The crew of Space Shuttle Endeavor has finally left Earth after two lengthy delays. The first was a docking schedule problem, the second, an equipment failure. STS-134, the final launch of the Endeavor, is in the history books. The crew will dock with the International Space Station early Wednesday morning and will return to earth after 16 days in space.
The weather was overcast and the skies were filled with clouds as we arrived at Kennedy Space Center about 6:30a for the 8:58a launch. After walking around a bit and taking a few photos, we sat down on the grassy area just north of the Rocket Garden and waited nervously for the final countdown. I told my friend that with a cloud cover that low in the sky, we probably wouldn’t see much of the actual flight. Truer words were never spoken. As the shuttle took off, I had my camera in continuous mode snapping 5 frames per second and only got off three shots before the Shuttle vanished into the clouds above. Only one showed the entire Shuttle and it was a wide shot, so, I cropped in tight on it in post processing. It is what it is, no redo allowed. Oh well. The best laid plans…and all of that.
I have all the images taken that day and others taken at the Astronaut Hall of Fame... Here.
Very Cool. I wish I could have been there.
ReplyDeleteIt must be an amazing sight, if only for a short time. I imagine it is quite loud too. At least the flight happened and you did get a shot!
ReplyDeleteThe astronaut hall of fame looks like a fun place to visit. Even with the cloud cover it still must have been something to see and hear. It's cool the way that the flame from the rocket motors reflects off the clouds above it.
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