Universe Today
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Imagine ….. "You Are There ! "
… in the middle of the whooping, cheering crowd at the
Kennedy Space Center
(KSC) for the
historic final launch of Space Shuttle Discovery
on the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station.
That's the feeling you'll get from this exquisite and exciting piece from amateur videographer Anton Janssen from the Netherlands. Anton has captured the sights and sounds of excitement of the giant crowd in the thick of the action in this amazingly sharp video of
Discovery's last blast
to space.
Anton's vantage point from
the NASA Causeway
enabled him to film the liftoff with a birds eye view of the entire orbiter to the base of the launch pad – not blocked by the launch gantry at all. And to top that off, the video shows panoramic reaction shots of the large and exuberant crowd. What's more is you can hear the cheering multitudes at multiple milestones as Discovery ascends with a deafening roar and spewing intense scorching flames out her rear like a gigantic blowtorch burning an indelible hole in the sky.
I happened to meet Anton at
Port Canaveral
a few days after the launch as
Discovery's powerful Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB's) were being towed
along the canal following their retrieval from the Atlantic Ocean.
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Anton told me he bought the camera new and especially for the STS-133 launch after he purchased one of the very hard to get VIP Tickets from the KSC Visitor Complex. He arrived at the viewing site several hours early, along with tens of thousands of other onlookers along the
Florida Space Coast
beaches and roadways.
"The
NASA Causeway
was a great viewing site because you could see the shuttle right from the start," Anton explained.
Check out this amazing close up video view of the final moments of
Discovery's final landing
and the finale of her space career as record by Matt Travis, of Spacearium, taken at the Shuttle Landing Facility where I was also stationed.
This timelapse of Discovery's launch was shot from the Kennedy Space Center Causeway Viewing Site, by David Gonzales of Project Soar. (
See our previous article about them.
) Here, approximately 12 minutes is condensed into 27 seconds, so about 27 times as fast. Replayed at 15 fps. See the launch and smokey plume change over time as it is tugged on by wind.
Only 1 or 2 flight remain for the
Space Shuttle Program
until they are forcibly retired for lack of money.
Next up is the
launch of Endeavour
on April 19 at dusk. Should make for some extremely cool videos and snapshots! Get your gear ready!
[caption id="attachment_84060" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="Space Shuttle Discovery concluded her magnificent final journey with a safe landing on March 9, 2011 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:57 a.m. EST. Credit: Ken Kremer"]
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