Space Shuttle Atlantis Trip

Well, I've returned from my Space Shuttle Trip to Florida. I'd like to say it was spectacular, but we didn't have the best viewing location. I was only able to shoot a few of photos. None of them were very good. But, here are couple anyway. We were on a boat in Port Canaveral in 4 foot swells about 7 miles NNE of Launch Pad 39A.

There are many great sites for quality video and pictures on the net. I'm going to include a few links to sites I've found since my return. There are some fabulous images here; many more can easily be found. Post some of you favorites in the comments. I'd love to see what you come up with.

Video:

360 Degree Video of Shuttle Vertical Assembly Building (VAB)

Pictures:

360 Degree View of Atlantis Flight Deck

Jeffery Ross Photography

The Last Shuttle

My last post included a site that specialized in Shuttle Models from every flight over the last 30 years. I'm planning to do a build in the near future to commemorate STS-135. I'll keep you updated. 

At least I can say that I saw the final space shuttle launch. Congratulations to the crew and all of NASA on a safe and productive journey, and for a successful end to the shuttle era. On to the future!

Space Shuttle Paper Card Models

On Friday, July 8th, at about 11:30 am EST, the final NASA Space Shuttle mission, STS-135, featuring shuttle Atlantis, is scheduled for launch. And I'm gonna be there! I've never been to a launch, so I'm very excited. This will be historic! In searching for information on past flights, I came across this little gem of a website: AXM Paper Space Scale Models: The Site for Space Shuttle Card Modelers.

This highly detailed site contains International Space Station models, international satellites, capsule models from Russia, America, and other countries, and of course, space shuttle models, including reference documents to individual missions. Models include different external tank configurations, crawler transporter and mobile launch pads, and even the 747 jumbo jet carrier shown below.

This site is great for everyone interested the shuttle program, with bits about the crews, histories, mission goals, and payloads from various missions, from test flights from the '70s to present. When I get back, I'm planning to build a model to commemorate my trip. Man, this should be fun! I'll post about the experience when I get back. Have a great Independence Day!