# HDNet to Air Atlantis Shuttle Launch



## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Network to air spectacular high-definition coverage beginning at 6:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 8

DALLAS (May 31, 2007) - HDNet will once again put viewers right on the launch pad with exclusive high-definition coverage of the planned liftoff of Space Shuttle Atlantis, set for 7:34 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 8. The network's coverage will begin at 6:00 p.m. EDT.

STS-117 will be the 21st U.S. mission to the International Space Station. The flight will deliver and attach the second and third starboard truss segments to the station-the Integrated Truss Structure S3/S4 and associated set of power-generating solar arrays.

"In continuing our partnership with NASA, HDNet is excited to bring our viewers the latest installment in the history of the Space Shuttle Program," said Mark Cuban, president and co-founder of HDNet. "Plus, our coverage makes you feel like you're standing right at the launch pad - making this historical coverage even more spectacular."

HDNet World Report Correspondent Greg Dobbs and former shuttle astronaut Charles "Sam" Gemar will again anchor live coverage from the launch site at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

HDNet's exclusive HD partnership with NASA allows the network exceptional access to the shuttle and its astronauts, including coverage of the crew's prelaunch preparations such as the astronauts getting into their vacuum suits, moving into the orbiter and making their final preparations before liftoff.

In addition, HDNet's coverage will include interviews with the NASA astronauts and shuttle workers. Dobbs will present an in-depth conversation with the STS-117 astronauts as they talk about their families, fears, inspirations, and ambitions. He will also speak with a NASA shuttle engineer who explains just what it took to fix an external fuel tank that initially didn't look fixable.

For this launch, HDNet will deploy a special CANON DIGISUPER 86II TELE xs (2322mm) lens for a view from the roof of the 525-foot tall Vehicle Assembly Building. This camera will be used extensively for launch and debris analysis, something that NASA will undoubtedly be watching with a close eye.

Source: www.hd.net


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## cavihitts (Mar 11, 2007)

I'll be setting it on the dvr. I have not seen one of the launches of any kind in HD yet so it will be interesting.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

> HDNet will deploy a special CANON DIGISUPER 86II TELE xs (2322mm) lens


I want one for my Canon GL2. :lol:


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

You mean you want one of these honkers? 


*DIGISUPER 86II TELE xs Super 
Telephoto, Weight. 53.6lbs*

:lol:


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## n3ntj (Dec 18, 2006)

Would also be appropriate if D* showed in HD the launch of D10. ;-)


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

I think it would break my tripod. :lol: I am hoping, once again, to drive up there and take some good pictures of the launch. I guess I need to set a timer to record it. 

I may go shopping for a doubler for my 400mm fixed lens for my digi cam between now and then.


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## Chandu (Oct 3, 2005)

Hopefully the weather cooperates. I remember all the false starts last time due to tropical storms and impending hurricanes and what not.


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## John W (Dec 20, 2005)

Great, but, more shuttle and less Greg Dobbs.


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## purtman (Sep 19, 2006)

cavihitts said:


> I'll be setting it on the dvr. I have not seen one of the launches of any kind in HD yet so it will be interesting.


I promise you will enjoy it. My two little boys love spaceships so we sit down as a family and watch it.


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## Leprechuan (Apr 18, 2007)

I got lucky last December, I was home when the shuttle lifted off at night, my wife was in Florida and was able to watch it go up live and she told me that it was stunning to see.
I was able to capture the landing in HD on December 22 as well.
I still get goose bumps when the shuttle goes takes off and lands.
The HD Net feed was amazing to watch, I saved it to the DVR and rerun it for a few friends, they were blown away.

Peace,

Leprechuan


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## cavihitts (Mar 11, 2007)

I would love to see and hear it go off in person.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

I've mentioned this before, but I was in Florida for shuttle launch #2 way back in the old days. I decided to go to Cocoa Beach to catch the launch and stayed in a hotel in Cocoa Beach the night before. While leaving the hotel to get as close as possible to the Cape on the morning of the launch I spied a piece of paper on the floor of the lobby. Doing my duty I bent over to pick it up and toss it away. Before doing so I looked at it. On one side was a map of the Cape Canaveral area on the other side (bright red paper with black print) it said VIP PASS. I stuck this on my dashboard and followed the directions and was waved through all the gates to the press area. THAT was an experience. The ground shook when that thing took off and I don't think it was just my excitement. I believe I ended up about 2-3 miles away, in any case I was as close as a "normal" person could get (not saying specifically that I am "normal"). I wish I had a decent camera back then.


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## cavihitts (Mar 11, 2007)

That's crazy. I wish that was me.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

I know Richard and trust me, you wouldn't want to be him. :lol:


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

HEY!!! I resemble, er, resent that remark.


