I've been running back and forth to Kennedy Space Center this week to cover the upcoming launch of Endeavour on STS-134. While waiting around Thursday evening for RSS retract, some weather rolled in and delayed things. But it was photogenic.
(For those unfamiliar: RSS retract is when a large part of the pad structure that surrounds the shuttle is rolled back. Prior to this, very little of the vehicle can be seen from outside.)
The color here had me worried, and there were some >65dBZ returns on radar. Hail can damage the shuttle stack and cause significant delays. Luckily the worst of it passed just to the North.
After the heaviest rain passed through, I ventured outside again for some lightning:
RSS retract did finally happen about five hours late. I'll probably post some images from that in the B&G.
(For those unfamiliar: RSS retract is when a large part of the pad structure that surrounds the shuttle is rolled back. Prior to this, very little of the vehicle can be seen from outside.)
The color here had me worried, and there were some >65dBZ returns on radar. Hail can damage the shuttle stack and cause significant delays. Luckily the worst of it passed just to the North.
After the heaviest rain passed through, I ventured outside again for some lightning:
RSS retract did finally happen about five hours late. I'll probably post some images from that in the B&G.
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