Strong winds and excessive clouds contributed to Thursday's launch abort.
Pre-Launch
Birds in flight is one of the hardest types of image to capture. I've been practising for a few weeks and was finally able to produce a couple of decent pictures. The wind was around 15 to 20 knots, pretty strong. Chasing seagulls at that point was like watching several F/A-18s practising combat maneuvers...only they are a thousand times smaller with no sense of direction. I still have no idea how Constellation was able to produce this amazing shot. The pelicans however, are much more consistent gliders and therefore easier for me to follow.
The more I work with pictures the more I learn to correct strange little defects from the captured image. Take the two pelican images below.
At full resolution, note the cyan fringing at the front outline of the bird, and the magenta fringing at the back.
Aberration corrected.
The one on the top has chromatic aberrations, and the one of the bottom is corrected by slightly desaturating the magenta and cyan channel in Photoshop. I learned how to do it through this page I found on Google. Though the overall vividness of the subject might decrease somewhat, the result is an image that doesn't make you feel like you might be on LSD.Launch Log - Port Canaveral
The space shuttle launch was supposed to happen at 2047h. Due to the wind I was worried that the launch might be canceled again. But around 1730h I checked the NASA blog and everything seemed to be in order. I phoned my friends to get ready for the drive to Port Canaveral.
I went with Chris, Joe and his sister Anna. Chris and Joe were my classmates while we were in the computer science program.We arrived at Jetty Park, approximately 1.6 kilometer (15 miles) from launch pad 39B where the shuttle Discovery was poised for takeoff. 39B is a significant area: it was where the last launch of Challenger took place before it disintegrated in the sky.
A large crowd turned out at the park, including several news agencies. Reporters were interviewing spectators at random. Experienced launch watchers brought chairs. Several people were taking countdown information from friends watching the launch on TV.
Please forgive me for the really crappy launch pictures you are about to see. It is sad, but they really are my best ones. To purge your eyes of my filthy images, please visit NASA's mission page for much nicer photos of the launch.Someone shouted, "TEN SECONDS!", and everyone stood up for the countdown.
"Five!"
"Four!"
"Three!"
"Two!"
"ONE! LIFTOFF!!!"
There was loud rumble that was heard and felt for miles around. People cheered while the Discovery struggled to free itself from the earth's gravity. The rocket was so bright that for a few seconds, it became a small sun lighting up the heaven above and turning the waters into the colors of lava. It was incredible. 5 seconds into the launch, people fell into an eerie silence. It was a silence of anticipation for the separation of solid rocket boosters. For that few seconds, almost everyone witnessing the event were united in the single hope for the safety of the crew.When the SRB separated, there was another round of cheers, and shuttle Discovery was on its way to the International Space Station.
I have learned to NEVER try and take picture of the shuttle itself at night. It is impossible with my camera. At the next night launch, I will set up a tripod, high ISO setting and slow shutter speed. At least that way, I can capture the brightness of the water and the sky as the shuttle hurls itself to space.
Post Launch
As soon as the last traces of Discovery vanished into the night, people started to leave. We decided to explore Jetty Park a little bit to avoid traffic congestion. I was still excited from seeing the night launch, and I am looking forward to the launch in March for Atlantis.
The jetty that leads out into the Atlantic Ocean.
The light tower at the end of the jetty.
The last shot was particularly interesting because I took the image in almost complete darkness. I couldn't see anything other than the blinking light from the tower. So just for fun and curiosity, I setup the tripod, change the ISO setting to 400 and the shutter speed to 60 seconds (mwahahahaha!!! :p). The result is an eerie image where the contour of the rocks is visible against the non-existent twilight.Conclusion
The space program started out as a tool of war against the Soviet Union. Now it has evolved (at least in terms of public relations) into a vision for unity and peace amongst people of different nations. I don't know how optimistic I am about the potential of the space program, seeing that it can be use for betterment (e.g. researching hydroponic farming under low gravity) or destruction (e.g. Strategic Defense Initiative).Nevertheless, living creatures will never stop being curious. Somewhere in the universe someone will look up to the sky and wonder...