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## cnmsales (Jan 9, 2007)

Hey cool stuff, back when I was about 11 yrs old or so my cousins step dads dad was a big wig at the Nasa test facility in Mississippi. We got to go there and stand on the building all the big wigs stand at and watch them test fire the rockets to be used. It was a really neat experience. We got to meet all the astronauts and everything. Very cool. Thanks for the heads up on this. Hopefully i wont forget to set the recorder once i get my replacement DVR.


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## Larry G (Apr 13, 2006)

cavihitts said:


> I'll be setting it on the dvr. I have not seen one of the launches of any kind in HD yet so it will be interesting.


A Shuttle launch in HD is truly an awe inspiring sight:eek2:


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## SledDog (May 6, 2007)

I think I'll just step out into the back yard and watch it. I usually watch the feed until I can see it from my yard (about 10 seconds after lift off). I watch it from the yard until booster seperation, we can usually see that fairly well. Then it's back inside to watch the rest of the flight until it's out of camera range.

Seeing it in HD is great, but there's nothing like seeing it live, with the naked eye!


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## cavihitts (Mar 11, 2007)

Nick said:


> I know Richard and trust me, you wouldn't want to be him. :lol:


Ok. I take that back. How about I wish that would have happened to me. :lol:


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

:lol: I was in the right place at the right time. It's amazing how things just work out sometimes. If I had gotten out of there 2 minutes later (or earlier) someone else would have been able to enjoy what I experienced that day. :lol:


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

> I may go shopping for a doubler for my 400mm fixed lens for my digi cam between now and then.


OUCH!!! No budget for that at the moment and the local camera shop won't rent me one.


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## c152driver (Jan 21, 2007)

I'll watch, but not live. I watched the Challenger disaster replay too many times as a kid. I always get a little nervous when a shuttle goes up.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

This one could be quite interesting since it is later in the day and the sun angles will be very good for picture taking (or HDTV shooting). From where I normally stand, the sun will be nearly directly behind me lighting up the shuttle quite nicely. I normally am able to get about 10 miles away almost due west of the launch pad. The map here: http://www.pbase.com/rking401/image/66576651 shows where I have been for the last couple of launches.


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## SledDog (May 6, 2007)

Richard King said:


> This one could be quite interesting since it is later in the day and the sun angles will be very good for picture taking (or HDTV shooting). From where I normally stand, the sun will be nearly directly behind me lighting up the shuttle quite nicely. I normally am able to get about 10 miles away almost due west of the launch pad. The map here: http://www.pbase.com/rking401/image/66576651 shows where I have been for the last couple of launches.


Nice spot... Were you past the causeway and close to the Merritt Island Wildfire Refuge Welcome center? Or were you back closer to the marina? You can actually go closer to Playalinda Beach. The beach and it's access used to be closed when there was a shuttle on the pad, until the road was "moved" outside the safety/security zone. Going to the beach, you used to passed the train gate that enters the north side of the launch complexes

I'm about 7 miles down the road from there on US 1 (east side) If it wasn't for the trees I could see the pads from my from my backyard. I'd cut 'em down, back the DEP frowns on cutting mangroves....


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

The place I go is just off of Titusville, where you would normally go to get to Playalinda Beach. They have a road block set up right before entering the island where I stop and don't allow anyone beyond that point during a launch.


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## DogLover (Mar 19, 2007)

I have to admit you guys are making me jealous. I grew up in Rockledge, watching Apollo and Shuttle launches. Haven't been back when a launch was scheduled for about 15 years now. I've only had HD for about 2 months now, and I'm anxious to see how it compares for a launch. (Can't compare to being there.)


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

We are getting some storms rolling in today. I hope they roll out before launch time. Right now I have lost my satellite signal, which is a very rare occurance.


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## cavihitts (Mar 11, 2007)

+1 I'm hyped now. I have it set to record. I won't be able to watch it live and you guys got me wishing I was down there.


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## SledDog (May 6, 2007)

Forecast calls for the rain and most of the clouds to be gone by Launch time...

The only bad part is all the tourist in the local area. I was planning on going to dinner prior to the launch, but I just may put those plans off.


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## cavihitts (Mar 11, 2007)

SledDog said:


> Forecast calls for the rain and most of the clouds to be gone by Launch time...
> 
> The only bad part is all the tourist in the local area. I was planning on going to dinner prior to the launch, but I just may put those plans off.


I'm getting the idea that you don't like tourist/ out-of-towners lol. I guess it must be pretty bad to where you don't even want to go out to eat. I have not contributed to that but I hope to one day. Sorry in advance.


