Shuttle Discovery

[Purron]

We saw it fly over 3 times on it's way to Dulles Airport. Amazing.

 

[easysurfer]

Great photos.

Is that a fighter jet I see in the background as protection?

 

[Purron]

Great photos.

Is that a fighter jet I see in the background as protection?

Yup. Protecting it from the rowdy crowd at Costco where we took these photos Here's a suspicious looking person on the roof of Costco.

 

[easysurfer]

That's great! I love it. The guy on the Costco roof.

 

[REWahoo]

Is that a fighter jet I see in the background as protection?

Not a fighter, a NASA T-38 chase plane - riding alongside the 747 to let them know if the shuttle falls off...

 

[scrabbler1]

The T-38 won't do much good if some guy is hiding in a secret compartment like in the beginning of James Bond's "Moonraker" and is ready to steal the plane!

 

[Sue J]

We were watching the coverage on NASA TV. As the 737 with the shuttle was lining up for landing the control tower told them where to move immediately after landing as the T-38 was "critical" on fuel and needed to land as soon as possible.

I remember watching the first shuttle launch. I was studying at the college library and everyone quietly gathered around a single tv and we all watched it with a whispered cheer.

 

[KiraC]

So awesome! Thanks for sharing.

 

[LauAnn]

Very nice. Great that you got to see it for real rather than on tonight's news coverage. Thanks for sharing.

 

[TromboneAl]

We saw it fly over 3 times on it's way to Dulles Airport. Amazing.

I guess even rocket scientists get lost sometimes.

 

[Walt34]

That is neat to see. I saw it back in the '80's when the combination did a loop around the DC Beltway at about 1,500 feet altitude above ground level. It caused some consternation among the populace because the advance publicity wasn't very good. Some people apparently thought it was about to crash.

 

[Purron]

I guess even rocket scientists get lost sometimes.

They couldn't find a parking spot at Reagan National so had to land at Dulles.

 

[Chuckanut]

The shuttle is a great feat of engineering.

It is sad to see it discontinued but it does have a major safety flaw. All other manned vehicles place the astronauts on top of the stack, where it is relatively easy to get pulled away in case of a malfunction. On the shuttle the astronauts are on the side, right next to the fuel tank, and the massive solid rocket boosters that can't be turned off.

 

[Chuckanut]

The Russians built a shuttle also, but it never flew. I remember reading that the Americans found out the Russians were spying on the shuttle program and intentionaly fed them faulty information. Ah... for the days of the Cold War!

 

[REWahoo]

They couldn't find a parking spot at Reagan National so had to land at Dulles.

Ahhh, that would explain this:

We saw it fly over 3 times on it's way to Dulles Airport. Amazing.

Circling Regan National, looking for an empty parking space...

 

[TromboneAl]

It sure looks beat up -- I guess we got our money's worth.

Do you think they will clean it up before they put it on display? Should they?

 

[Midpack]

Great pics, that really had to be something to see in person!

 

[Purron]

It sure looks beat up -- I guess we got our money's worth.

Do you think they will clean it up before they put it on display? Should they?

Yeah, I thought so too. Could have sworn I saw "wash me" written in the dirt on the side when it flew overhead. In any event, I'll let you know. DH and I plan to go to the grand unveiling tomorrow at the Air and Space Museum at Dulles (Udvar Hazy Center for the guy who donated like umpteen million $). John Glenn, the head of NASA a bunch of astronauts and other VIPs will be there for the occasion.

 

[marko]

Cool photo! Thanks!

 

[Gumby]

Three workers up on the Capitol dome had a great view. Here's the link for a larger version
http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/discovery041812/s_d23_RTR30ULE.jpg

 

[Purron]

Great pics, that really had to be something to see in person!

It was great for me. For DH it was a "moment". He's one of those guys who grew up enthralled with the space program. He's like a kid seeing stuff like this and so happy he retired early so as not to miss these special moments.

 

[clifp]

It sure looks beat up -- I guess we got our money's worth.

Do you think they will clean it up before they put it on display? Should they?

The Newshour had the Smithsonian curator on last night. She said that since they have the Enterprise (the prototype) shuttle on display which is in perfect condition, they will probably leave the Atlantis as is to show the contrast.

 

[sheehs1]

Very awesome. I have a friend who took pictures of it landing...and those pics gave me chills too. I'm sure a lot of us remember all the thrilling space explorations in our youth!

 

[TromboneAl]

I just noticed the modification to the 747's tail.

 

[Purron]

The Newshour had the Smithsonian curator on last night. She said that since they have the Enterprise (the prototype) shuttle on display which is in perfect condition, they will probably leave the Atlantis as is to show the contrast.

I know you meant Discovery instead of Atlantis...but thanks for sharing this. It's had a lot of hard miles on it. Better left as is.