Liftoff With the Space Shuttle
Credit & Copyright: Dan Maas
(Maas Digital),
Ecliptic
Enterprises Corporation,
Lockheed Martin,
NASA
What would it look like to see a
Space Shuttle
liftoff from just above the shuttle?
Because the answer has value in assessing spacecraft performance,
NASA attached a small
RocketCam to the side of the
External Tank on the
launch of the
Space Shuttle Atlantis earlier this month.
The above five-frame movie, excerpted from a
longer video sequence,
shows in dramatic fashion what it looks like to ride
into space while
looking back at the
Earth.
In the final frame, taken about 15 minutes after
liftoff, the shuttle can
be seen separating from the
External Tank and proceeding
to orbit.