# Woo-hoo - GO DISCOVERY!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 26, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227 "2005-07-26T14:42:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/1 "2005-07-26T14:42:03Z")
Beautiful launch! I’ve always wondered why they rotate on launch so that the Shuttle is hanging upside down. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/2 "2005-07-26T14:43:42Z")
To inspect the fuel tanks. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/3 "2005-07-26T14:44:56Z")
Whew! Now I can breathe again! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/4 "2005-07-26T14:47:51Z")
Wow! What a beautiful shot of the tank separation! Oh, boy! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/5 "2005-07-26T14:47:57Z")
Word on beautiful. Discovery just separated from the main tank. Just beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/6 "2005-07-26T14:53:50Z")
> [@brachyrhynchos](#): > > Word on beautiful. Discovery just separated from the main tank. Just beautiful. Another beautiful thing was the sunlight and shadows as the ship rolled. It’s one of those things I’ve always noticed as a pilot, and I enjoy seeing it happen. I’ve freakin’ _got_ to get airborne again! ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/7 "2005-07-26T15:29:18Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I’ve freakin’ _got_ to get airborne again! “I must leave this planet, if only for an hour.” ``` - Antoine de St.-Exupéry ``` 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/8 "2005-07-26T15:40:32Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Beautiful launch! > > I’ve always wondered why they rotate on launch so that the Shuttle is hanging upside down. In addition to helping them inspect the tank, this reduces the aerodynamic load on the shuttle’s winds during ascent. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/9 "2005-07-26T15:57:56Z")
Further, the shuttle orients with the bottom up in orbit, so it saves fuel by making it an integral part of the profile. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/10 "2005-07-26T16:13:37Z")
We tried to see it from down here in Fort Myers but the haze and clouds obscured our view. Very disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![Tupug\_Anachi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@Tupug\_Anachi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tupug_Anachi)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/11 "2005-07-26T16:16:46Z")
Record crowd here at my office went out to the end of our parking lot to watch it. A few clouds but pretty clear. Mr. Anachi watched it in High Def. as he’s at home recuperating. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/12 "2005-07-26T21:03:44Z")
I agree on the pretty. [shameless bragging] My sister did an internship with NASA last summer. She was seriously involved in the ‘return-to-flight’ initiative, and spent a month working to figure out whether or not the problems that ruined Columbia would reoccur, and if so, how to stop that. So I can honestly say that my big sis was a part of this launch - they sent her an official patch and everything. [/shameless bragging] ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/13 "2005-07-26T21:10:36Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > My sister did an internship with NASA last summer. Cool. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/14 "2005-07-26T21:15:56Z")
Ooh, **NinjaChick** , that’s cool! I’m jealous! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/15 "2005-07-26T21:17:11Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Wow! What a beautiful shot of the tank separation! Oh, boy! That was a magnificent camera shot. A still frame is [here](http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/sc/010605shuttlenasa/im:/050726/480/dn31507261501;_ylt=Agxuq9ocOvzozyUr8Y3rtcMFO7gF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5bGcyMWMzBHNlYwNzc25hdg--). ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/16 "2005-07-26T22:08:00Z")
I got up early to watch. Have they done the end-over-end flip maneuver yet? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/17 "2005-07-27T08:04:09Z")
[Uh, oh.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4719847.stm) > [@](#): > > Nasa is investigating two cases of apparent debris seen falling from the space shuttle Discovery as it blasted off for Earth orbit. > > The events were captured in onboard video and the agency says it now needs to consider their significance. > > In one case, a heat shield tile seems to have been affected on the underside of the shuttle. > > There are now concerns over the news, hours after Nasa hailed its first shuttle flight in two-and-a-half years. > > The tip of the shuttle’s external fuel tank also hit a bird as it launched from Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed, folks. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/18 "2005-07-27T11:31:03Z")
What happens if they decide that the shuttle can’t make it back to earth? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/19 "2005-07-27T11:34:15Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > What happens if they decide that the shuttle can’t make it back to earth? I think Atlantis is supposedly ready to fly a rescue mission. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227/20 "2005-07-27T15:22:11Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > What happens if they decide that the shuttle can’t make it back to earth? Panic ensues. Well, at least in the media. NASA will do just fine, but the media will go berserk. _Panic_, I said, _panic_. Geez, you guys! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-hoo-go-discovery/314227.md?page=2)