Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off for the International Space Station at 22:03 UTC on 07/15/2009. FINALLY!
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Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off for the International Space Station at 22:03 UTC on 07/15/2009. FINALLY!
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Thank you for putting this Web site together! My 4-year-old son Nicholas loves watching the Space Shuttle and rocket launches and since we don't have the NASA channel, this was the perfect solution. Hats off to a great Web site for all things space related!
hi everybody!
first of all, I completely agree with Gary above, this is a GREAT website!
but i have a question about the video...
from 9:30 until 10:30, there are white-yellowish trails visible, coming off the orbiter. Can anyone tell me what those are? is it excess fuel dump, or something like that? thanks!
The ring of yellow flickering stuff is plasma. Basically, the very thin atmosphere 60+ miles up is pushed aside at high velocity by the orbiter's nose, forming a detached shock wave which heats the air to extremely high temperatures. This ionizes the air (blasting electrons off), forming a plasma. As the electrons are recaptured and drop to a lower energy level, the atoms emit light.
I guess, that this yellow flickering in the little window comes from vibrations + the refelction of the sunlight.