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Space Shuttle Launch That Was Visible From Ireland?

Thargor · 2020-04-20 22:11:02

About 20 years ago there was an evening when the Space Shuttle launched at a weird angle for some mission or maybe it was just good timing but it ended up flying over Ireland a few minutes later super bright and fast in the sky with the fuel tank tracking along behind it so 2 very bright lights in the sky heading West to…

20-04-2020 11:11pm

#1

Thargor

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About 20 years ago there was an evening when the Space Shuttle launched at a weird angle for some mission or maybe it was just good timing but it ended up flying over Ireland a few minutes later super bright and fast in the sky with the fuel tank tracking along behind it so 2 very bright lights in the sky heading West to East, brighter and faster than the ISS, does anyone have a link to that exact mission or coverage at the time?

Maybe it wasn't the shuttle just a 2 stage rocket from Florida but does anyone remember that event?

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#2 21-04-2020 1:20am

murphyme2010

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I remember that launch. It was a shuttle launch. I remember being very surprised that the fuel tank was easily distinguishable from the shuttle as a deep red as opposed to the white of the shuttle.

I can't remember the date tho'. Could it have been this launch?

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#3 21-04-2020 11:34am

dkd21

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I remember that one also. It was the final or second last shuttle launch so 134 or 135 . I can remember following it live and after a short few minutes after launching it was visible in the sky in the WSW direction from Dublin . An amazing sight and thought to myself of how many people inside in their houses oblivious to it

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#4 21-04-2020 12:11pm

ps200306

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Yeah, definitely a shuttle launch and very striking from Dublin. The orbiter was bright white and the fuel tank trailing along behind it was ice-pop orange. I vaguely remember Astronomy Ireland advertised it and I remember reading that the fuel tank would track the orbiter the whole way across Europe and the Arabian peninsula before falling in the Indian Ocean. Might be able to find some old reportage on Google?

EDIT: Yep, it was STS-127, an ISS assembly mission (the 29th) that installed some Japanese experimental modules. It was the 23rd flight for shuttle Endeavour on 15-Jul-2009. Mark Polansky commanded, Douglas Hurley piloted. Apparently it was the second time a shuttle launch was visible from Ireland.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/space-shuttle-visible-in-ireland-tonight-1.843312

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Space_Shuttle_missions

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts127/main/index.html

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#5 21-04-2020 12:44pm

Thargor

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Ah perfect thanks, only 11 years ago, I must have been older than I thought I was...

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#6 21-04-2020 1:11pm

Reversal

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Anyway of knowing if the Falcon 9 second stage will be visible tomorrow evening?

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#7 21-04-2020 3:45pm

upupup

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Reversal wrote: »

Anyway of knowing if the Falcon 9 second stage will be visible tomorrow evening?

The "live map" on this site shows that tomorrows nights starlink 6 launch will follow or be part of starlink 5.https://findstarlink.com/#744;3

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#8 21-04-2020 4:28pm

tricky D

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ps200306 wrote: »

Yeah, definitely a shuttle launch and very striking from Dublin. The orbiter was bright white and the fuel tank trailing along behind it was ice-pop orange. I vaguely remember Astronomy Ireland advertised it and I remember reading that the fuel tank would track the orbiter the whole way across Europe and the Arabian peninsula before falling in the Indian Ocean. Might be able to find some old reportage on Google?

EDIT: Yep, it was STS-127, an ISS assembly mission (the 29th) that installed some Japanese experimental modules. It was the 23rd flight for shuttle Endeavour on 15-Jul-2009. Mark Polansky commanded, Douglas Hurley piloted. Apparently it was the second time a shuttle launch was visible from Ireland.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/space-shuttle-visible-in-ireland-tonight-1.843312

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Space_Shuttle_missions

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts127/main/index.html

The Shuttle and tank were also chasing the ISS over the next few days. At launch the very visible ISS went over a few minutes beforehand iirc.

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#9 21-04-2020 5:25pm

Reversal

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upupup wrote: »

The "live map" on this site shows that tomorrows nights starlink 6 launch will follow or be part of starlink 5.https://findstarlink.com/#744;3

Thanks

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#10 22-04-2020 1:04am

ps200306

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tricky D wrote: »

The Shuttle and tank were also chasing the ISS over the next few days. At launch the very visible ISS went over a few minutes beforehand iirc.

