Michael Purcell's Astrophotography
[ Previous | Top | Thumbnails | MasterList | Next ]Launch of the space shuttle Discovery (STS102)
All of these images were taken by my wife, Connie Purcell, during the launch of the space shuttle Discovery on March 8, 2001. Although this was an eight month delay from the original launch date, everything went perfectly. The sunrise launch was absolutely spectacular.We arrived at the Kennedy Space Center at 3:30am for the 6:42am launch. We were parked about five miles due south of the launch pad.
| . | (Click on each thumbnail to go to the full image.) |
| The Vehicle Assembly Building before sunrise. |  |
| Discovery, about 10 minutes before launch. |  |
| The solid fuel booster rockets ignite, illuminating the vapor cloud formed when the orbiter main engines struck the water used to cool the launch pad. |  |
| Discovery has just cleared the launch pad gantry. The top of the initial vapor cloud is still visible. |  |
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| The shuttle is now high enough to catch the first orange glow of sunrise |  |
| Higher into sunrise. |  |
| At this point the sound of the blastoff hits us. It is a continuous rolling thunder that keeps building. |  |
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| On the left you can now see the shadow in the sky cast by the vapor trail. |  |
| Discovery is now high enough that the roar of the engines has faded. |  |
| The booster rockets have just separated from the orbiter. |  |
| "Second star to the right, straight on til morning..." |  |
For information on how to get a NASA pass to the shuttle launch observation area, see NASA's Viewing Launches and Landings page.
This page last updated on March 17, 2001 Contact Michael Purcell