#sts-129

"CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With more than 23 times the power output of the Hoover Dam, the Constellation Program's Ares I-X test rocket zooms off Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket produces 2.96 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and reaches a speed of 100 mph in eight seconds. At right is space shuttle Atlantis, poised on Launch Pad 39A for liftoff, targeted for Nov. 16. Liftoff of the 6-minute flight test was at 11:30 a.m. EDT Oct. 28. This was the first launch from Kennedy's pads of a vehicle other than the space shuttle since the Apollo Program's Saturn rockets were retired. The parts used to make the Ares I-X booster flew on 30 different shuttle missions ranging from STS-29 in 1989 to STS-106 in 2000. The data returned from more than 700 sensors throughout the rocket will be used to refine the design of future launch vehicles and bring NASA one step closer to reaching its exploration goals."

Date: October 28, 2009

NASA ID: KSC-2009-5951, KSC-2009-5946

source

Last weekend, I managed to intersect orbits with Leland Melvin, NASA astronaut and veteran of not one, but two, spaceflights. If you don’t know of him already, you need to! Not only is he a great spokesperson for space exploration, he’s also a major force for education and outreach and making the world a better place. BONUS: HE IS CREATING HIS OWN STARTORIAL FASHION LINE.

So far there are only a few sneak peaks on his Instagram, but after seeing this sample jacket in person I can attest to its awesomeness. I even asked Leland if I could take a photo of the label because there is such incredible attention to detail in the craftsmanship. If you can’t make out the words, it says explains that the cloud image on the jacket was taken by Leland himself on STS-129 while docked to the International Space Station. 

I can’t wait to see more of Leland’s “Urban Space Gear Apparel Line” - I promise to bug him for some startorial exclusives, so watch this space...*

In the meantime, I highly recommend checking out Leland’s new book about his life: Chasing Space. It’s available as a young reader’s edition too. I’m already a third of the way through and loving it. 

- Summer

(via Space Shuttle Atlantis: Cape Canaveral landing after 11-day mission | Daily Mail Online)

12 days.

Space shuttle Atlantis emerges through the clouds over Launch Pad 39A on a balmy Florida afternoon at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Liftoff on its STS-129 mission came at 2:28 p.m. EST on Nov. 16, 2009.