Viewing a space shuttle launch from high in the sky

Viewing a space shuttle launch from high in the sky

news.cnet.com

Either way, it's a pretty cool video, and one of the things that's compelling about it--other than the fact that it's a space shuttle launch filmed from miles above the ground--is that you can get a very good sense of just how fast the shuttle is going when it blasts off.

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This is pretty cool. I would bet thye counld make a killing selling flights to see this. A very diffrent perspective on viewing launches.

One thing that does come to mind though. I thought the air space would have been resticted and security alot tighter than this. They seemed pretty close considering it was a shuttle launch. Could this be legit?

news.cnet.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Originally posted by VIKINGANT


This is pretty cool. I would bet thye counld make a killing selling flights to see this. A very diffrent perspective on viewing launches.

One thing that does come to mind though. I thought the air space would have been resticted and security alot tighter than this. They seemed pretty close considering it was a shuttle launch. Could this be legit?

Can't view the video at the moment so unless you can post a screencapture I can't speculate on whether it's far enough to be plausibly legit. They do shut down the airspace the immediate vicinity of the space center, far enough that the airports in titusville are shut down entirely during launches. That doesn't mean it's not doable though; you can easily spot the launches for miles and miles even on the ground. I've watched them from as far away as orlando on a routine basis. Here's a picture of the shuttle's smoke trail taken by a passenger on a miami flight.

farm1.static.flickr.com...

Too bad they didn't whip out the camera in time for the launch but the trail looks like the real deal to me.

Once again though, you're right that they clamp down HARD on the airspace around the shuttle during a launch these days. It used to be tight, but they've pulled out the big guns post-9/11. Here's what you'll run into if you stray too close:

www.airshowbuzz.com...

Yeah, F-22 baby! Next time I shoot a shuttle launch maybe I'll keep an eye out for one of these bad boys patroling the area. I'd love to get a shot of this.

If your video looks any closer than that we can definately rule it out as a "commercial" flight.

That is a pretty sick video. Never would have thought that I would be able to see what it was like to watch a space shuttle take off from the perspective of being in an aircraft at 35000 feet. very cool perspective on the launch.

that shuttle does not mess around. it seriously hulls ass to space in that video. pretty cool.