|
Author
|
Topic: Photo of the week 587 (January 23, 2016)
|
heng44
Member Posts: 3387
From: Netherlands
Registered: Nov 2001
|
posted 01-23-2016 01:08 AM
   
 A camera aboard Mercury spacecraft 9 records the Atlas 93D booster falling away after orbit insertion during the Mercury-Atlas 5 flight on November 29, 1961. Chimpanzee Enos orbited the earth twice and splashed down about 320 km south of Bermuda. (Thanks to Joel Powell) |
Lasv3
Member Posts: 410
From: Bratislava, Slovakia
Registered: Apr 2009
|
posted 01-23-2016 02:38 AM
A fantastic shot, I never saw a photo of neither Atlas nor Redstone spent boosters taken after separation, really great!What is the white coloured area in the middle, is it some sort of sunlight reflection or ice or something else? |
Grounded!
Member Posts: 367
From: Bennington, Vermont, USA
Registered: Feb 2011
|
posted 01-23-2016 05:13 AM
Your extensive catalog of images never ceases to entertain me! Thanks for the photo Ed. |
PeterO
Member Posts: 399
From: North Carolina
Registered: Mar 2002
|
posted 01-23-2016 07:01 AM
The white band is ice formed when the LOX tank was filled. At liftoff, the entire upper portion of the Atlas is iced over, as in this photo of the MA-5 launch. As the Atlas ascends, the ice is melted from the empty portion of the tank by aerodynamic heating. Once the Atlas is high enough so that there's not enough atmosphere to cause heating, the rest of the ice remains. |
Lasv3
Member Posts: 410
From: Bratislava, Slovakia
Registered: Apr 2009
|
posted 01-23-2016 07:21 AM
Thanks for the excellent explanation! |
stsmithva
Member Posts: 1933
From: Fairfax, VA, USA
Registered: Feb 2007
|
posted 01-23-2016 09:12 AM
Fascinating photo, with the bonus technical/scientific explanation. Does anyone know if any of the Mercury astronauts reported seeing their booster (and just didn't get a photo of it)? |
Jurg Bolli
Member Posts: 977
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Nov 2000
|
posted 01-23-2016 09:15 AM
Great photo! |
PeterO
Member Posts: 399
From: North Carolina
Registered: Mar 2002
|
posted 01-23-2016 10:30 AM
According to the astronauts' post-flight reports, Glenn, Carpenter, Schirra and Cooper all saw their Atlas boosters.The entire Atlas (minus the booster engine skirt) was inserted into orbit. The capsule was turned around automatically as soon as it separated from the Atlas, so there was a high probability of seeing it. |
Ronpur
Member Posts: 1211
From: Brandon, Fl
Registered: May 2012
|
posted 01-23-2016 07:32 PM
Amazing!
|
mach3valkyrie
Member Posts: 719
From: Albany, Oregon
Registered: Jul 2006
|
posted 01-23-2016 11:56 PM
Great to see more of these obscure photos coming to light. Never saw one quite like this. |
Philip
Member Posts: 5952
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
|
posted 01-24-2016 12:16 PM
Is that a rear view mirror in the top photo? |
Lou Chinal
Member Posts: 1306
From: Staten Island, NY
Registered: Jun 2007
|
posted 01-26-2016 12:01 PM
Nether Shepard and Grissom saw their Redstone. Yes, that is a rear view mirror in the bottom of the picture. Ed, you did it again. |
advertisement