Possibly the shuttle's last night launch - but the start of NASA's dark times

Purchase a print | Circumstances didn't permit me to get a time-lapse shot of the launch from the Indian River, so I settled for the grassy dunes of the beach in Cape Canaveral.


A crescent moon rose while I waited for the launch.

After failing horribly at shooting my first nighttime shuttle launch, I finally got a usable photo of Endeavour from a location closer to Kennedy Space Center. For all launches since that March 2008 lesson in how to shoot a time lapse, I've been relegated to setting up my equipment from outside work in Melbourne.

Fortunately, I had Super Bowl Sunday off, so I headed to the beach in Cape Canaveral around 3:30 a.m. Monday without a care of what was happening at the newspaper. But I knew that if the shuttle were scrubbed again Monday morning, as it was because of weather Sunday, I probably wouldn't get this last chance. The next try would have been on Valentine's Day, when I'm scheduled to work.

But the sky cleared nicely, and Endeavour lifted off as planned at 4:14 a.m., lighting up the beach and overpowering a reddish crescent moon as the brightest point in the sky.

The launch likely is the final one of a space shuttle under the veil of darkness. Only four missions remain until the predicted September retirement of the fleet, and they're all scheduled during the day. If those dates change for any reason, however, we might have another night launch, which really isn't such a long shot. NASA's plans change as quickly as the weather in Florida.

Ironically, Endeavour was the first shuttle I saw lift off at night, when I failed miserably at getting the shot from Titusville. It's just fitting that it could be the last.

But speaking of miserable failures, President Barack Obama's budget for NASA, though larger than expected, is a dagger into the heart of America's space agency. The extra money, about $6 billion, is for NASA to entice corporations to build rockets capable of launching astronauts into orbit - an endeavor without a track record, worrying safety experts. It effectively cancels Project Constellation, devised during President George W. Bush's tenure. With it, dreams of landing on the moon again won't be realized anytime soon. Obama's decision to take away from NASA what it has done since it was founded - send humans into space, either to circle Earth or touch another heavenly body - has put a damper on the mood at Kennedy Space Center and throughout Central Florida in the past two weeks.

With the shuttle's end, 7,000 people are expected to lose their jobs at KSC. Several thousand more probably will be laid off in the community because of NASA's cuts. And Obama's budget means that the NASA figure likely will rise. So as the economy may improve nationwide, the recession in Brevard County - which I like to call the Silicon Valley of the East Coast on account of its tech-heavy employers - will be prolonged.

It's a real shame and a turnabout that hurts this area deeply. Even our Democratic members of Congress have spoken against the misguided budget. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, a former astronaut, seems to be simply going along for the ride on Obama's omnibus.

Monday's launch attracted people from throughout the world, as one always does. After Endeavour's successful liftoff, the Waffle House, Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's, IHOP and Denny's in Cocoa Beach were packed with spectators filling their stomachs with a hot breakfast (it was a chilly evening). And after the scrubbed attempt Sunday, the roads in Brevard were jammed. But without the shuttle, or any specific spaceflight program to replace it, such sights are numbered in the cities and towns of the Space Coast, a community built on an other-worlds curiosity, as its name suggests.

Pathetic as it sounds, the Space Coast will have to enjoy this "strong" economy while it lasts.

Video | Shuttle's thunderous arrival and a missed chance

Click on the "HD" button in the right corner (so it's red) to watch in high definition.

Another drawback of working the night shift is getting into gear early in the morning. It was especially difficult this morning after working later than usual on Thanksgiving night.

With my STS-129 mission badge for press access to Kennedy Space Center, I could have watched space shuttle Atlantis glide into a touchdown at the Shuttle Landing Facility at 9:44 a.m. Instead of watching the spectacle from 12 miles away in Titusville, as usual, I could have been standing next to the runway - as close as a human can get to a shuttle landing.

Instead, my alarm was set on low volume, and I slept through the six o'clock hour when I had to wake up and travel to the space center. Journalists are required to arrive at the news center no later than an hour before the landing. Unfortunately, I wasn't even awake an hour before the landing.

As late as it was, I wasn't even able to make it to Titusville either, where completely clear skies would have afforded some kind of a view. I was relegated to setting a tripod on the porch of my apartment and recording the shuttle's twin sonic booms as it entered the airspace over Brevard County. The sound was louder than usual, and it actually shook the camera (the first time I ever heard this, it woke me up). That's only a consolation prize, though, as I missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

NASA PHOTO BY JIM GROSSMAN

This is the view I would have had, were I able to wake myself up.

