It will appear to move very fast much faster than an orbiting satellite due to its near orbital velocity at low altitudes (30-60 mi). If the weather is clear the shuttle should be easy to see. If you're positioned near the edge of a viewing circle, the shuttle will barely come above the horizon and could be obscured by low clouds or haze. The bright star Sirius briefly streaks through the scene giving a sense of scale and brightness to the shuttle's glow.įor most viewers, the shuttle will appear to literally skim the horizon, so be sure there are no buildings or trees to obstruct your view.ĭepending upon your distance from the coastline, the shuttle will be relatively low on the horizon (5 to 15 degrees your fist on an outstretched arm covers about 10 degrees of sky). Byrd shot video of the shuttle from Virginia after a November 2000 night launch. Observers who train binoculars on the shuttle should be able to see its tiny V-shaped contrail. It should appear as a very bright, pulsating, fast-moving star, shining with a yellowish-orange glow. Based on previous night missions, the brightness should be at least equal to magnitude -2 rivaling Sirius, the brightest star in brilliance. 9, 2006 (the STS-116 mission).Īfter the solid rocket boosters are jettisoned, Discovery will be visible for most locations by virtue of the light emanating from its three main engines. The brilliant light emitted by the two solid rocket boosters will be visible for the first 2 minutes and 4 seconds of the launch out to a radius of some 520 statute miles from the Kennedy Space Center.ĭepending on where you are located relative to Cape Canaveral, Discovery will become visible anywhere from a few seconds to just over 2 minutes after it leaves Pad 39-A.įor an example of what all this looks like from Florida, see video of a night launch made by Rob Haas from Titusville, FL, on Dec. In the Southeast United States, depending on a viewer's distance from Cape Canaveral,Fla., the "stack" (shuttle orbiter, external tank and solid rocket boosters) can be easily followed thanks to the fiery output of the solid rocket boosters.
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