't see anything. Has the orbit for the ISS changed recently?
I saw the ISS and Atlantis last night fly over SE Wisconsin. The ISS pass over me was about 3 minutes behind the time listed on Heavens-Above or NASA's website.
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#688
by
robertross
on 16 May, 2010 14:32
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Interesting notes on the sound...I only saw one causeway video, but the sound was noticeably quieter than compared to my expectation from mostly Pad B launches. Those were 10 years ago, but I do remember hearing more than once that the sound can be quite different from one launch to the next.
So are people saying I should prepare to see another just to evaluate the difference?
It's probably going to happen, I'm hooked
It was really windy, and the cloud headed strait towards Titusville, so that's the most likely explanation.
It was still awesome, no matter what.
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#689
by
mixologist07
on 16 May, 2010 15:29
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the sound at the press site was certainly less intense than normal. lots of rumble, not as much ground vibration, and it dissipated very quickly. i'm curious if banana creek got the brunt of the sound, as that's the direction the wind seemed to be going.
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#690
by
TJL
on 16 May, 2010 15:57
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QUOTE..."It was really windy, and the cloud headed strait towards Titusville, so that's the most likely explanation".
I noticed on a few of the videos taken of "132" from Titusville that the sound was loud and lasted a bit longer than usual.
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#691
by
Furner
on 16 May, 2010 17:34
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Talked to the guy running the locks. Real nice guy, but he said that there is really no indication right now of when the SRBs will come in. He did say that if I came back this afternoon/evening I might be able to see them, but they do not tell the lock operator ahead of time that they are coming in.
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#692
by
subisnack
on 16 May, 2010 18:12
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Links above now getting a good track.
Liberty Star showing ETA 17:00 UTC
Freedom Star showing the same ETA
Liberty being about 3 hours away if I'm reading right?
Seeing as it's past 18:00 UTC... ETA is off, but the map does update positon pretty well it seems. Guess we will head out there in a few hours and see what we can see!
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#693
by
Furner
on 16 May, 2010 21:00
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First srb in view at jetty park. Freedom of the Seas cruise ship is on its way out but should clear channel before srb comes in.
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#694
by
subisnack
on 16 May, 2010 21:07
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At the park now. Wow what a big cruise ship! Another behind it on the way out. Can't get the name yet.
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#695
by
Andrewwski
on 16 May, 2010 21:30
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Heading up there now -should be there in an hour. I'd assume I'd still see them?
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#696
by
subisnack
on 16 May, 2010 21:35
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If not the first one, the second one.
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#697
by
subisnack
on 16 May, 2010 21:54
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Liberty past us. Heading out now. No sign of freedom yet. Last I saw it was about 30 behind.
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#698
by
Andrewwski
on 16 May, 2010 21:56
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Is Liberty in the inlet then?
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#699
by
astrobrian
on 16 May, 2010 22:06
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), taking my hands off of the camera entirely as the sound rolls in and just enjoying the Bottom, and then pulling the camera off of the tripod and watching the SRB sep through the telephoto lens. 
It's probably going to happen, I'm hooked