Shuttle_RTF: Please read!!!

[najab]

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/news/releases/2005/M05-008.html

 

[SpaceKiwi]

Good luck with trying to get accreditation, SRTF. If you manage this, you will be one lucky <expletive deleted>!<br /><br />najaB, have you ever attended a launch, living relatively close to the action as you do? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em><font size="2" color="#ff0000">Who is this superhero?  Henry, the mild-mannered janitor ... could be!</font></em></p><p><em><font size="2">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></em></p><p><font size="5">Bring Back The Black!</font></p> </div>

 

[najab]

><i>najaB, have you ever attended a launch, living relatively close to the action as you do?</i><p>I suppose compared to you I am close, but it's nearly 2,000 miles from here to Florida! No, I've never been lucky enough to have a visit to Florida coincide with a launch.</p>

 

[ascan1984]

Goodluck. I really hope you are successfull.

 

[SpaceKiwi]

Wow, talk about chinese whispers!<br /><br />Actually najaB, I was thinking not so much about the miles, but your ability to probably get a cheap deal on airfares out of the Caribbean to Florida. It's approx 1500 miles between here and Australia and you can, if you plan well, get one way fares for the equivalent of about $75-125 USD. I imagine the competition for passengers is even fiercer over there? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em><font size="2" color="#ff0000">Who is this superhero?  Henry, the mild-mannered janitor ... could be!</font></em></p><p><em><font size="2">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></em></p><p><font size="5">Bring Back The Black!</font></p> </div>

 

[shuttle_rtf]

I'm on it mate, but not holding my breath. Will let you know.

 

[SpaceKiwi]

If you do manage to get yourself officially invited to the show, STRF, you will have to try and collar SG for an in depth piece on the man behind the moniker!<br /><br />I believe if you park a sailplane in the carpark, you will probably flush him out of a building somewhere! <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em><font size="2" color="#ff0000">Who is this superhero?  Henry, the mild-mannered janitor ... could be!</font></em></p><p><em><font size="2">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></em></p><p><font size="5">Bring Back The Black!</font></p> </div>

 

[shuttle_rtf]

>Thank you for submitting your request to visit Kennedy Space Center.<br /><br />The request process is comprised of 4 steps and is completed in the order shown below.<br /><br />1: Request received (Completed)<br />2: Credentials verified (Pending)<br />3: Approval granted (Pending)<br />4: Request accepted by badging office (Pending)<br /><br />You will receive e-mail notifications as each of these steps is completed.<<br /><br />At least it might hold me in good favour in say five launches or so time.

 

[shuttle_rtf]

>If you do manage to get yourself officially invited to the show, STRF, you will have to try and collar SG for an in depth piece on the man behind the moniker!<br /><br />I believe if you park a sailplane in the carpark, you will probably flush him out of a building somewhere! <<br /><br /><br />For sure, it's something we hardly see enough of - and why the Return to Flight thread is where you can learn more interesting information than on Nasa.gov<br /><br />Damn, now I have to go to www.buy-a-sailplane.com <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />

 

[shuttle_rtf]

Oh, the tension <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br /> />Your request has been received in the Press Site Media Accreditation Online application.<br />Reason for Access <br />STS-114 launch <br /><br />The next step in the process to gain access to KSC is to verify the information you have entered. The next e-mail you receive will be sent at the completion of the verification step.<

 

[shuttle_rtf]

We call them Gliders over here - and 8 miles east of York (my City) we have Pocklington Glider Club in the Yorkshire Wolds - on the site of a former World War II airbase for RAF Bombers...huge runway. Gliders are pulled up by a tractor wire - or behind a plane.<br /><br />I've been up a few times via the winch. Loads of fun!<br /><br /> /> The Glider Winch.<br /><br />Our winch is a "Supacat" which was bought new in 1991 costing over £40,000. It is simply a 180hp diesel engine mounted on a chassis which drives two drums containing about 1km of 5mm stranded cable on each. The winch driver (sitting in a protected cab) engages the required drum and then smoothly and rapidly pulls in the cable that is attached to the glider at the far end of the airfield. The glider then gains height until it is almost over the winch at about 1000ft. The winch driver then cuts the power and the glider pilot releases the cable and enters free flight.<<br /><br />Found a picture!:

