Plane Spotters.sg @ ClubSNAP – Official T.C.S.S Thread.

[9V-Orion Images]

Only in a zero gravity environment can you hold a Nikon D2Xs and what seems to be a Nikon 600mm (???) telephoto lens to me, like a 100 - 200g P&S camera. :bsmilie:

STS-125 (HST-SM4): multimedia archive, flight Day 3 (13 May 2009) gallery.
High resolution image is available here (Image ID No. S125E006636).

 

[raptor1988]

Second Landing Attempt Waved Off


STS-125 Entry Flight Director Norm Knight has waved off today's second landing attempt at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the final chance to land today. Weather conditions at Kennedy would not permit a safe landing. CAPCOM Greg Johnson explained to Commander Scott Altman that weather is real moist, unstable, and officially "no go" due to thunderstorms, low cloud ceilings and showers consistently popping up offshore and over land.

Tomorrow, the first landing opportunity at Kennedy Space Center is at 9:16 a.m. Edwards Air Force Base in California will be activated for consideration as well.



how long can the shuttle stay up till it becomes an emergency and they die die gotta land?

 

[RyanG]

This thread is cool. Perhaps I just share some information.

Btw, at my current residence, I can spot Commercial Planes flying in a distance directly in front of my door. A super-tele of 400mm or more will yield good results. FYI, from my view out of my living room's window, is an unobstructed view all the way to the horizon of ECP.

I can see those huge ships.

In addition, military planes is norm for me as I lived pretty close to PLAB.

 

[9V-Orion Images]

how long can the shuttle stay up till it becomes an emergency and they die die gotta land?

I wouldn't worry about, there are a couple of alternate landing sites around the globe, other than the NASA Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Edwards Airforce base (AFB).

Anyway just to answer your question, current typical STS mission can seek refuge within ISS, with enough life critical consumables to keep both the shuttle and ISS crews alive for 80+ days. A Launch On Need space shuttle will be sent to rescue them within this period ASAP.

The space shuttle Atlantis (OV-104) currently have enough life critical consumables to last them till next Monday (25 May 2009). Since the current orbital altitude and inclination of STS-125 (HST-SM4) mission put them beyond the reach of the ISS, space shuttle Endeavour (OV-105) has been on standby at launch pad LC-39B since a couple of weeks before space shuttle Atlantis (OV-104) is due to be launch for STS-125 (HST-SM4), in the event a Launch On Need rescue mission is required if damages are sustained to the thermal protection system (TPS) of the space shuttle Atlantis (OV-104).

I understand that space shuttle Endeavour (OV-105) was relived from standby today after space shuttle Atlantis (OV-104) was cleared for re-entry. As it would take roughly two days to rendezvous with the space shuttle Atlantis (OV-104), and with the earliest launch date expected to occur only two to three days later. By this time, any potential for rescue attempts has since faded away.

 

[9V-Orion Images]

The Frame: A photo blog by the Sacramento Bee (SacBee) multimedia staff.
Repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

The media photographs the space shuttle Atlantis as it lifts off May 11, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the final shuttle mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. AFP / Getty Images / Stan Honda.

The Hubble Space Telescope following the grapple of the observatory by the shuttle's remote manipulator system Wednesday, May 13. NASA.

This image taken from the ground using a telescope with a solar filter shows the NASA space shuttle Atlantis in silhouette during solar transit, Tuesday, May 12, from Florida. This image was made before Atlantis and the crew of STS-125 had grappled the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA / Thierry Legault.

Astronaut John Grunsfeld performs a spacewalk on Thursday, May 14, to work on the Hubble Space Telescope. The reflection in his helmet visor shows astronaut Andrew Feustel taking the photo while perched on the end of the remote manipulator system arm. NASA​

The Frame: A photo blog by the Sacramento Bee (SacBee) multimedia staff.
Repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

 

[9V-Orion Images]

Most of the images taken during the STS-125 (HST-SM4) are available in high resolution and released into public domain through the following websites.


National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA):
Image of the day gallery.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA):
Space Transportation System (STS), image gallery.

NASA Human Space Flight, image gallery:
Space shuttle Atlantis (OV-104), STS-125 (HST-SM4).

Kennedy Space Center (KSC), media gallery:
Space shuttle Atlantis (OV-104), STS-125 (HST-SM4).

 

[raptor1988]

thanks for the links.. :thumbsup:

 

[raptor1988]

Saturday Landing Opportunities Waved Off

STS-125 Entry Flight Director Norm Knight has waved off today's landing opportunities. Capcom Greg Johnson explained to the crew the weather did not permit a Kennedy landing today. Johnson said, "There's a chance for a landing at Kennedy tomorrow, and we're going to keep that option open. Edwards remains good for tomorrow and Monday, if needed."

Tomorrow, the first landing opportunity at Kennedy Space Center is at 10:11 a.m. EDT.

