american astronauts back in space today

[Ray Proudfoot 8,954]

1 minute ago, n4gix said:

You allow your eyes to be naked in public? Shouldn't they at least be wearing a kilt or something? 😏

😄 I’m English. We don’t wear kilts. The Scots would go ballistic. 😄 Anyway, if you wear a kilt you have to go commando if that translates to an American. 😉

[Ray Proudfoot 8,954]

For those of you with an Apple device download ISS Spotter. Free and extremely good.

[Dave Morgan 68]

40 minutes ago, CYXR said:

I hope so also! Both crew members are experienced space shuttle astronauts who are also married to astronauts. Robert L. Behnken K. is married to Megan McArthur who served as a CAPCOM in previous missions.  Douglas G. Hurley is married to Karen Nyberg who is a retired astronaut. This crew is very familiar with each other. There are a whole lot of dedicated people who are involved with this launch. And there`s a lot on the line for SpaceX and NASA.  I can`t ignore what happened to Apollo 1`s crew but this business... it ain`t for the faint hearted. 

 

The crew must have the utmost faith in the equipment and I'm pretty sure they'll know what they're doing.

I'll be watching, and hoping the UK weather doesn't suddenly change.

[n4gix 4,947]

17 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

😄 I’m English. We don’t wear kilts. The Scots would go ballistic. 😄 Anyway, if you wear a kilt you have to go commando if that translates to an American. 😉

Ah yes, I've seen several photos of Scotsmen in their kilts whilst sitting down. While the Queen's Crown Jewels were on full public display, some of these men were showing off their family jewels...  😎

[Ray Proudfoot 8,954]

An update to what I posted earlier. The ISS will pass over southern England around 22:57. The SpaceX will pass over 25 mins later and will be much dimmer but higher in the sky.

This assuming the launch takes place as there are storms in the area.

And the ISS travels at 17,000mph, not 25,000.

[Christopher Low 5,353]

2 hours ago, martin-w said:

 

Fantastic. I'm wondering what direction to look from the Midlands?

https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/view.cfm?country=United_Kingdom&region=England&city=London#.Xs5oFWhKiUk

The orbital inclination of the International Space Station is roughly 51.5 degrees, which means that anyone north of that latitude will only ever see it in the southern half of the sky. Being in the Midlands, that includes you, Martin 🙂

Edited May 27, 2020 by Christopher Low

[vc10man 732]

23 minutes ago, Jazz said:

No, it will be about 15 mins after launch at about 21:50

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2020/05/27/time-spacex-launch-today-watch-live/

Info-sharing gets even better. I was watching that new moon last night from 21:30 to see if I could get a spectacular shot of it descending into the red sunset glow.---alas, did not happen.quick enough

[HighBypass 2,339]

2 hours ago, Jazz said:

That's the attitude, guy's. Nice and negative🙄

Well, this is the first live payload is it not, with the inherent risk and trepidation despite being assessed and simulated over ad infinitum..

Not so much negative as realistic with a pinch of pessimism.😎

[vc10man 732]

1 hour ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Elevation just 27° in the SW but magnitude is -2.3 so very bright.

This piece of info is slightly baffling me, Ray. Let me see if I have this correct. From 0 degrees at horizon level, it should be appearing around the 27 degree elevation. But what's that -2.3 magnitude bit, please?

[Christopher Low 5,353]

I used to actively search for satellites two decades ago. This all started in March 1997 when I was on a remote hill observing Comet Hale Bopp (still the only really decent comet that I have ever seen), and I noticed a bright light moving across the sky. I suspected that it was the Russian Mir space station (because very few orbiting objects were that bright at the time), and a quick check on my PC when I got home (courtesy of a great piece of software called Micro Orbiter 3.0) confirmed it. After that day, I started looking for satellites on a regular basis, and ended up spotting over eight hundred of them (not just satellites, but also the final stage booster rockets that got them there). That list included all eighty eight satellites in the Iridium constellation at the time (which could occasionally flash very brightly indeed), some spooky looking triplets in formation (these were some of the NOSS or Naval Ocean Surveillance System satellites), and a wide range of interesting and well known scientific satellites.

I stopped observing satellites a long time ago, but I have fond memories of those days 😎

[Christopher Low 5,353]

6 minutes ago, vc10man said:

This piece of info is slightly baffling me, Ray. Let me see if I have this correct. From 0 degrees at horizon level, it should be appearing around the 27 degree elevation. But what's that -2.3 magnitude bit, please?

The magnitude is how bright it will be. For the record, a magnitude of -2.3 is similar to the apparent brightness of the planet Jupiter (the second brightest planet), and significantly brighter than the brightest star (Sirius). In layman's terms, it will be hard to miss!

Edited May 27, 2020 by Christopher Low

[vc10man 732]

3 minutes ago, Christopher Low said:

The magnitude is how bright it will be. For the record, a magnitude of -2.3 is similar to the apparent brightness of the planet Jupiter (the second brightest planet), and significantly brighter than the brightest star (Sirius). In layman's terms, it will be hard to miss!

Wow, what a day for an event due to be launched in Cape Kennedy, and here, yet again, another really helpful piece of info. Thanks, Chris. I am definitely parking myself(on foot,really) on that vantage point I was watching that moon last night!

[Ray Proudfoot 8,954]

28 minutes ago, Christopher Low said:

The magnitude is how bright it will be. For the record, a magnitude of -2.3 is similar to the apparent brightness of the planet Jupiter (the second brightest planet), and significantly brighter than the brightest star (Sirius). In layman's terms, it will be hard to miss!

Thanks Chris. And just to complete the picture Venus in the last few months achieved -4.4, the full moon is -11 and the sun -26.

Its a logarithmic scale with each magnitude being 2.5 times brighter than a higher one. Mag 6 is the threshold for the naked eye on a perfectly dark night.

[HighBypass 2,339]

Enjoy it while you can until we get thousands of Starlink satellites reflectively brightening up our clear night skies..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink#Constellation_design_and_status

 

This anime might become a reality..

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

[goates 576]

SpaceX has a live stream going on right now. Currently following the astronauts as they prep for the flight.