 

[shuttle_rtf]

>Hang in there never give up never give up.... <<br /><br />You bet -<br /><br />It is (I don't know how strange this makes me) my life ambition to see a launch in person....they'll be no giving up here.<br />

 

[SpaceKiwi]

""It is (I don't know how strange this makes me) my life ambition to see a launch in person""<br /><br /><br />No comment. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br /><br />Actually, in all seriousness, I think most of us around here would quite happily watch rockets being launched all day. Like you, I myself have that ambition to witness a rocket launch in person. I've been fascinated with all things space since the days when I was a kid and would cut clippings out of the newspaper about anything to do with rockets, and paste them in a scrapbook. I regret very much that I no longer have those books, as they were one of my most treasured possessions growing up.<br /><br />So, you are doing this not only for yourself but for all of us here at the SDC who live far and wide, and one day hope to follow in your footsteps to KSC and watch in awe. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em><font size="2" color="#ff0000">Who is this superhero?  Henry, the mild-mannered janitor ... could be!</font></em></p><p><em><font size="2">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></em></p><p><font size="5">Bring Back The Black!</font></p> </div>

 

[shuttle_rtf]

>nice picture, is that your home field?<<br /><br />We have quiet a number of airfields dotted around the city - which are now used for light aircraft, all built up for World War II. <br /><br />York was highly protected - we are the major rail hub (basically you can get to anywhere in the UK from our 21 platformed monster of a Victorian listed building rail station). Ironically, the Nazi's were getting quiet a bashing from the RAF - so concentrated on the industrial cities. We did get a bit of a bombing one night, but that failed to hit more than just a few rail tracks.<br /><br />A few months later, Berlin's bomber commander decided he'd have a bit of fun and said "Which ever city this book opens on, we shall make it an example of Nazi might."<br /> <br />The page, which happened to be tourist information, landed on one of the most visited cities in the country, the 2000 year old Roman/Viking city of York.<br /><br />30 bombers were sent over to flatten York, but the Squadron leader, approaching a blacked out city, saw our weak point ahead of him. A full moon was shining and the massive York Minster Cathedral - made of limestone - lit up, showing location and direction.<br /><br />What was reported to have happened was he thought the Gothic Cathedral looked so beautiful, he refused to allow the city to be bombed, taking his bombers to join in the bombardment of Sheffield - 60 miles to the south. Some say he was spooked...given York is (officially) the most haunted city in Northern Europe. Either ways he was executed upon his return, but became the first Nazi to be honoured as a war hero - and has a plaque honouring him, next to the statue of the Roman Emperor Constantine - who set up his base here in York, in the then Roman capital of Britain.<br /><br />Picture below is of York Minster Cathedral - from about two miles away. I live just to the right of it - the buildings in the foreground make the size deceptive, I've lived here most of my life and I still cant get over t

 

[shuttle_rtf]

>Actually, in all seriousness, I think most of us around here would quite happily watch rockets being launched all day. Like you, I myself have that ambition to witness a rocket launch in person. I've been fascinated with all things space since the days when I was a kid and would cut clippings out of the newspaper about anything to do with rockets, and paste them in a scrapbook. I regret very much that I no longer have those books, as they were one of my most treasured possessions growing up.<br /><br />So, you are doing this not only for yourself but for all of us here at the SDC who live far and wide, and one day hope to follow in your footsteps to KSC and watch in awe.<<br /><br />This is exactly what creating the Space Flight site was all about. I've not got a degree in Aerospace Engineering, I'd run out of things to say after two minutes - if you asked me to talk for half an hour about the RCS, but like you I've got one hell of a passion, interest and respect for these Orbiters and the team that work on them. I've been wanting to do this site for years - but through other media work have only gained the position to do this now (and only just - in a revenue sense).<br /><br />I'm so going to need everyone's help, advise, criticisms, support, because we're approaching this for a different angle to most media sites. <br /><br />We're going to let the experts do the talking (the quotes) while the writers, write. We just want to do what we're good at, writing...portraying the passion we (all of us who hold an interest in space flight) have while being a forum for the meat of the information - the quotes we write around, from the people who can talk about what they're good at....making machines go upwards <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <br /><br />PS My favourite band is from New Zealand! (Don't know if you've heard of, or like, Shihad? They were called Pacifier for a while when trying to break the US, but reverted back to Shihad in 2004).

