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not to sound anti american but all I can think about a shuttle launch on independence day is homer simpson being knocked out of his lawn chair when they fired that rocket at the comet "USA! USA! USA!"

But hey, I suppose it's a good thing they were able to go.
 
dornoforpyros said:
not to sound anti american but all I can think about a shuttle launch on independence day is homer simpson being knocked out of his lawn chair when they fired that rocket at the comet "USA! USA! USA!"

But hey, I suppose it's a good thing they were able to go.


Hey!! Homer flew in the shuttle :p
 
dornoforpyros said:
not to sound anti american but all I can think about a shuttle launch on independence day is homer simpson being knocked out of his lawn chair when they fired that rocket at the comet "USA! USA! USA!"

But hey, I suppose it's a good thing they were able to go.

The original lauch date was the 1st July, Then 2nd.. Independance day had nothing to do with it.
 
whoops... look like I slept through it.. Whoops. :eek:

I'm fascinated with things that fly.. I loooove watching airplanes take off and land. Maybe there's a video of it somewhere on the internets...
 
katie ta achoo said:
whoops... look like I slept through it.. Whoops. :eek:

I'm fascinated with things that fly.. I loooove watching airplanes take off and land. Maybe there's a video of it somewhere on the internets...

Just hit the same link - they are replaying the launch. ;)
 
iGary said:
Just hit the same link - they are replaying the launch. ;)

Awesome!

oof, I hope they replay it before 3:00.. they're having a news conference then!

Maybe I can just drive down to Johnson Space Center and ask for a DVD of it. :):p
 
Ha, I was watching this "live" feed during the launch while talking to some friends of mine online. They had other sources of news, and this live feed was about 30-45 seconds behind. They told me everything and I saw it a few seconds later...:D

Like knowing the ending of a movie before seeing it. But at least at this stage it appears to be a success.
 
I've been tuning in every so often. Its quite cool and interesting to watch, a part from the suits getting interviewed. Some of the views are spectacular.
 
1107 GMT (7:07 a.m. EDT)

Now 60 minutes till the deorbit burn to brake from space. The crew is scheduled to start strapping into their seats at this point in the deorbit preparation timeline.

The final "go/no go" decision to bring Discovery home on the first of two landing opportunities today is about 40 minutes away. No showers have formed within the 30 mile zone around Kennedy Space Center's runway. But there is rain well north of the landing site, and meteorologists continue to watch for any development closer to the Cape
 
1156 GMT (7:56 a.m. EDT)

GO FOR THE DEORBIT BURN! The six astronauts aboard space shuttle Discovery have received news from Mission Control that weather conditions are acceptable at Kennedy Space Center for landing this morning. The crew is "go" to perform the deorbit burn at 8:06:55 a.m. EDT to commit the shuttle for the trip back to Earth.

The upcoming 3-minute, 2-second retrograde burn using the twin orbital maneuvering system engines on the tail of Discovery will slow the shuttle's velocity by 302 feet per second, just enough to slip the craft out of orbit and begin the plunge into the atmosphere.

Discovery is headed to a landing at 9:14 a.m. EDT on Runway 33 at Kennedy Space Center to end the 12-day, 18-hour, 36-minute mission.
 
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