See the launch itself at 9:00 in to the video. Space Shuttle Atlantis on a beautiful fall day. From T-9 to MECO


  1. Social comments and analytics for this post…

    This post was mentioned on Twitter by SpaceVidcast: Launch of Atlantis on STS-129 11/16/2009 http://ff.im/-bz0Qw...

  2. shammon1 says:

    Love when those shuttle rockets fire up, WOW!

  3. i got to go see it on the landing pad in capecanaveral florida. :D realy big but was 3 miles away

  4. ericbellend says:

    i’ll try again,,,, someone sent me this link to plug into google: STS-129 Ascent Video Highlights on Vimeo

  5. Chris14477 says:

    M.E.C.O. = Main Engine Cut Off.

  6. 3elwoo says:

    What is that emitted vapor below main engine prior launch?

  7. mach25man says:

    That is vented hydrogen that was used to pre chill the engines prior to launch.

  8. datinyone says:

    beautiful launch..thanks for the video!

  9. Tannenhofer says:

    Der STS129 Kommandant war übrigens CapCom Sprecher beim Columbia Unglück(STS107).Cooler Typ.

  10. Bitchhunter says:

    why the altitude is -23 at the beginning?

  11. Amazing! I have never seen the stats in the lower left corner of the launch videos.

    I know its a rocket, but imagine traveling from NYC to LA …3000 miles in 2 minutes!

  12. spacevidcast says:

    -23 feet below sea level to start

  13. matrixizada says:

    I would like to know how its possible the shuttle standing on his launch pad, -23 feet below sea level if we can see the oceanic ocean way down there??? Are the sea level of oceanic ocean -30 or more feet below its own level?????

  14. spacevidcast says:

    Search Wiki for ‘Sea Level’ for the answer on how MSL works. I would link it but alas YouTube does not allow me to :(

  15. Metsasarv1 says:

    That was all very impressive until the geeks in the green polos came on at 19:40.

  16. That is soo cool!!
    conspiracyhunters . top-me . com

  17. [...] not always good (see Spacevidcast 2.01 for example) but it can lead to some pretty cool stuff (see STS-129 launch coverage from Spacevidcast). Besides, change can be [...]

  18. shammon1 says:

    Simply amazing. just love this clip. I would so love to the launch for real.

  19. kasotis18 says:

    what the hell is that white stuff coming out of the 3 main engines??

  20. so far 2 space shuttles EXPLODED, one was wen there was a gas leak outside then it went BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, then the other was landing and it disenigrated srry for mis spell.

  21. mach25man says:

    No smoke comes out of the main engines. They burn clean.

  22. Neither space shuttle ‘exploded’ both disintegrated. Challenger disintegrated due to an O-Ring failure, causing the fuel in the ET to rapidly expand, destroying the stack. Columbia was destroyed due to a foam strike during launch causing super heated gases to enter the wing during re-entry, destroying Columbia. Both very famous and highly covered in the media for months.

  23. Swoop737 says:

    Its the result from burning LO2 and LH.

  24. the space shuttle is interesting :)

    I can’t wait to get my degree in Aerospace Engineering. woot woot XD

  25. Is the external fuel tank recovered or does it burn up?

  26. mach25man says:

    Burns up for the most part.

  27. enjoixander says:

    Did parts land in the ocean?

  28. mach25man says:

    Yes, some parts of the orange tank land in the ocean.

  29. enjoixander says:

    Does anyone salvage these parts?

  30. Tuck6275 says:

    @mach25man There’s no smoke because there’s no atmosphere for combustion, you just get thrust!

  31. mach25man says:

    No. Depending on where ther launching to, whats left lands in the Indian or Pacific ocean. If you can go that deep, have at it.

  32. mach25man says:

    There’s no smoke in the atmosphere either.

  33. NuBoko says:

    @enjoixander I think the first 2 rockets do, those are quickly removed by the Navy who are on standby

  34. Spaceater1 says:

    @microbioguy74 It burn up in the atmosphere. Boosters (the white rockets) are recovered and reused

  35. What a great movie. Just saw in in the theatres. I love this movie…watched the whole thing on VideoSpotOnline (dot) com

  36. jeonzhou says:

    how do people can stay alive at 16,000mph speed?

  37. gullybear20 says:

    Beautiful video. I’m very sad to see the space shuttles go at the end of this year and I have to say it will be a big regret in my life that I never got to witness a launch in person. The shuttles will be missed.

  38. It”s not the speed that matters, but the rate of acceleration.

  39. jeonzhou says:

    okay! but, can you imaging how fast it was. But still it was fast man, if you are in airforce using a supersonic that space shuttle still more faster. Im interested this kind of discovery or mission!

