The Shuttle is scheduled to launch on Thur (12/7) at 9:35 (EST). It's the first nite launch in a while and should be pretty spectacular. Weather permitting it should be visible from much of the eastern US, the launch trajectory takes it just off the coast.
Here is an excert from "Space.com":
What to expect
For most locations, Discovery will be visible by virtue of the light emanating from its three main engines. It should appear as a very bright, pulsating, fast-moving star, shining with a yellowish-orange glow.
Based on previous night missions, the brightness should be at least equal to magnitude -2; about as bright as the planet Jupiter [See Jupiter this month]. Observers who train binoculars on the shuttle should be able to see it resemble a tiny V-shaped contrail.
In the Southeast United States, depending on a viewer's distance from Cape Canaveral, Discovery will become visible anywhere from a few seconds to 2 minutes after it leaves Pad 39-B. The brilliant light emitted by the two solid rocket boosters will be visible for the first 2 minutes and 4 seconds of the launch out to a radius of some 520 statute miles from the Kennedy Space Center.
By location
* Southeast U.S. coastline: Anywhere north of Cape Canaveral, I suggest viewers initially concentrate on the south-southwest horizon (if you are south of the Cape, look low toward the north-northeast).
* Mid-Atlantic region: Look toward the southwest about 3 to 6 minutes after launch.
* Northeast: Concentrate your gaze low toward the south or south-southwest about 6 to 8 minutes after launch.
Discovery will seem to "flicker," then abruptly wink-out 8 minutes and 23 seconds after launch as the main engines shut-down and the huge, orange, external tank is jettisoned over the Atlantic at a point about 870 statute miles uprange (to the northeast) of Cape Canaveral and some 430 statute miles southeast of New York City. At that moment, Discovery will have risen to an altitude of 341,600 feet (64.7 statute miles), while moving at nearly 17,000 mph and should be visible for a radius of about 770 statute miles from the point of Main Engine Cut Off (MECO).
Here is an excert from "Space.com":
What to expect
For most locations, Discovery will be visible by virtue of the light emanating from its three main engines. It should appear as a very bright, pulsating, fast-moving star, shining with a yellowish-orange glow.
Based on previous night missions, the brightness should be at least equal to magnitude -2; about as bright as the planet Jupiter [See Jupiter this month]. Observers who train binoculars on the shuttle should be able to see it resemble a tiny V-shaped contrail.
In the Southeast United States, depending on a viewer's distance from Cape Canaveral, Discovery will become visible anywhere from a few seconds to 2 minutes after it leaves Pad 39-B. The brilliant light emitted by the two solid rocket boosters will be visible for the first 2 minutes and 4 seconds of the launch out to a radius of some 520 statute miles from the Kennedy Space Center.
By location
* Southeast U.S. coastline: Anywhere north of Cape Canaveral, I suggest viewers initially concentrate on the south-southwest horizon (if you are south of the Cape, look low toward the north-northeast).
* Mid-Atlantic region: Look toward the southwest about 3 to 6 minutes after launch.
* Northeast: Concentrate your gaze low toward the south or south-southwest about 6 to 8 minutes after launch.
Discovery will seem to "flicker," then abruptly wink-out 8 minutes and 23 seconds after launch as the main engines shut-down and the huge, orange, external tank is jettisoned over the Atlantic at a point about 870 statute miles uprange (to the northeast) of Cape Canaveral and some 430 statute miles southeast of New York City. At that moment, Discovery will have risen to an altitude of 341,600 feet (64.7 statute miles), while moving at nearly 17,000 mph and should be visible for a radius of about 770 statute miles from the point of Main Engine Cut Off (MECO).
As much fun as SB !!!!!