 

[shuttle_rtf]

> very beautiful pictue, a very nice place to live. Too bad the Space Shuttle does not launch fro there !<<br /><br />Well you and anyone on here are welcome over any time - and I'll give you the tour of the place...place to stay and as much of the strong stuff from Scotland as you can handle <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />Either that or we'll have a go at converting my garage into an OPF, the Cathedral is higher than 50 storeys, so there's yer VAB, the football (soccer) stadium is two miles down the road - that's the launch pad....I think we're stuffed on our distance north of the equator - but my mate Steve reckons he's tweaked an extra 20 BHP out of his car's engine, so I'll see what he's like with SRB's and SSME's <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />

 

[najab]

><i>if you plan well, get one way fares for the equivalent of about $75-125 USD. I imagine the competition for passengers is even fiercer over there?</i><p>Unfortunately, the good deals are the other way - US to the Caribbean. The cheapest I can get to Florida is about $400USD. <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" /></p>

 

[shuttle_rtf]

UK to Orlando in May is nothing shorter than over $1000 - waiting (have to till Bill Parsons says what he thinks the launch date is going to be) to see what last minute deals are like.

 

[SpaceKiwi]

Ah yes, Mssrs Toogood, Larkin, Knight and Kippenberger if I'm not mistaken. Sounds like 4/7th's of an STS crew when it's said like that! The name-change thing was a real big deal over this way when it happened, but good to see that they finally came to their senses. A new EP came out a couple of months ago, but I'm sure you already know that. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em><font size="2" color="#ff0000">Who is this superhero?  Henry, the mild-mannered janitor ... could be!</font></em></p><p><em><font size="2">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></em></p><p><font size="5">Bring Back The Black!</font></p> </div>

 

[SpaceKiwi]

Well, that is decidedly unhelpful of the airlines then! It's a shame you can't get your university to send you over that way for some reason related to your post-graduate work. Where is the university-funded research junket when you need one! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em><font size="2" color="#ff0000">Who is this superhero?  Henry, the mild-mannered janitor ... could be!</font></em></p><p><em><font size="2">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></em></p><p><font size="5">Bring Back The Black!</font></p> </div>

 

[shuttle_rtf]

Yeah I did mate. Got to number 2 in the NZ charts I hear. That one is a bit of a harder track, but the albums The General Electric and even the Pacifier Album are totally brilliant. I think I know about 40 people from Wellington from being a fan of this band, all nice people <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />Oh and Tom Larkin likes rockets - he's always on the band's forum. Jon Toogood rules - especially with a name like that <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />Wow, small world!

 

[SpaceKiwi]

Really, I didn't know that about Larkin. I have to say, it always makes me laugh when I see the 'Pacifier' music video on tv and notice where Larkin is resting his glass of milk. Perhaps I'm reading more into it than there actually is but, from what I heard and seen of the band, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it wasn't a clever attempt to subtlely slip one past the NZ censors! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em><font size="2" color="#ff0000">Who is this superhero?  Henry, the mild-mannered janitor ... could be!</font></em></p><p><em><font size="2">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></em></p><p><font size="5">Bring Back The Black!</font></p> </div>

 

[shuttle_rtf]

Yeah, that's a funny video. Play on a Clockwork Orange, but I think cause Tom's a bit on the heavy side he had no where else to rest it. Jon makes a great Alex (from the film). Love that song!<br /><br />Wait and See is the best video by far, but they've got to be the most diverse band on the planet. Just took a wrong turn when they signed that massive deal with Arista to break the US. They were the first rock band to sign with that mainly rap label and thank goodness they are back with Warner. Just think it's a crime The General Electric album never got publicity outside NZ/Aus as it's brilliant.

 

[spaceiscool]

Bet your gonna be pissed off if you pay for that flight and they don't launch. That'll soon put you off.

 

[shuttle_rtf]

I'm hardly going to be putting personal expense on going to see a launch over the due diligence of the KSC crew in making sure Discovery launches safely - whenever that is.