Shuttle Launch Today!

[WeekendLazyness]

Space Shuttle Discovery, mission STS-114, is scheduled to launch today at 2:51pm CDT (3:51pm EDT). You can watch the launch live on NASA TV online via this link:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

I recommend the Yahoo! feed, it seems to have better compression (unless of course, you like RealPlayer).

Update: It's launching today at about 9:39am CDT today!

[Nuts]

Or I can walk out of my office building and look to the East. ;)

One of the very few benefits of living in Florida.

[DragonPaladin]

Pah....my computer has better simulations...j/k.

Well, it's nice to get the program up and running.

[Giggilyomeromicon]

I cant get it to work, so I guess I'll have to watch it the T.V. :(

[kongurous]

Did this just happen? I thought it was launching at 1540 or somethin' like that.

[Nuts]

1551, weather permitting.

[kongurous]

On IRC, BOB_9000 said it was cancelled, because apparently something was broken. It might launch sometime tomorrow.

[Nuts]

Yeah, just saw it....that sucks.

[UED77]

http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/main/index.html

Yes, it is cancelled.

UED77

[WeekendLazyness]

I heard something about something wrong with the tank, but then I had to turn it off to go help someone with their computer.

I just read about the faulty sensor, and I think it's a good thing that they are taking every safety precaution. I hope Discovery gets to launch this month, though.

[GrassDragon]

They had an issue yesterday and again today I guess. That's a bummer. Does anyone know when it's expected to launch?

[WeekendLazyness]

Update: It's launching today at about 9:39am CDT today!

I have a small problem with that though. They canceled it originally because of a faulty fuel tank sensor, which they never fixed. After the Challenger disaster they mandated that all four had to be working, but they decided to do some waiver so they could only go on three sensors. This seems a little like they're going back to that structure where they tried to rush everything and didn't listen to the engineers.

[Toucan]

edit: (http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html) Im a spoon, sorry

[hammocksleeper]

to the moon or bust!

[Demon_Child]

I was at an actual Shuttle launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida one time. The flames that spewed from the booster rockets are much brighter than what you see on TV. It was an amazing sight to see.

On a sad note, (not quite on topic but still pretains to the Space Shuttles) I was watching the Space Shuttle Challenger at school on it's final launch from the Kenedy Space Center. :(

[Griffonheart]

They seem to be going back in time. If Discovery explodes because they didn't listen to the engineers and techies and rushed it, I'll personally throttle the NASA chif organizer wth a rusty spaceship fuel tank gauge.

[Nickodemus]

hmm, its funny. lets scrub the launch because of a faulty sensor. no wait. lets get the launch going. were only holding the lives of a couple of humans in our hands if it goes wrong and what do we get? a slap on the writ. they get dead. Nasa needs to get either FIXED, or dismantled. how can a couple of guys make spaceship one work, and the space shuttle barely flies. Nasa needs to rethink the over electronic nightmare that is the shuttle fleet. I want to be in line kicking the nasa directors butt if they die. No more deaths. No more.

[Kingscrab]

hmm, its funny. lets scrub the launch because of a faulty sensor. no wait. lets get the launch going. were only holding the lives of a couple of humans in our hands if it goes wrong and what do we get? a slap on the writ. they get dead. Nasa needs to get either FIXED, or dismantled. how can a couple of guys make spaceship one work, and the space shuttle barely flies. Nasa needs to rethink the over electronic nightmare that is the shuttle fleet. I want to be in line kicking the nasa directors butt if they die. No more deaths. No more. *shrugs* Save the drama. They'll be fine. Those astronauts are not idiots. They know the risks better than anyone, yet still they go up. I give them serious props for having the balls to explore space. If they perish, then at least they did so doing what they love, and serving a noble cause. There have always been risks and will always be risks, no matter how safe we think we make it. To quote an old cleche': I'd rather shoot for the stars and miss, than shoot for nothing and hit.

[Toucan]

I don't get what your saying Lordquimbley. The launch was delayed because of possible danger.
The space shuttle fly's great, name another vehicle that can be shot into space, re-enter and then do it again.
Did you know they had even implemented automatic docking on them, Pilot just hits the button at the right point and the computer docks the shuttle, quite amazing really.
The technology is always brand new, after every flight every thing is looked at again, you never know when a little piece of elusive data is going to show its face and then change the world.
Safety in space is a total illusion, there can never be real safety as long as you are dependent on devices, sooner or later some thing must go wrong, but those astronauts chose that job, and every year’s things that were not possible last year become possible.
My mother grew up in a world where man had never walked on the moon, I grew up in a world without computers.
I wonder what your children will take for granted?, that you might find breathtaking.
I realise it is taking a long time to get to Mars, but once we do get there, it will herald the beginning of a new era of space exploration.
Anyways, thats enough rambling on for 1 morning LOL.

[Fronter]

It was reported that after the launch today, that they saw on one of the camera's, some debris fell off, but luckly didn't make a big impact on the shuttle, that is what caused all those people to die in the previous one, some foam fell off, and believe it or not, at super sonic speed caused tremendous damage, they showed on TV what it could do, it surprised me alot, considering it was foam.

[Modred]

Nasa needs to get either FIXED, or dismantled. how can a couple of guys make spaceship one work, and the space shuttle barely flies. Nasa needs to rethink the over electronic nightmare that is the shuttle fleet. I want to be in line kicking the nasa directors butt if they die. No more deaths. No more.
To echo Toucan, the shuttles fly alright, although they are approaching their age limits. Several years ago when I was at Space Center Houston they displayed prototypes for future versions of US Space Vehicles, but as far as I know none of them are anywhere near a production stage. Also, do you know how many astronauts have died in space? And death's within the earth's atmosphere are few and far between (Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia being the only instances I believe).

Anyway, has anyone seen the footage of the stuff flying off the spacecraft? I think it may just be normal stuff that happens that hasn't been documented until now. As far as I know there was no indication that any debris hit the shuttle. Also I believe they've implemented a plan to check the shuttle for damage prior to re-entry. Since the mission is already heading for the ISS, that task of checking the shuttle will be even easier (one of the problems with checking Columbia was it needed to dock at the ISS in order for a spacewalk to the underside of the vessel to be safe, however there was not enough fuel to redevouz with the ISS and then return to earth, note this is all observed in retrospect).

[WeekendLazyness]

Latest on the Shuttle debris:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/shuttle_debris