Video | Oohs, aahs (and awws) as shuttle weaves the clouds

Shuttle Atlantis lifts off from Kennedy Space Center on STS-125, in a more horizontal version of a photo I snapped.

After starting the video, click the "HD" button in the right corner (so it's red) to watch in high definition.

While I fired Monday at Atlantis with my digital camera, I let my video camera run beside me, recording the launch untouched. The lens was set to wide angle in an effort to get as much of the shuttle's trip from Kennedy Space Center as possible.

All that makes for a less-than-spectacular video, but what it does show is how the spaceship cut through the clouds during its ascent. At least that was the sight from Space View Park in Titusville. Spectators at different angles in other parts of Brevard County were able to see more of the eastward trail.

The audio in this clip turned out to be too loud, beyond the range that can be caught on tape. It is difficult to capture the sound of the shuttle without having the reaction of the crowd overpower it. Unfortunately, the people standing around me - many of whom had not viewed a launch before - provided the most dominant audio. But it is amusing to hear how they cheered with joy and jeered with disappointment as Atlantis went in and out of sight.

Atlantis launch | Just NASA doing its thing and me doing mine

Shuttle Atlantis rises over Launch Complex 39A at Cape Canaveral, Fla. This was the view from the banks of the Indian River in Titusville, about 15 miles away.

As you can see, Atlantis is rotating so that the external fuel tank soon would obstruct our view.

Left: A cropped-in vertical version just after liftoff of Atlantis. The heat of the engines and the haze in the atmosphere causes a blurry effect in the plumes.


This post marks the end of a simultaneously frustrating and ultimately gratifying day of photography.

Considering the night editor I am, it started earlier than usual: 7 a.m. I wanted to arrive at Titusville's Space View Park about five hours before the launch of shuttle Atlantis at 2:01 p.m. Monday. It was the first day of my 20 months in Florida that I had to dedicate solely to photographing a shuttle. I wanted a clear view from the banks of the Indian River of launch pad 39A.

Not to my surprise, a lot of other people had the same idea. But I found a spot about 9:30 a.m. where I was able to set up my video camera and new Nikon D90 still camera. It had an unobstructed view of the launch pad, about 15 miles away, with piers in the foreground.

In addition to the view, the good things about Space View Park is that the Mission Control radio feed is blasted over loudspeakers. There also were iconic Hubble Space Telescope photos available for free and burgers and dogs available for a small price. Orlando media tend to broadcast live from the site, too.

A crew from WESH 2, the Orlando NBC affiliate, interviews a couple of spectators.

I set up and waited. With a former co-worker of mine, I sat with sweat dripping off my hat and through my jeans and longsleeve shirt. The temperature was 91, unseasonably warm for May. Not even SPF 2000 - to protect all my 2,000 parts - is effective on my skin. The full complement of clothing, though, successfully blocked the sun.

The benefit of having a partner photographer was that I was able to take a break, grab a cooling milkshake at the nearby Burger King and not fear that somebody was making off with my expensive picture-taking equipment.

What couldn't be prevented, however, were the latecomers who thought they deserved to set up their chairs, umbrellas and full-size coolers in front of us. To them, I say: For one thing, you need to come early to get a spot like the one we had. For the next thing, you'll be waiting for an hour - an hour. Why do you need a cooler full of ice, sandwiches and pre-popped popcorn.

Like many spectators at Space View Park, this shuttle fan spoke with a strong English accent. Many countries were represented.

But it is nice to know that the space program, despite the decreasing hype over the years, still draws a diverse crowd. There were families from London, Scotland and Melbourne, Australia - a lot of representatives from other English-speaking lands. They are welcomed warmly. (The losers who set up in front of us, though? Not so much.) I talked for a while to a man from northern England, who was sitting next to me. We commiserated over the state of our industries: he in the automotive sector; I, of course, in newspapers. Being from England, he wasn't used to such heat, though he said he often vacations in Florida and is thinking about retiring here.

Pretty clouds arrive on the scene in Titusville. Oddly enough, this turned out to be one of my favorite photos of the day.

While the weather was irritating for the long-haul spectators, it was good for NASA. But as the launch time neared, clouds started to move in over Kennedy Space Center. They provided relief for launch watchers, but they weren't as welcomed when Atlantis roared to life.

