STS-135: Final Space Shuttle Launch

Picture of the Day for 7/8/2011. Well, my career as a shuttle launch junkie officially came to an end today with the launch of the final space shuttle mission. OF COURSE I was there in person to see it. Above is the space shuttle Atlantis on the launch pad a couple of hours before take-off.

I'm amazed it actually took off on its scheduled launch date. That never seems to happen due to the inevitable last-minute equipment or weather issues. The previous two launches were delayed by big-time structural problems. I was sure the weather was going to be the culprit this time. When I arrived in Florida yesterday, the entire state appeared to be plagued by rain and thunderstorms and NASA indicated there was only a 30% chance the shuttle would launch as planned. Luckily, the weather cleared up sufficiently to provide acceptable launch conditions.

I ended up attending the launch with a woman (Jennifer) who, like me, attended last month's Spacefest in Tucson. I had not actually encountered her at Spacefest, but a mutual friend hooked us up for the launch. Jennifer is a fascinating woman. She's 10 years younger than I am and has literally traveled all over the world. I thought I was a somewhat adventurous and independent woman, but she makes me look timid and staid in comparison. The one area where I had her beat was in my absolute determination to find a good viewing location. When our bus dropped us off at the causeway, things looked bleak as there appeared to be no available spots at the front- and we walked a long way in our search. I finally found a place where a couple had made the mistake of sitting a couple of feet back from the rope marking the front of the viewing area. There was a man sitting kitty corner in front of them. I asked if he would scoot over by a foot which he agreed to do. That gave us a couple of feet of space to squeeze in. Jennifer was initially uncomfortable with the evil looks we were getting, especially from the couple who got aced out of their position in the front, but she was eventually glad I was so bold as we had a prime viewing spot. I didn't feel bad about the couple behind us since they were sitting in chairs and we were sitting on blankets on the ground. We did not obstruct anyone's view. It's a little terrifying what I can accomplish when I'm single-minded in reaching a goal. I need to keep that in mind.

I was going to try to film the launch, but the lighting was against me. The sun was so bright that I couldn't keep my eyes focused enough to follow the trajectory with my camera. I was able to capture just a few seconds (see film below) before I had to abandon the attempt. It was too late to switch my camera to photo mode so I just stopped and watched the rest of the launch.


Below are some still photos I was able to extract from the video.




So, the only pictures I snapped were of the exhaust trail that remained after the shuttle was long gone.



I'm sad the shuttle program is over, but I feel lucky that I was able witness a truly historic event like this.