When many were sleeping, the Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 11:59PM last night.
The shuttle had tried 3 times earlier in the week to liftoff, but with some tropical storm remnants and a problem with a fuel valve caused delays. But, the 4th time was the charm.
This launch marcks one of the last seven missions that will fly, before the program retires in the next 2 years. There are hopes that the program could be extended until 2015.
The seven member crew headed to the International Space Station will be leaving an engineer up in space, with other members already at the Space Station. And they will be dropping off needed supplies.
It is a 2 week mission, where the 13 astronauts will work together unloading the Discovery's precious cargo.
We took these pictures in our driveway, where we typically view the launches. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't turn out better than they did. The night launches are hard to catch on film at the distance we are from the launch site.
Sandy Shores REALTOR®, Melbourne/Palm Bay FL Real Estate
Brevard County Real Estate & Investing
I also buy, sell, rent, own and manage Investment Property.
Wow Sandy....very cool series of photos. I always thought that it'd be cool to see one of these in person.
I envy you Sandy. That must be so great to be able to see the launches in person. My brother has seen quite a few, but he has to drive from Houston and then rent a hotel room.
You did have a great view!!! We were able to see a glimer here on St. Simons Island, Georgia compared to your views!
Thank you Sandy! I was listening to the radio, and heard the count-down. They said launch would be a minute before midnight, and at 8:59 PST I heard "We have lift off"
Thanks for the photos!
Sandy, We did watch it live last night as it was only 9 here on the west coast. I was thinking how lucky you were to see and hear this in person...
I hope your day goes well,
Paul
Sandy - Great Photos - I did walk outside last night but the view was not as clear here in Tampa.
Sandy, still exciting everytime! I had a great view on television- but somehow that's just not the same! Thanks for posting these!
Oompa, Very cool photos!! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Sandy-Beautiful photos. That must have been exciting to watch this. Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos. :-)
I was there too Sandy and got some photos inserted in my blog. I had a short window of time for my visit and somehow my timing was perfect. Great photos you got from the driveway too.
Larry, These are incredible up close. You should try to make it down to see one sometime. It's well worth the trip.
Liz, Wow, lucky for your brother, It's worth the trip. You have to see at least one in your lifetime.
Katie, Wow, that's amazing that you can see it in Georgia too!
Carla, It is very exciting. We are always hoping with the countdown that it will be a go this time.
Hi Paul, We are very fortunate. In all the years he has lived here, my husband has never missed a single launch, whether it's a shuttle or a delta rocket. He catches them all.
Hi Sharon, I'm sorry that you weren't able to get a good glimpse of it there in Tampa.
Hi Mary, The view on TV is incredible. But here you can feel the ground rumbling and you can hear the boom when it goes through the ozone layer. It's really neat.
Hi TOTO, These were the best pictures we could get. But it really lights up the sky.
Hi Pat, I wish they had turned out more clearly. The night launches are tough to get from where we are.
Hi Gary, Oh I would have loved to say Hi to you. Wow you must have had perfect timing!
Wouldn't you just LOVE to be on that shuttle?? Always wanted to be an astronaut and still hope I'll get into space one of these days!
Hi Steve, I never really thought about being on the shuttle myself. Boy, would that be an adventure! I nearly got sick at Epcot at Disney on the Mission to Mars. It took me all day to recover from the slingshot around the moon. I'm thinking I wouldn't be a good candidate for a trip to the moon. But, I'd love to watch when you blast off! That would be great!