Contrary to what I had been told and what I had read, the shuttle shot straight up. It makes sense, too, because its course was due east from KSC, but I thought Atlantis was to arc from left to right, taking it into the rare orbit of the Hubble Space Telescope. But my sources were wrong, resulting in the video I took featuring the shuttle only in the left one-third of the frame. I'll post that later.

The profile of Atlantis was visible at liftoff. Soon after, though, the shuttle rolled, and the spaceship's external fuel tank blocked our view.

And the clouds had set in so thickly that the best sight was immediately after liftoff. Atlantis weaved in and out of the clouds for a minute, then disappeared. One of the best parts of the launch, the separation of the solid rocket boosters, wasn't visible. The first launch I ever saw on the Space Coast - of shuttle Discovery, which I watched lift off from outside my apartment in Cocoa Beach - had the best weather I have seen thus far. View that image here.

Despite a degree of disappointment, the early trip to Titusville was worth it. I got to hang out with not one, but two laid-off copy editors and talk with people from foreign lands. I distributed my business card to people who admired my large 150-500mm Sigma lens. Some said they weren't able to get good photos, so they wanted me to hook them up. And though the haze made the photos less than spectacular, they were my lens' best effort.

Once again, though, NASA put on a spectacular show with the start of STS-125. I waited more than four hours for something that lasted less than four minutes. But a shuttle launch truly is one of the most awesome sights a human being can experience. John Kelly, FLORIDA TODAY's local editor and space columnist, conveys that eloquently in his Monday piece.

I can't wait for the next launch.

A spectator points upward toward the rising shuttle, which was mostly out of view at this point. The cloud in the background is from the launch.

Shooting the moon, but looking forward to shooting a shuttle

The nearly full moon in partly cloudy skies over Central Florida. Click on the image for a high-resolution version.

Just hours from now, I will wake up and make the 40-minute drive to Titusville, across the river from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

This is the first opportunity I have had to arrive about five hours early to Space View Park, which has the closest nonpaid direct viewing area of launch pad 39A, from which shuttle Atlantis is set to lift off at 2:01 p.m. For each launch, thousands of people crowd the park that's about 15 miles from the pad. My intent is to get there before most everyone, snag a prime viewing spot along the Indian River and wait for the launch.

In tow will be my new Nikon D90 and 150-500mm Sigma lens, both of which I purchased for the main reason of photographing shuttle and rocket launches from KSC. I also will have my tripods and video camera, as well as a few books and magazines to keep me occupied during the wait.

Spectators will get the pleasure of watching the shuttle arc from left to right. On missions to the International Space Station, the trail goes from right to left when seen from Space View Park. But because this risky mission is to the Hubble Space Telescope, we'll be in for a different sight.

Astronaut John Grunsfeld, who was involved in planning the Hubble repair mission when Columbia broke up during re-entry, wants to use the telescope to photograph the moon. (See that story on FLORIDA TODAY's Web site.) So, in honor of that, I shot the moon just moments ago.

T-minus 12 hours and counting.

Risking life, ticket to see the shuttle and to hear it boom

Click on the "HD" button in the right corner (so it's red) to watch in high definition.

A screen grab from the video.

While spectators go crazy to see it lift off, little hype surrounds the landing of a space shuttle. Being new to Florida, I usually follow the masses when it comes to such things, so I've never bothered to see the shuttle land at Kennedy Space Center.

Until today. And man, was it a bother.

Clouds and strong winds prompted NASA flight directors to waive Discovery's first landing attempt Saturday afternoon. Seeing the dense puffy cu, I figured there was slim chance that conditions would improve for the second window an hour and a half later.

So I went about my normal afternoon. I browsed the Internet and took a brisk run on one of the hottest days this spring. When I returned, I learned that winds were pushing the clouds away from the 3-mile runway at Cape Canaveral. But I would need to book it if I were to make it to my favorite shuttle viewing spot on time.

I grabbed my video camera, screamed at a few Florida drivers who shouldn't be on the road and completed the lengthy trip to Titusville's Space View Park just in time to press "record" and hear the shuttle's twin sonic booms that signal its final approach. I was adjusting the aperture for the hazy conditions when the blasts occurred, though, so the video of NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building is poor. In addition, I had no time to adjust the tripod, so the video is crooked.

Though I spotted Discovery early, it took time to find it through my video camera's viewfinder. I managed a short, often out of focus video of the spaceship as it dropped below the trees and landed at 3:13 p.m. It was quite a sight (and sound).

