Imagery from last week's launch of shuttle Discovery shows that it'd be a real blast to ride on one of the shuttle's solid rocket boosters, each of which packs 1 million pounds of heavy-duty explosives. Video cameras mounted on the boosters, recovered over the weekend, show the whole three-minute rise to separation from the orbiter and its tank - plus the four-minute fall to an Atlantic splashdown. It's must-see NASA TV.
NASA |
| The solid rocket booster's aft camera provided this view of the departing shuttle Discovery. |
NASA's space shuttle multimedia gallery links to the video files from the booster on the shuttle's right side. The view from the forward angle (Windows Media) is great for the ride up, showing engine ignition and the rise from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Prime time for the aft camera comes about three minutes into the clip (Windows Media), when there's an amazing shot showing the shuttle leaving the tank behind.
The forward camera gives you the best view of the descent, from an altitude of 40 miles all the way to splashdown and beyond, at about the seven-minute mark. Florida Today's Chris Kridler has put together a two-minute condensed version, set to music.
This isn't the first time we've seen booster-cam video - check out this NBC News video from last year's Discovery launch for a sampling - but since the last mission, additional cameras have been added to the boosters, improving the video angles.
If you're a space-video jockey, or just a fan of cool cosmic views, our "Liftoff" interactive lets you mix and match views of Discovery's ascent. There's still more video archived at the aforementioned NASA multimedia Web page, as well as in this section of MSNBC's shuttle mission coverage. And stay tuned for real-time video coverage of the current mission's final spacewalk on Wednesday.
Update for 7:30 p.m. July 12: NBC News' Brian Williams gushed over the booster-cam video during this evening's "Nightly News." Here's the clip.
