Sky watchers across North America witnessed a strange event on the night of 9 Sept. 2009. As space shuttle Discovery glided silently overhead, the orbiter sprouted a flamboyant comet-like tail. Clair Perry sends this picture from Prince Edward Island, Canada: "The shuttle put on a major light show," says Perry.In Madison, Wisconsin, photographer Abe Megahed witnessed a similar display: "The shuttle was sporting a massive curved plume. What could it be? Something venting? Reaction Control System thrusters? A massive, record-breaking urine dump?"Stop laughing. Shuttle pilot Kevin Ford was indeed scheduled to carry out a number of "waste water" dumps over a several hour period around the time of these observations. Pristine water supplies and condensates were also dumped overboard in preparation for landing on Thursday, Sept. 10th.Thursday's landing opportunities at the Kennedy Space Center begin with a planned deorbit burn at 5:59 p.m. EDT and a daylight landing at 7:05 p.m. The next opportunity is one hour after sunset with the deorbit burn at 7:36 p.m. EDT and a landing at 8:42 p.m. EDT.
Sunday 20 September, 2009
It's not a Comet, It is Urion !
Sky watchers across North America witnessed a strange event on the night of 9 Sept. 2009. As space shuttle Discovery glided silently overhead, the orbiter sprouted a flamboyant comet-like tail. Clair Perry sends this picture from Prince Edward Island, Canada: "The shuttle put on a major light show," says Perry.In Madison, Wisconsin, photographer Abe Megahed witnessed a similar display: "The shuttle was sporting a massive curved plume. What could it be? Something venting? Reaction Control System thrusters? A massive, record-breaking urine dump?"Stop laughing. Shuttle pilot Kevin Ford was indeed scheduled to carry out a number of "waste water" dumps over a several hour period around the time of these observations. Pristine water supplies and condensates were also dumped overboard in preparation for landing on Thursday, Sept. 10th.Thursday's landing opportunities at the Kennedy Space Center begin with a planned deorbit burn at 5:59 p.m. EDT and a daylight landing at 7:05 p.m. The next opportunity is one hour after sunset with the deorbit burn at 7:36 p.m. EDT and a landing at 8:42 p.m. EDT.
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