 

[9V-Orion Images]

I can suggest a pretty good point where you can planespot airplanes landing into PLAB.

The top few floors of Blks 311 & 316, Ubi Ave 1. Totally unblocked view. The trees only grow to about like the 5th or 6th floors max, while the HDB block is like 12 stories tall. You essentially have a whole panorama view of every plane that's coming in.

Hope you don't mind the crashing & OT. I don't have the hobby of planespotting, neither do I know much about photography (being new) nor do I have any DSLR or even a proper P&S (handphone cam ftw). It's just that I've lived in Ubi for like 5+ years and happened to stumble by here.

This thread is cool. Perhaps I just share some information.

Btw, at my current residence, I can spot Commercial Planes flying in a distance directly in front of my door. A super-tele of 400mm or more will yield good results. FYI, from my view out of my living room's window, is an unobstructed view all the way to the horizon of ECP.

I can see those huge ships.

In addition, military planes is norm for me as I lived pretty close to PLAB.

Noted on the information pertaining to PLAB, and many thanks for sharing.

While I don't speak for all plane spotters, I'm sure most of us would prefer to get as close as possible to the aircraft (even with an obstructed view), rather than having to use a super-telephoto (400mm and above) lens in the top level of an apartment building with an unobstructed line-of-sight. But without a doubt, having a clear line-of-sight with the aircraft as close as possible would be the best combination possible. :bsmilie:

 

[raptor1988]

NASA Prepares Atlantis Shuttle For $2 Million Transportation

'Now that Space Shuttle Atlantis has landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the NASA team is working hard on preparing the shuttle for transport back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a transportation that will cost nearly $2 million USD'...

More here

 

[9V-Orion Images]

Air France flight 447 (registration number: F-GZCP (A330-200)), from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, is declare missing over the atlantic ocean. SAR operations is currently underway.

228 souls are on-board.

 

[raptor1988]

Air France flight 447 (registration number: F-GZCP (A330-200)), from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, is declare missing over the atlantic ocean. SAR operations is currently underway.

228 souls are on-board.

oh no..

 

[9V-Orion Images]

oh no..

Preliminary news reports indicated that the aircraft encountered turbulence, was hit by lighting, and a subsequent electrical circuit malfunction was automatically reported through ACARS.

 

[Stupidcowz]

My gosh,

god bless their souls. God bless the aircraft too :X

Cowz.

 

[skypacker]

The loss of the AF A330 is very sad news indeed:cry:
Frankly, I think there is no hope now...if the aircraft ditched in water it will be very difficult to find since there was no distress signal or a hint to the location either. The mid atlantic is simply too large and at I believe it went down at night, so the prognosis looks bleak

 

[Dovedo]

Generally I feel the notion that lightning forced the aircraft to crash very misleading. That aircraft model A330-200 is designed to withstand lightning strikes.

In fact, SIA also uses airbus A330 except is the 300 version.

However I think one of the main problems in Brazil is the lack of updated radar systems especially ground radar. I believe that the crew was not given updated weather information as most pilots do not generally like to go into areas of bad weather.

Airspace in Brazil is mainly controlled by air force personnel (who are very shorthanded) and not civilian personnel.

 

[Dovedo]

 

[9V-Orion Images]

The loss of the AF A330 is very sad news indeed:cry:
Frankly, I think there is no hope now...if the aircraft ditched in water it will be very difficult to find since there was no distress signal or a hint to the location either. The mid atlantic is simply too large and at I believe it went down at night, so the prognosis looks bleak

Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT) should be deployed from the aircraft and be transmitting immediately once a significant impact event has occurred. Flight Data Recorder (FDR) & Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) might also be equipped with their own personal ELT and sonar transducer to aid in recovery efforts. But there are incidents where there are possibilities that damages could be sustained to the ELT, with the wreckages also having sunk in extremely deep waters thus making SAR, and recovery attempts extremely difficult. For one, Adam Air Flight 574 comes into mind.

 

[Dovedo]

Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT) should be deployed from the aircraft and be transmitting immediately once a significant impact event has occurred. Flight Data Recorder (FDR) & Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) might also be equipped with their own personal ELT and sonar transducer to aid in recovery efforts. But there are incidents where there are possibilities that damages could be sustained to the ELT, with the wreckages also having sunk in extremely deep waters thus making SAR, and recovery attempts extremely difficult. For one, Adam Air Flight 574 comes into mind.

ELTs also have depth coverage and the battery only lasts for usually about 30-45 days. If the area where the crash took place is extremely deep, it might take the investigations team a few years to recover the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) & Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). One example is South African Airlines Flight 295 which crash into the Indian Ocean

 

[Dovedo]

Interestingly, whenever an air crash/incident takes place, most airport authorities do not list the plane on the LCD monitors as missing/crash, they will usually only show Delayed