Excellent Shuttle Video

I worked for Martin Marietta Denver Aerospace at the time the shuttle first went up. I remember a discussion with some of the old timers after watching the launch, wondering what a drag race between the shuttle and a Saturn V moon rocket would look like. The consensus was that the shuttle would easily beat it off the pad, but the Saturn V could sustain higher acceleration and would catch, pass and leave the shuttle behind.

Remember the first 6 flights? The external tank was white. We (MMA built the external tank) determined that the paint wasn't really necessary, so it's been left off every since. 600 pounds of paint. Translated directly to 600 more pounds of payload.

Oh, and it was fun running into guys from Rockwell. They were really proud of the fact that they built the orbiter. We'd just laugh. They got to build 5 of those and then it was over. MMA built the external tank and they need a new one of those for every flight. That's where the money is for the long run, the expendables.

I'll be sorry to see the shuttle retired, especially before we have something to replace it. Not so sure that is the right plan, but what do I know? I'm just an engineer.
 
Ghery said:
I worked for Martin Marietta Denver Aerospace at the time the shuttle first went up. I remember a discussion with some of the old timers after watching the launch, wondering what a drag race between the shuttle and a Saturn V moon rocket would look like. The consensus was that the shuttle would easily beat it off the pad, but the Saturn V could sustain higher acceleration and would catch, pass and leave the shuttle behind.
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I heard the same thing from the graybeards there when the shuttle would take off. They also told me the sound and vibration from the Saturn 5 was like nothing they ever experienced before or after.
 
but the Saturn V could sustain higher acceleration and would catch, pass and leave the shuttle behind.
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Then about the point where the Shuttle ran completely out of fuel, the Saturn tossed stage 1 and got serious about climbing out. Stage 2...

wbarnhill said:
Awesome video. I still love this photo a guy got of a Delta launch in October. Lost a lens doing the shot, but I'd say it was worth it!
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Is someone claiming to have been standing there taking that one? That's either one of the automated cameras at the pad or a camera put there and run remotely. If it's not rocketproofed, the launch probably trashed the whole camera, not just the lens.
 
fgcason said:
Is someone claiming to have been standing there taking that one? That's either one of the automated cameras at the pad or a camera put there and run remotely. If it's not rocketproofed, the launch probably trashed the whole camera, not just the lens.
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http://www.launchphotography.com/Delta_4-Heavy_DSP-23_camera.html

There's the story behind it. He strapped it to the ground with a sound activated trigger for the camera to start snapping shots.
 
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