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## MikeR7 (Jun 17, 2006)

Has anyone seen the 3D IMAX feature on the space station? That has a shuttle launch sequence, and you feel like you are right on board! It was awesome!


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## n3ntj (Dec 18, 2006)

I saw it at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's IMAX theatre, It was WAY COOL!


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

Still overcast here.


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## rahchgo (Feb 2, 2007)

Richard King said:


> Still overcast here.


I'm not going to be home for the launch. I'm thinking that I should pad the recording. In your experience, is there a typical launch window for a shuttle launch? How long should I pad?


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

I think the window is only about 10 minutes tonight. Check out Spaceflightnow.com for details.


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## rahchgo (Feb 2, 2007)

Richard King said:


> I think the window is only about 10 minutes tonight. Check out Spaceflightnow.com for details.


Ten minutes is correct. I found it on NASA's web site. Thanks Richard.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts117/index.html


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## penguin44 (Oct 29, 2005)

I hope I can catch it, major storm up here in the northeast.


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## SledDog (May 6, 2007)

Made it dinner and back....

US 1 has sooooooo many tourist on it that the sheriff and local cops are having to force people to use the cross walks!

I almost ran over atleast 10 of them J-walking!


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## SledDog (May 6, 2007)

cavihitts said:


> I'm getting the idea that you don't like tourist/ out-of-towners lol. I guess it must be pretty bad to where you don't even want to go out to eat. I have not contributed to that but I hope to one day. Sorry in advance.


It's VERY bad. The tourist here for the launch ignore the traffic signals, block intersections, try to cross major roads without using the cross-walks, park on private property (I have to rope off my front yard, otherwise these idiots park on my lawn, and I'm on a side street!), and could care less about their safety or anyone elses!

They'll run each other over (or anyone else) to get a parking spot to watch the shot. After it's over, they'll try and kill each other to get out into traffic!

I don't mind the tourist or the snowbirds if they have some consideration for the local residents. But most don't!


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## purtman (Sep 19, 2006)

The launch was sweet!!!


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

I made it back.... it was sweet in person also. There seemed to be a bunch more people there than normal and when leaving I sat in one spot for over an hour, but then, I knew that would happen when I arrived there. I got as close as possible which meant that I would be one of the last to leave. There were only about 4 cars parked to the East of mine. I'll be posting some pix later and let you all know where when they are up.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

The pix are up here: http://www.pbase.com/rking401/shuttle_launch_june_8_2007&page=all
Feel free to take a look and leave a comment or two. Someone I don't know was looking at them and left a comment before I was even done. :lol: By the way, you can check the time sequence below each picture. The first launch picture was at 19:40:43 and the last as it headed toward the horizon was at 19:43:25. Just under 3 minutes of action after a 2 hour drive there, a one hour wait and a two hour drive to return. :lol: But it was worth it.


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## krock918316 (Mar 5, 2007)

I wish I would have seen this thread earlier....i recorded from NASA TV


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Great pictures, Richard. The shots of the separation and falling away of the SRBs were spectacular.


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## cavihitts (Mar 11, 2007)

How did it look on HDNET. I was not around to see it in HD. I was away but I did catch the CNN coverage.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

I just watched it on HDNet. Great coverage. Looked great. The "narrators" are in the same spot where I was lucky enough to watch shuttle launch #2 many years ago, 3 miles from the launch.


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## apollosmith (Apr 11, 2007)

It looked good, but I wished they would just patch in the NASA audio instead of having their own commentators. They were pretty annoying, got a handful of facts wrong, and we missed a lot of the details and chatter that I love about NASA-TV. The super-duper camera they had for the long distance tracking shots didn't seem to work very well - there were some scan lines, static, and the aspect ratio was messed up. Still, it was pretty nice to see in HD and the audio was very nice.


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## purtman (Sep 19, 2006)

The launch begins again tonight (SATURDAY!!!) at 11:30 p.m. Central Time on HDNet (Ch. 79). Check it out!


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

Glad I didn't read that earlier or I might have driven up there again for the rerun. :lol:


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## purtman (Sep 19, 2006)

Richard King said:


> Glad I didn't read that earlier or I might have driven up there again for the rerun. :lol:


I had to come back in to work to run some reports and dragging here. This response definitely made my night. Just think, you could have caught both a day-time launch and a night-time launch. :lol:


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## cavihitts (Mar 11, 2007)

I finally got a chance to watch it and it looked pretty good. Also, great pics Richard


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## Charise (Jan 25, 2004)

Very nice pictures!

I have to admit that I haven't watched any of the launches in years, but I did watch this one in HD. Superb!!


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