  40. ech…this speed is reached outside earths atmosphere.cant compare the both

  41. Thats really what killed the people on the challenger. When it hit the water it just decintgrated the ship and then they drowned because they were uncauncious

  42. Maybe there will be something more interesting, God forbid they make it some tiny thing.

  43. Wait, The Constellation program will replace it, Its pretty cool but its unmaned.

  44. mach25man says:

    Constellation is manned…..

  45. tx77015ls1 says:

    The most advanced machine ever created in the world, and the United States has it, no other country!!!!!

  46. Stormwind187 says:

    Hate to be kill-joy but I think russia is pretty damn close with us up there, they bring supplies and other things to the ISS and helped make it. Still we ARE the most advanced in space technology.

  47. WarrenAch says:

    Without the russia’s support,i don’t think we would have made it,to me,they “deserve a piece of the cake” for their help =D

  48. shammon1 says:

    Just love this clip, its amazing.

  49. Stormwind187 says:

    They deserve a US alliance :P , as tedious as our relationship is there is something about space exploration that brings eveyr together. Except china, chinas sort of the big kid thats silent and just does things.

  50. creapsmantic says:

    so after the rest are launched what then are we done with space or what ?

  51. mindsoulbody says:

    @tx77015ls1
    LOL, most advanced machine ever created? Remove the word “ever” and oh stop that “US have it others don’t” attitude. The brains behind that machine are from all over the world. Good that US have it, but don’t brag.

  52. mindsoulbody says:

    It shows altitude: -23 ft. Why negative? Can anyone tell me? I got this kind of measurement in physics problem but never seen in real scenario like this one. Anyone know?

  53. I met the crew of this mission in Huntsville, at the George Marshall space flight center.

  54. mach25man says:

    Built by Rockwell USA here in the USA by Americans. No foreign parts on this baby.

  55. mach25man says:

    Were done launching people from USA for about 7 to 10 years. Sad………..

  56. mindsoulbody says:

    @mach25man
    Indeed. I read about it too! An awasome ‘product’ made by us without a doubt. However, when I said remove ‘ever’ and ‘don’t show US have it attitude’ I meant that those people who worked on it aren’t just US born people. Furthermore, all techs aren’t born in US. Either way, it is relative concept but ppl like to brag about things. When knowledge is infinite and it’s everywhere, what’s to brag about? That was my point. LOL

  57. Thorsell says:

    @mindsoulbody
    It probably measures 0 from the height of the sea or something similar. So, if the launch pad is built in a valley lower than the sea, there’s a negative value. I’m not entirely positive that this is the case here, but probably something like that.

  58. mindsoulbody says:

    @Thorsell
    Thanks dude. I had a similar thought but needed confirmation. You (and I) are probably right. :D

  59. mach25man says:

    I dont see it as an attitude. There”s nothing wrong with showing a little pride. Good for him if he had something to do with it.

  60. mach25man says:

    Pad A stands 48 feet above sea level so the statistics on this vid are not exact.

  61. mindsoulbody says:

    @mach25man
    Well you know how it is, words can’t convey true human feelings. Perhaps if he had said that in a different way or maybe said face to face, this dilemma wouldn’t have happened. I didn’t take his ‘attitude’ seriuosly. It’s just that I’ve seen ppl talk like that about religion, science, people and so on. You wonder why they do like that, when there are broader way of thinking. But no he has right to be proud. So am I, but not as ‘only US can do’ but rather as ‘only human can do’. :D

  62. mach25man says:

    I think only astronauts see the earth as one. Back on earth there is much division.

  63. mindsoulbody says:

    @mach25man
    On this vid’s forum I don’t think it would be proper to talk about concept such as ‘seeing one’. But if you must, then you also have to understand, we humans aren’t animals, we have the ability to think and go BEYOND THINKING. And by that I mean this: What we see as one or not one is in our mind. It is all about being wise (wisdom that is, the ability to decide what is right and wrong and do right thing regardless of it’s usual appearance). So not only astronauts see earth as one.

  64. mach25man says:

    Wow, I’m dont know much about philosophy or logic. You might as well be off in another world with those comments. Sorry ! This is a shuttle video. Right ?

  65. mindsoulbody says:

    @mach25man
    That’s why I’ve said “i don’t think it would be proper to talk about…”. But no it has nothing to do w/ philosophy. If you say logic, then you are looking at at machine that put human logic (in engineering) to the test. Thinking broad always rewards one w/ broad things, be it concrete or abstract. That was the general idea. You can fire a rocket anytime but can’t see how differently it flies each time until you think about it. (it’s a loose, broken analogy but hope you understand).