I think you're misremembering. Historical ISS tracker has the ISS over the eastern Pacific at the time the shuttle was passing over Dublin. Also, the tank doesn't make it into orbit (nearly but not quite). It separates after 8.5 minutes and falls into the sea a few tens of minutes later.

I think you're remembering another occasion when the space shuttle undocked from the ISS and stayed nearby for some time before returning to Earth. The two were visible from Ireland for a number of orbits, with the shuttle slowly backing away from the space station.

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#11 22-04-2020 2:07am

tricky D

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Mine was a Friday or Saturday evening. Though it was definitely a launch and chase. I was staying with a friend and we watched the launch on the TV and the real thing 8ish mins later.

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#12 22-04-2020 2:37am

ps200306

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Wasn't STS-127 then, which launched on a Wednesday. Don't think the tank could be chasing for days regardless ... it does less than half an orbit before crashing.

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#13 22-04-2020 3:33am

tricky D

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Agh, bad description on my part. Of course the tank didn't last that long. The rest was a bit of fun any way.

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#14 29-04-2020 8:27pm

Calibos

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Wednesday 15th of July 2009 at 11:20pm.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055618844&page=23

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=61162246&postcount=385

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=61163648&postcount=551

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#15 29-04-2020 9:45pm

Thargor

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It was definitely not that late at night, it was a bright evening, 7-9 pm, the one Im thinking of anyway.

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#16 30-04-2020 1:47am

ps200306

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Thargor wrote: »

It was definitely not that late at night, it was a bright evening, 7-9 pm, the one Im thinking of anyway.

There was this one in 2011 -- the final flight of Endeavour, STS-134 -- which would have been the right time of evening:

https://www.joe.ie/uncategorized/final-space-shuttle-flight-can-be-seen-from-ireland-tonight-23746

It would have flown over Ireland at 9pm, 10 minutes after sunset. (I presume anything before sunset wouldn't be visible). However, that launch got scrubbed and rescheduled for two and a half weeks later, during dayime:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-134#Launch_attempts

At the time of the previous 2009 one the Irish Times reported that there hadn't been a launch visible from Ireland for twenty years, which would take you right back to the late 80s. The problem is there's nothing in the list of 80s launches that would match with a bright evening in Ireland. The couple of candidates are actually shortly before sunset, or in a dark night sky.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Space_Shuttle_missions#Launches_and_orbital_flights

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#17 30-04-2020 6:02pm

Beeker

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There were a number of Shuttle flights that were visible over Ireland throughout the years. Every flight to the ISS went over Ireland about 20 mins after launch. They were visible if the launch was just after sunset here. I witnessed a good few over the years. The orange external tank was very clear to see trailing behind the Orbiter.

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#18 03-05-2020 6:02am

IrishHomer

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I will never forget that launch in 20'21.

It was on a Saturday evening, I watched it live in the cockpit on nada tv on my iPad in my garden and at the same time I watched it sail up a Ross the sky here in Irish Midlands

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#19 03-05-2020 4:18pm

Thargor

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IrishHomer wrote: »

I will never forget that launch in 20'21.

It was on a Saturday evening, I watched it live in the cockpit on nada tv on my iPad in my garden and at the same time I watched it sail up a Ross the sky here in Irish Midlands

Want to take another crack at that date?

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#20 07-05-2020 10:45pm

Pat Dunne

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Calibos wrote: »

Wednesday 15th of July 2009 at 11:20pm.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055618844&page=23

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=61162246&postcount=385

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=61163648&postcount=551

Ah wow that was a real flashback, to some of the regular Shuttle contributors over the years.

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#21 29-05-2020 12:13am

GeneHunt

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tricky D wrote: »

Mine was a Friday or Saturday evening. Though it was definitely a launch and chase. I was staying with a friend and we watched the launch on the TV and the real thing 8ish mins later.

I think it was STS-124 (Discovery) which was a Saturday evening, 31st May 2008, launched at 17:02:12 EDT (passed over Ireland at about 10:20pm)

https://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0601/104036-discovery/

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#22 30-05-2020 3:47pm

phonypony

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Some video from Dublin of STS-124 and 127 after launch- the focus issue on the second one really highlights the orange colour of the EFT

https://youtu.be/vIc4OHp2jkU

https://youtu.be/-A4Owaqe8Q4

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#23 30-05-2020 7:41pm

irishgeo

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managed to see it and the EFT in between clouds in mayo.

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