Time of stay: 6 minutes. Round-trip commute time: 75 minutes.

Shuttle's speed at touchdown: 225 mph. My speed on Interstate 95: 85 mph.

I held my own.

Link: Check out this intriguing photo by FLORIDA TODAY photographer Craig Rubadoux.

Shuttle-747 landing | Good thing I'm not lazy

Shuttle Endeavour and its NASA transport, a 747, turns toward Cape Canaveral as it reaches the open ocean.

I knew it was supposed to happen, but my laziness was getting the better of me.

I woke up today, and The Flame Trench, FLORIDA TODAY's space team blog, said shuttle Endeavour was due back at Kennedy Space Center around 2:15 p.m. Weather forced the orbiter to land Nov. 30 in California on its return trip from the International Space Station. It had been riding on a 747 for the last few days en route to KSC.

The Flame Trench said low-level clouds could hinder the view as the piggybacking shuttle came in for a landing. I didn't want to take the chance of driving to the coast and coming up empty.

So, rather seeing a tremendous site, I wanted to drink my coffee. It was 2 p.m. when I got a text message from the space reporters saying that the shuttle would take a route along the beach, giving spectators the best view possible. And the clouds had cleared. But still, I didn't want to give up my coffee.































Then I thought, TRAVEL MUG!

It was perfect. I dumped the coffee into its new container, grabbed my camera and sped for the beach near Patrick Air Force Base.

I arrived, and cars were everywhere. I had not foreseen the popularity of the occasion. Most of the people who made it were old; everyone else was working (except the losers, like me, who work nights).

Some old people saw a plane and said, "Look, there it is." False alarm.

Some younger people saw a plane and said, "Look, there it is." False alarm.

Some other people saw a plane and said, "Look, there it is." Third time's a charm.

The 747 and Endeavour crossed perpendicular to the beach. I couldn't have picked a more perfect spot. It then turned and paralleled the shoreline the rest of the way to the three-mile landing strip at the space center.

Paralleling the beach.

Offlede makes it to river just in time for Discovery liftoff

There were a few people on hand in Palm Shores to watch the shuttle lift off. But it's not exactly close to launch pad 39A, so the riverside viewing area isn't too popular.

The 5:02 p.m. launch of shuttle Discovery marked the first liftoff I haven't been able to view from North Brevard and points that are much closer to Kennedy Space Center.

Instead, I had to work. Bummer.

I skipped out for my "dinner" at 4:45 p.m., knowing I had little time to make it to the shores of the Indian River and find a prime viewing spot.

I had photographed the moon shining over the river with a boathouse in the foreground, but that was at night. I returned to that location to shoot the shuttle and discovered that there was a "no trespassing" sign posted. Oops.

But I made my way to a park operated by the town of Palm Shores. I walked to the end of a pier and planted myself on a bench two minutes before the launch. No time for tripods or video cameras.

It wasn't a popular spot for viewing, but there were some people. In fact, I grabbed the last of eight parking spots.

Some foam struck the shuttle during liftoff, the same issue that doomed Columbia in 2003. The damage to Discovery is said to be minor, but it will likely create some tense times during re-entry.

My camera has been suffering an odd error in which it prompts me to turn off the camera, then turn it back on. After browsing some Nikon discussion boards, I reattached the lens. Maybe that will do the trick.

OK. Enough with the boring stuff. Here are some more shots. Again, they're not close enough to pick up the Helvetica typeface on the shuttle.

This is as close to the shuttle as my 200mm lens would get me.

On the horizon, you can see Pineda Causeway, which leads from Palm Shores/Rockledge/Melbourne to South Patrick Air Force Base.

Something you should know before Discovery lifts off

The "D" on shuttle Discovery is in the sans-serif Helvetica font and is the size of a small person. (Photo by NASA)

Discovery will launch at 5:02 p.m. Saturday from Kennedy Space Center. But before it goes up, there's an important piece of trivia you should know.

The typeface on the shuttle is Helvetica.

That's right. NASA has no room for showing off - no flourishes, no serifs. Plain, old-fashion Helvetica.

Serifs are obviously not aerodynamic. The choice of Helvetica for the shuttle was not for aesthetic purposes: It was clearly an engineering decision. If NASA went with a serif font - say, Garamond or Georgia (used on The Offlede) - the shuttle wouldn't have the power to make it into orbit.

