Note: This post was originally posted on a now-defunct website in 2010. However, it is timely given that STS-133 Discovery is aloft on her last mission before retirement and Endeavour is scheduled for her final launch on 19 April. It is hoped that the following images set an appropriate mood as the shuttle program enters its twilight period.
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Fire and (Almost) Ice
The Night Launch of STS-130 Endeavour
Monday 8 February 2010
This year, 2010, will be a significant year in the history of aviation for it marks the end of operations by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of what is arguably the most advanced and unique aircraft ever developed. It goes by the names of orbiter or space shuttle or by one of the individual names emblazoned on the upper right wing surface and both sides of the craft's forward fuselage - Atlantis, Discovery or Endeavour - and has launched exclusively from the Kennedy Space Center on Florida's appropriately named Space Coast since 1981.
The first mission of the year, STS-130, got underway in the early morning hours of 8 February. Originally scheduled for 4:39 am on 7 February, thousands of spectators, tickets in hand, began arriving at the KSC Visitor Complex during the previous evening. Viewing spots were staked out and the complex's attractions, displays and stores remained open overnight to provide those in attendance with things to do in advance of the launch and places to go to escape from the unseasonably low temperatures. Heavy winter coats, hats, hoods and gloves/mitts were the order of the evening as the thermometer, unable to register the effects of a noticeable wind, dipped to 45°F (7°C) but history was in the making.
After nearly 29 years of operations, only five missions remained to be flown - all in 2010 - and this was to be the last night launch. Weather, specifically the presence of clouds, was the only 'fly in the ointment' and proved to be the deciding factor in scrubbing the first launch attempt. As the crowd departed KSC, their disappointment likely paled in comparison to the feelings of the six astronauts aboard Endeavour who had been strapped in some two and one-half hours earlier.
Spectators, though fewer in number, returned later that evening for a second launch attempt. Temperatures were similar though the wind was somewhat less than the night before and, importantly, forecasts indicated that there would be a 60 percent chance of favorable weather for a launch. The 5+ hour wait, again accompanied by the insightful commentary of former NASA astronaut/space shuttle pilot and US Navy fighter/test pilot Captain Jon A. McBride and by the sounds of NASA Northrop T-38 and Gulfstream II weather check aircraft and an Air Force Reserve Command Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter on security patrol, passed relatively quickly. Though there was a period during which meteorological conditions were below those required for a launch, by the end of a built-in hold a T-09M (minutes), a roll call of those monitoring the various technical disciplines required to send a vehicle into orbit indicated all was well. Unlike the previous morning, the Supervisor of Range Operations, satisfied with the weather, answered in the affirmative to enthusiastic cheers at the Visitor Complex and, I'm sure, to the relief of NASA ground personnel and the Endeavour crew. The final countdown began and excitement mounted as the onboard auxiliary power units were started a few minutes later.
At about a half-dozen seconds before liftoff, the shuttle's three main engines were started and the addition of the two solid rocket boosters at T-00M00S created a growing orange glow beyond the tree line near the Visitor Complex. As Endeavour climbed above the trees it was as if the sun had risen early and quickly and the accompanying distant rumble created by more than 7.5 million pounds of thrust followed STS-130 skyward. The shedding of the two solid rocket boosters was clearly visible in the night sky and STS-130 continued on into orbit under its own power. As Endeavour passed from sight, the crowd began to dissipate and as they did thoughts of the future of America's manned space flight program were on the minds of more than a few.
(above) The roar is not yet heard as Endeavour and crew rise above the tree line at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex some seven miles (11.3 km) distant. The space shuttle is the result of 1969 recommendations to place a space station in orbit following the conclusion of Apollo - NASA's then-current program to send humans to the moon for the first time. A space transportation system was to be established to supply such a station and reusable vehicles would be used to 'shuttle' personnel, equipment and consumables from the earth to the space station, place satellites in orbit and retrieve satellites for return to earth as required and support military space activities. Official go-ahead was given in 1972 and the first shuttle - Orbiter Vehicle 101, named Enterprise, was delivered in the summer of 1976 for flight testing in the earth's atmosphere only. The first to go into space was OV-102 Columbia and that ship's initial launch, STS-1, took place on 12 April 1981. Four others - OV-099 Challenger, OV-103 Discovery, OV-104 Atlantis and OV-105 Endeavour - joined NASA's fleet later making their initial trips to space between April 1983 and May 1992.
(above) The distinctive twin flames produced by the solid rocket boosters, or SRBs, are visible here as Endeavour is caught between the scattered clouds found at 4,000 feet (1,219 m) above sea level. The space shuttle is one of four system components and though it is equipped with three rocket engines of its own, each Space Shuttle Main Engine putting out 375,000 pounds of thrust (1,668.1 kN) at sea level, it would never leave the launch pad if not for the two SRBs and the familiar orange external tank. The external tank, to which the shuttle is attached, is compartmentalized to hold the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen used to fuel the SSMEs. The two SRBs - one attached to each side of the external tank - provide the main push for the shuttle and each produces some 3.3 million pounds of thrust (14,679 kN) at launch. Total launch weight is approximately 4.5 million pounds (2,041,166 kg) and the launch configuration is maintained until the reusable SRBs are jettisoned at an altitude of about 150,000 feet (45,720 m) or 28 miles (45.7 km) and the external tank at approximately 70 miles (112.7 km). The kinetic energy of the shuttle then carries the craft and crew the rest of the way into orbit around the earth.
(above) Endeavour emerges from the cloud deck in this launch view. With the exception of periods of time after the first few missions and surrounding the loss of two shuttles and crews - STS-51L Challenger on 28 January 1986 and STS-107 Columbia on 1 February 2003 - space shuttle operations became relatively 'everyday' occurrences to most folks. Launches received little fanfare from the media, apart from those in regions connected to the space shuttle program, and so did the accomplishments of the crews in orbit. However much research has been done as a result of space shuttle missions. Thousands of scientific experiments have been carried out within the confines of space shuttles and in pressurized payload bay modules designed to provide additional capacity and they have included research in the fields of biology, biomedicine, physics and communications. Direct imaging of the earth and atmosphere has been done frequently with the use of radar and photography but the space shuttle program is probably most famous for the deployment - and sometimes retrieval - of NASA and American commercial satellites and scientific research platforms and those of a host of international nations. One of the most significant deployments was that of the Hubble Space Telescope and shuttle astronauts have returned on four occasions to service and modify it. The space shuttle has also played a key role in the construction and ongoing operation of the International Space Station by hauling station components large and small, equipment for installation in the ISS, supplies and replacement personnel. Indeed, all of the remaining shuttle flights will deliver components for the ISS along with equipment to support onboard experiments.
(above) The forward portions of the external tank and SRBs are barely visible beyond the glare produced by STS-130's five rocket engines. The crew of Endeavour was tasked with the delivery and rather complicated attachment of a new node, or module, and cupola for the International Space Station. Several days - and space walks - were spent preparing and mating the ISS, Tranquility node and cupola and installing external plumbing to cool the new node. It will house ISS life support systems and physical fitness equipment thus freeing up valuable space in other areas of the station. While most media reports focused on the outstanding view of the earth available from the multiwindow cupola, it will primarily serve practical purposes giving astronauts an actual view, instead of video images, of ISS remote manipulator arm operations.
(above) Endeavour hurtles spaceward. Only four more space shuttle missions will be flown, including one more by Endeavour, after which the program will wind down and an important era in the story of space research will come to an end.
