What do SRBs do all day?

[gridlore]

Somebody at NASA has remembered that space flight is cool, and even cooler when we see it up close. Discovery had a camera mounted on the right SRB for this launch. The resulting 12 minute video follows the entire "career" of the SRB from launch, to separation, to splashdown. Amazing.

One suggestion for the NASA boys.. next time include a microphone.

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/sts-121_front/index.html

Comments

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

Insert deafening roar a few moments after the water starts. :) Then go to deep silence after the engines cut off. That should simulate it well enough.

Video is nice though a bit boring once the tank just starts tumbling toward earth.

[notthebuddha.livejournal.com]

It is indeed cool, but the main reason was a mandate to photograph anything happening with the underside of the shuttle.

An extarnal tank camera would be even cooler, though not if the lens accumulated the same crud high up that this one did.

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

Looked like most of the 'crud' was the result of the SRB tumbling through its own exhaust plume right after separation.

Neat video. Thanks for the link.

[claidheamhmor]

That sounds really cool - I'll download it at home (can't get it at work, unfortunately). Nice icon, BTW.

[kengr]

Mike won't do a lot of good. The sound level once the engine ignites is some insane number of decibels. Any mike that can handle that, won't be sensitive enough to pick up much of anything once the engine cuts off.