Though unpretentious, Helvetica is an attention-grabber. I used to use it as a headline font for special newspaper layouts. So, it's also obvious that NASA used Helvetica to make sure that, if they're out there, the aliens would see the shuttle.

Discovery's liftoff will be the first daylight launch since I got my telephoto lens. Unfortunately, I'll be at work during the launch and will have a distant view of the event. I'll still shoot it, but my 200mm Nikkor isn't powerful enough to pick up the Helvetica all the way from Melbourne.

Discovery astronauts wave at reporters, who don't care what the shuttle font is. (Photo by NASA)

Shuttle launch teaches lesson in time-exposure photography

I was the "late" person tonight at work, so I had to stay there until about 1:15 a.m. But I left a bit early and hightailed it up to Titusville's Space View Park to watch my first night launch (actually, at 2:28 a.m., it's an early morning launch) of a space shuttle. This one was Endeavour, STS-123.

And I couldn't believe the traffic, considering the hour. It was 100 times worse than my last launch, Atlantis, which was in the afternoon.

But it was magnificent.

Unfortunately, my photos don't show that. Take a look:

I thought I had the exposure right in the above photo. This was a test. You can see the strobes shining upward and the launch pad at their origin. I've taken great photos of lightning that lit the entire night sky as though it were daylight. And most of those photos were about a six-second exposure. The ones above and below are 10 seconds, but because I'm photographing something less brilliant than lightning, I thought the shuttle would be clearly visible. Instead, I got a whiteout, below. You never can estimate the brightness of such an event until you see it for yourself. Now, I know. I got another one that was better exposed, but I took it at a different lens power, and I forgot to focus it. Duh.

The cloud cover was very low, so my opportunity to get a clear shot of the shuttle was very narrow. And I wasted it all on that one whitewash of a photo. The one above doesn't really show much more than the low-level clouds and the plume Endeavour created.



This is the photo I mentioned earlier. It's about a six-second exposure on film. The lightning spread across the entire sky, lighting up the surroundings like sunlight - but for only a fraction of a second. That the shuttle's luminance was more sustained could be the reason for my photography flop.

It's a good thing Endeavour didn't blow up. If it had, I wouldn't have been able to handle the photo. Next time, I might look up the proper exposure on the Google, or maybe I'll ask a few professionals for some advice. Ah, the benefits of being the son of a professional photographer.

Video: Shuttle Atlantis sets sail for wild black yonder

Mission STS-122 to deliver European Columbus lab to International Space Station. Launched at 2:45 p.m. Feb. 7, 2008.

Shuttle Atlantis goes up in smoke (as usual)

Finally.

I went about 30 miles north of Melbourne to Space View Park in Titusville to watch shuttle Atlantis blast off today. It is mission STS-122, to deliver the European space lab Columbus to the International Space Station.

It has been two months since the original launch date. Faulty fuel sensors caused two other launch attempts to be scrubbed.

And it was looking as though today wasn't going to work either. NASA was predicting a 30 percent chance of launch because of a cold front moving through Florida. Rain and wind would mean a certain end of the countdown.

But the weather held off. I heard one man at the park say to his girlfriend, "It's Florida. If you don't like the weather, just wait a minute." Hmm. Funny. That's what we used to say about Maine.

Actually, I don't think Florida weather is all that unpredictable. Here's the three-day forecast, according to The Offlede: Friday, sunny with a chance of rain; Saturday, sunny with a chance of rain; Sunday, sunny with a chance of rain.

The park was full of people, especially on the pier where dozens gathered to watch the launch and listen to NASA controllers on radios. When I arrived, I noticed an inlet lined with palm trees. It seemed to be a direct visual corridor to launch pad 39A.

In addition, Steve Ueckert, a photographer for the Houston Chronicle, was there with a much more expensive and better camera, which made me quite jealous. I set my tripod right next to his. His two-foot lens didn't compare to my 55mm Nikon. You can view his shots here.

If you're wondering why many of his photos are in different locations, I overheard him saying how it's done. He had several cameras around the pad that were set up to take photos remotely.

I, on the other hand, did the best I could with the equipment I had. Here's a few of my shots, in chronological order:








It's too bad the space program doesn't get more media coverage than it does. And it only gets it when something bad happens, such as the Columbia disaster a few years ago.

Leading up to this launch, the FLORIDA TODAY editorial board urged NASA not to cut any corners when it comes to safety. There were fears that NASA wasn't taking the fuel sensor issue seriously. And the newspaper does have a disaster plan in place if something bad ever does happen.