  66. Faztlan says:

    AMERICAN MIGHT!! Weapons in Space. Y Que putos!!

  67. WarrenAch says:

    Agreed…not only americans that participated for this fabulous machine,german scientists,russians, and lots of other europeans/asians contributed to it…without von braun and his click,americans would have never left the earth….

  68. mindsoulbody says:

    @WarrenAch
    Indeed. You said it. :D

  69. mach25man says:

    You might as well give the rest of the world credit in all the other ideas that came from the USA like cars, airplanes, computers, baseball, the light bulb etc.

  70. i watched this at school today…

  71. The actual reason there retiring the space shuttle is because ever since the Columbia incident.

  72. Well nasa new about the problems. And launced anyways.

    Just like with challenger. Thanks to them being sttuborn. Its there own fault.

  73. It’s a good thing that they are ending the space shuttle missions. They are getting too old and dangerous.

    Anybody know what Nasa’s next space craft will be???

  74. mach25man says:

    Obama just cancelled their next space craft Ares. Shuttles are in their prime . They are not dangerous. Both accidents were caused by Mgt. The orbiters perform flawlessly every mission.

  75. They were good in their prime in the 80s and 90s, but they are now almost 30 years old. And for a spacecraft, even a jet liner, that is old.

    So does NASA have any other ideas regarding space travel?

  76. mach25man says:

    I dont think age matters as long as their taken care of. These orbiters except for their burnt re-entry marks on the outside look brand new on the inside. Built for 100 space missions, they have a pretty robust build to them. Jet liners are not taken care of anywhere close to the degree the orbiters are. Obama wants to turn it over to private enterprise. With that in mind, it will be another decade until we launch humans from this country.

  77. jasonrunt2 says:

    I hate obama for those of you who are interested in space obama cancelled the man made space program no more space for us. :(

  78. So Russia will continue to use their Soyuz rockets to go to the ISS until America has got its act together?

  79. mach25man says:

    Correct. And Nasa will buy seats from Russia to send US astronauts to ISS at a price of 50 million per seat.

  80. Okay, thats not cheap. Cheers for the info by the way :)

  81. X6insane6X says:

    What an astonishing piece of machinery.. such a damn shame they’re retiring it.

    Thanks for the huge NASA budget Obama…..

  82. svinehunden says:

    why don’t you guys shut the f*** up and let us watch the launch…

  83. spacevidcast says:

    @svinehunden We did. As we mentioned in the first 60 seconds of this video, as soon as the clock starts counting down from T-9 minutes we turn it over to NASA TV for their commentary exclusively. You didn’t hear a word from us for most of the video. But thanks for playing.

  84. svinehunden says:

    lol

    and sorry… ;)

    but i don’t care who talks. just wanted to watch the launch and hear the sound without any talk… too bad…

  85. spacevidcast says:

    @svinehunden Alas, I don’t believe NASA makes that an option. We can mute the sound completely but you’ll want to hear the SSMEs and SRBs light up. NASA speaks over all of it, but that is official NASA PAO speaking.

  86. svinehunden says:

    thanks for the answers :)

    is the whole thing edited when you get it or can you do that?

    i’ll like to see a professional recording from a single camera with the sound from it’s position… know what i mean… like if i was there :D

  87. spacevidcast says:

    @svinehunden It is switched live, so the camera angles and audio you’re hearing are exactly what you would see if you were watching it live on our site or on NASA TV. We do have single camera replays available, however, since the audio always has PAO on it, you get that on the replays too. They don’t send clean audio from NASA as far as I know.

  88. TheRecyfer says:

    nice were did you get the cool countown clock from

  89. So Beautiful, So Unbelievable. Von Braun was a genius.

  90. 17,000 Mph ……………. Oh My God Wat The Heck? Cars On Highways Are Not Even 100Mph And They Look Fast If U Watch Them Pass , Nascaar Is Like 200mph And They Are Fast … 17,000. Imagin That , I Want To Go To A Launch Before I Die.

  91. Szejd says:

    I think I’m in love. This is gorgeous.

  92. Its because there isnt any air resisting the shuttle. It’ll be a lot different at such a high altitude.

  93. iSahand says:

    How much fuel was used in this operation do you think?

  94. Plus the ISS, Few thousand tonnes.

  95. grofuss says:

    oOo Number time :D Well the main tank holds 539,400 US gal, and about half is used by T+30. The orbiter weighs ~240,000 lbs. at liftoff, total gross weight is ~4.4 million lbs, with total thrust ~6.8 million lbs! Or look at it this way, the shuttle must reach about 17,180 mph (7.68 Km/sec) or about Mach 23 to reach orbit and be free of atmospheric drag.

