Space shuttle visible in Ireland tonight

compufunk

The space shuttle Endeavour, with seven astronauts on board, will be visible in Ireland tonight.

The shuttle will be visible as a brilliant “star” when it crosses Ireland at about 11.21pm tonight, 18 minutes after it blasts off from Florida.

“We are predicting the best time to watch will be 11.21pm tonight, but people should watch for 10 minutes around this time as the launch time can be changed by NASA at the last minute” said David Moore of Astronomy Ireland.

“The shuttle is an incredible sight when it flies over, but what makes this event so incredibly rare, is that the giant fuel tank will be right next to the shuttle in the sky and will look distinctly orange.”

“This has only been seen once before from Ireland in the 28 year history of shuttle launches so we want everyone to stay up and watch it,” he added.

The shuttle is heading for the International Space Station which will also be visible from Ireland on Thursday and Friday nights. Built at a cost of €100 billion, it is up to 1000 times brighter than the average star.

Source:
_http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0715/breaking61.html?via=mr
################################################

I'm not sure if our friends on the Mainland in the UK will be able to see this. Hopefully it gets off the ground this time. Hope it stays clear

tomthebomb1968

When was the last time Paddy, I think I remember watching it chasing the ISS across the sky one night prior to docking

compufunk

28 years according to Astronomy Ireland Tom. I think some more recent launches were visible from the south and west. Nothing this visible though.

compufunk

I've attached part of David Moore's interview on RTE News. Unfortunately the interview is cut short. Basically all he goes on to say is that if they launch at the intended time, it should be visible at 23:21.

Attached Files

Rte1_News_090715.mp3 (234.5 KB, 1 views)

Channel Hopper

Still on schedule at the moment - fingers crossed.

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

Dave UK

Just watched it going overhead here in Swindon.............it's an impressive sight to realise that you are looking at a man-made object flying in space!

EDIT: I think what I saw was the Space Station as it is a bit early for the shuttle! Sorry!

colinp

Shuttle launch available on UP4 on 10 degrees East 10970 V S/R 4176 FEC 3/4.Enjoy.

tomthebomb1968

I only got about 10 seconds clear viewing, was 2 definate objects. One above and slightly in front of the other. Was the lower object a discarded rocket, it had an orange tinge to it?

compufunk

Thankfully I managed to get a half decent view of it.

While the sun was up earlier we had a clear sky all evening , but it typically began to cloud over after dark.

Once the shuttle came into view, it could be seen from here for about 30-40% of its visible trajectory. It was behind cloud the rest of the time.

I take it that takeoff was on schedule. It appeared in the Sky here within a minute of when Astronomy Ireland said it would. (
Been out all evening so missed the news.)

It was great to have the chance to witness it. . For a man made machine, the speed it was traveling at was probably the most inspiring thing.

@Tom.
At least you caught a glimpse. In some near by areas it was way to cloudy to see anything.

Yes, that was the fuel tank. It was jettisoned about two minutes before the shuttle came in to view.

As far as I know that tank was going to be dumped in the Atlantic, meaning it would have to circle the globe again after we had seen it.

tomthebomb1968

Nice clear sky here at this location, and apparently we will get the same view again in the August launch

There were 12 debris strikes at launch, they are study video footage to see if any damage to the shuttle that could cause problems for re-entry.


<

Channel Hopper

Nice link Tom

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

tomthebomb1968

NASA have suspended all future lauches indefinately while they investigate why foam from the solid rocket boosters was dislodged and struck the shuttle at launch.

They have said the orbiter suffered no damage that would endanger this mission.

dig deep

I have always asked my self:Why does anyone even bother to look into the sky if they are told that a UFO is on it´s way.

I could look if it was an UFO but (Gosh) a ferry ?

It´s just a white dot moving rather fast. It was a new fresh idea when we had Sputnic but now ???????


Last time I looked for something special was the first look of Space Station.

Nowdays I just enjoy the stars and the Galaxies out there, Makes me think.

Makes me amazed. sometime even worried

I wonder where God went wrong ?

We started to think that Erath was the center, then (after a "few" years) we decided that the Sun was the center. Now we are in the surburbian of a rather small galaxy, on it´s way to collide with a Bigger Galaxy (andromedia)

Next finding will tell us that we are not alone !!!!! That ET has been out there for years.

I think I will blame it on Newton

compufunk

... do they launch ferries into space every day in your country?

For people living outside of Florida, its a privilege to see an event like this when its visible. Its been 28 years since something similar was visible here.

Witnessing something like this can be an inspiration to people.

In a space of around 60 years we went from relying on horses for independent transport to reaching outer space, then soon afterward the moon.

Also, this being a satellite tv forum, of course there is going to be interest in something like this.

tomthebomb1968

It wasnt a UFO, it was most definately an IFO