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General Discussion => The Speakeasy: OOG/Off-topic Discussion => Topic started by: orange on 26 Nov 2011, 08:37

Title: MSL leaves for Mars in < 40 min
Post by: orange on 26 Nov 2011, 08:37

Mars Science Laboratory leaves Earth on its way to Mars in less than 40 minutes!  Watch it now on Spaceflightnow.com (http://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av028/status.html)

Title: Re: MSL leaves for Mars in < 40 min
Post by: Mizhara on 26 Nov 2011, 08:43

Think the site can't handle all it's viewers. I can't even connect to it. Ah well, someone'll record it and put it on Youtube anyway. I'll check it later.

Title: Re: MSL leaves for Mars in < 40 min
Post by: orange on 26 Nov 2011, 09:28

Well, in the meantime, cool MSL post launch overviews (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4boyXQuUIw&feature=related).

Title: Re: MSL leaves for Mars in < 40 min
Post by: Mizhara on 26 Nov 2011, 09:48

/me briefly thought it was gameplay footage from GSpaceProgram.

Title: Re: MSL leaves for Mars in < 40 min
Post by: Morwen Lagann on 26 Nov 2011, 09:55

I caught the separation burn, but nothing else - stuck on the west coast for the week and "luckily" was woken up by my dad calling at 7:30am local on a Saturday.

Also, Kerbal Space Program > *.

Title: Re: MSL leaves for Mars in < 40 min
Post by: Mizhara on 26 Nov 2011, 10:01

Kerbal, not Gerbal, roger. I keep mixing those up for some reason.

Anyway, actual launch footage: Nasa Linky. (http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?collection_id=18895&media_id=122049781)

Title: Re: MSL leaves for Mars in < 40 min
Post by: Senn Typhos on 26 Nov 2011, 10:14

You know, I've never been terribly interested in NASA or astronomy or the like, and I've never attentively watched a launch before, but, it really only just hit me, watching this one...

That thing is going to fucking space. O_o

Title: Re: MSL leaves for Mars in < 40 min
Post by: Mizhara on 26 Nov 2011, 10:19

Heheh, cool realization, isn't it?

I have personally never been one for launches and so on, but give me footage or whatever from outer space and I'll sit enraptured in front of the screen, lapping up every detail with a slight drool and shining eyes. Hell, just give me simulation footage and I'll be nailed to the screen. Carl Sagan and other high profile 'Science Entertainers' as it were are the ones that are most certain to make me smile and feel all hopeful for humanity and stuff, simply because they manage to paint such beautiful and mindblowing pictures of our existence in words that I can understand.

I guess they're quite simply very good at perspective.

Title: Re: MSL leaves for Mars in < 40 min
Post by: Morwen Lagann on 26 Nov 2011, 10:28

I grew up watching NASA footage from early space shuttle missions, as well as the old Apollo missions.

On Laserdisc.

God I feel old now. ._.

Title: Re: MSL leaves for Mars in < 40 min
Post by: orange on 26 Nov 2011, 13:53

Spacecraft separation from the Centaur upper stage. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxzwf99_feo)