    Consider too that over 4 million sensors are collecting data every second for analysis. I’m guessing she doesn’t run any form of WinOS ;)

  96. Galileo430 says:

    @iSahand 534,900 gal of fuel in the external tank (LOX and H2) and 435,000 pounds of solid fuel in the boosters.

  97. FloX795 says:

    @juniorelsonero

    OkAy MaN

  98. DemosMX says:

    mph?

    Where is the International System of Units?

    Kmh coño!

  99. applesweeter says:

    Dear All,

    I have some questions about psychology:

    (1) Why do we love space travel?

    (2) Why do we want to explore the space?

    (3) Why do we enjoy the feeling of zero gravity and floating in space?

    (4) what is the social value(s) represented by space exploration?

    THANK YOU IN ADVANCE for your creative ideas and brainstorm!!! :)

  100. I WANNA GO TO SPACE SO BAD XD

  101. iSahand says:

    Guys, I sincerely don’t think this is entirely in favor for the human kind

  102. HAVZN71 says:

    Hello!
    Kár hogy lassan az űrepülőprogram nemsokára a multé.Remek video grat.Nasa.

  103. Elven2k9 says:

    Divide by zero and cross focus more pineapples.

  104. I FLIPPING LOVE THIS SH*T!!!

  105. 300 mph in just 22 seconds, wow factor.

  106. Na8ters says:

    well a top fuel dragster can do it in 4. what’s amazing about this is that it goes UP haha

  107. whoa! this video is so High Definition!

    Very neat!

  108. shaboopie12 says:

    the space shuttle looks better than it did years ago technology

  109. What happens to the primary reservoir? It just roams forever in low earth orbit?

  110. kenniemc69 says:

    @svinehunden why don’t you fuck ur mom that nazihooker

  111. @Mendelevium146 gravity

  112. @lespaulplayer09 at this altitude and this speed its in orbit

  113. @Mendelevium146 no but they eventutually will crash back down to earth. the ist has to come down a bit for the shuttle then theshuttle uses its thrusters to push it back up into an orbit where it wont just get pulled down by earth. you really underestimate gravity’s power. it all eventually comes down if its within range and all that space trash will fall back down

  114. 6t5r6t says:

    I was just wondering, when the external tank separates from the shuttle. How come it falls back to earth, and the shuttle stays in space ?

  115. Good luck guys we saw you goin up from the Bahamas : )

  116. bijourex says:

    this is amazing!!!

  117. mach25man says:

    @6t5r6t Because when the orbiter releases the tank they are in an elliptical orbit. The orbiter does burns to circularize its orbit to stay in space. When the tank gets on the low side of its elliptical orbit, gravity pulls it in.

  118. 6t5r6t says:

    @mach25man Thanks :) I searched the internet and couldn’t find an answer. An amazing piece of engineering, such a shame it’s retiring :(

  119. peakman2006 says:

    @mach25man Technically, isn’t gravity always at work to pull in an orbital object? My understanding is that when the tank gets to a low orbit, it interacts with the upper atmosphere where friction slows it down. It need lose less than 100 mph for its orbit to decay completely.

  120. mach25man says:

    @peakman2006 Correct. On the low part of the orbit the friction is part of it. Also there is a tumble valve in the tank which vents un-used fuel to help the tank tumble to help break it up.

  121. jollyboi024 says:

    look at that its just wonderful to see that people can build that kind of aircraft.

  122. mattr297 says:

    Thanks for this video. I saw part of the latest (and last?) Atlantis launch on the BBC. Spent my lunch hour tracking a video like this down. Well worth it!

  123. @mattr297 yesterday iwatch the last atlantis launch

  124. CornerSka says:

    I was there for this launch, it was a perfectly beautiful day. The experience was unlike anything else.

  125. Deathkillazz says:

    saw it live on TV, saluated when launched

  126. tiagoat82 says:

    gostaria de saber ok acontece com os 3 foguete logo depois que eles se separam da nave

  127. I don’t care if it happens at four o’clock in the moring our time, I’m going to watch the last space shuttle mission launch live — that’s just too important to miss.

  128. Sherwin930 says:

    there goes the last and coolesr space shuttle ever i salute you

  129. mejw1 says:

    it was soooo cool to view the launch from the causeway :) wish i could go again

    i filmed the launch from the causeway with a canon HD hf-s10 camera, you guys are welcome to go to my page and see it

  130. DrNeur0tic says:

    the altitude and speed is pretty awesome.