Shuttle launch as seen by skydivers

[Ian David]

Hat-tip to: http://twitter.com/ceciliatan/status/16863010647

[Robb]

1. That is every kind of awesome.

Thanks for posting.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. What Robb said. Absolutely AWESOME!!

[Blue Owl]

3. RAD!

Now there's some bitchin' perspective.

[arcane1]

4. How cool is that???

[groovedaddy]

5. Jeeeeesh! What was their altitude when they took this!?! n.t

[zipplewrath]

7. Prolly 10 grand

They typically jump around 13K. Give the camera guy time to get into position, you figure it's maybe 10K. Higher if they jumped from 15 for this special case.

From the perspective I'm guessing they jumped up in Deland. Cloud decks are often at 3 - 5 grand most times of the year, well at least when it's jumpable. Otherwise they're up around 10 - 12 grand, and it's raining somewhere.

[deutsey]

6. Wow.

Thanks for posting. :hi:

[zipplewrath]

8. Only skydivers know why the birds sing

Just saying.

If flying is riding in an airplane, then swimming is riding in a boat.

If you want to experience the element, get out of the vehicle.

[shireen]

9. beautiful!

thanks for posting! :hi:

[Mojorabbit]

10. Lovely!

I need to skydive again. Nothing like it.

[shireen]

13. i think i'd be too terrified to try it!

Hell, I'm too scared to even float in water ... big chicken, i am! :D

[Mojorabbit]

17. I did a tandem jump

and I wasn't so crazy about the free fall part of it but when I opened the chute I just floated light as air. It was the absolute most awesome feeling in the world. There is just no description for it, it is so wonderful.
It was also cool to step out onto the struts of the plane at ten thousand feet and take the jump too! You would love it and a tandem jump means you would have someone connected to you so you wouldn't get into trouble.

[Greyskye]

11. Love to see a video from that perspective.

Absolutely breathtaking shot. :thumbsup:

[shireen]

12. and a friend sent me this one

Video is a bit choppy but you can clearly see the launch in many spots, quite awesome!
http://gizmodo.com/5181921/people-skydiving-to-see-space-shuttle-launch

[Greyskye]

14. Very cool, thanks!

Looks like they didn't start out as high as the OP's photo?

[Ian David]

22. Oh, wow... that was amazing! n/t

[shireen]

15. someone on another board thinks it's a fake

he suggested it was probably taken by a chase plane at 35,000 ft and someone photoshopped the sky divers into it. If that's true, it may explain why i can't find the person who took it. It's very odd that a spectacular photo like this has no attribution. I'm trying to find out more about it ... if i learn anything new, I'll post it here.

[Ready4Change]

16. One potential problem:

NASA clears the airspace for a long ways around the Cape before a launch. My first thought on seeing the pic was how did these people get permission to be that close?

[Posteritatis]

20. Don't they not like launching through low cloud cover, too? (nt)

[Heywood J]

18. That definitely looks closer to 35,000 feet than anything

you would/could skydive from. At that height, it would be awfully cold.

It would be reasonably easy for someone with the right link on NOAA or similar to find out how high the cloud cover was in Florida that day, and estimate how far above the clouds they are from the angles.

[krispos42]

19. "What's the last thing to go through a bug's mind when it hits a windshield?"

"His ass."




I thought this post would be in that vein. :-)

Very cool shot, if it's not a 'shop.

[Odin2005]

21. Looks photoshopped.

[Tommy_J]

23. Not the Shuttle

This was reported elsewhere to be a Delta Launching from Vandenberg

[caraher]

24. A link backing Tommy's post

Not the Shuttle, but not Photoshop, either.