A lovely photo by Tom Moler of NASA. Click here for the Twitpic'd full size image. The shuttle is due to launch tomorrow, Thursday February 24, at 4:50pm ET. The mission will be the 39th and final flight of Discovery, and the 133rd flight of the Space Shuttle program, which began on 12 April 1981.

(via Beth Beck, who is Space Operations Outreach Manager with NASA.)

  • kpurcell

    Hi Beth! Going through Shuttle Launch withdraw already, STS-132 seems so long ago now. Good Luck Discovery!

  • mkultra

    I hate to say this, but as someone who has used the same software for HDR composition that I assume Mr. Moler is using… that’s some incredibly ham-handed HDR compositing. The haloing is insane, the color balance is way off… and it’s such a shame because the photo itself is so beautifully composed.

    I wish I had access to the source exposures to show Mr. Moler what could be done with that shot with just a little more work. I had some that turned out just as bad back when I was starting to experiment!

    • incubeth

      Agreed.

      Although, I can’t imagine he’s a professional photographer. Probably just experimenting. Can’t say my first run-in with HDR was great, either (Oh, my Nikon *doesn’t* have bracketing? WTH do I need a tripod for? I’ll just hold it super-still for a couple images…that’ll work, no problem >_<)

      However, I DO have a lot of experience with photography and know when a photo is just… *sigh*.

    • Cochituate

      Wow, I was thinking that I loved the effects that Moler got out of this image. Oh well.

  • chriscombs

    Yeah, too bad about the HDR. It’s the photo equivalent of a headline typo.

  • planettom

    This is the mission that delivers Robonaut2 to the ISS. Well, I hope it doesn’t go like this: http://www.cinemastrikesback.com/news/new%20dailies/Saturn3/saturnthree4-1024.jpg

  • JonS

    SomaFM are broadcasting the launch – and its buildup – live.

  • Ugly Canuck

    A nostalgic look back at Discovery’s previous flights:

    http://www.universetoday.com/83475/discovery-a-look-back-before-her-last-flight/

    From Universe Today, naturally:

    http://www.universetoday.com/

  • Anonymous

    What I don’t understand is why don’t they retire her upstairs? I makes far more sense for her crew to hitch a ride back and let her spend her retirement as a useful part of the ISS. Besides, if I was crew on the ISS I’d like an escape route sat outside the door.

  • opmaroon

    People actually think this kind of HDR/shadows treatment looks good?

    Wow.

    • robulus

      Actually no, a significant proportion of commenters are seizing the opportunity to show everyone how great at Photoshop they are and what keen eyes they have. Wow!

      • opmaroon

        Keen eyes?

        • Anonymous

          Considering that this post was prompted by the “lovely” photo, I’d say it’s not off-topic to address how bad it is. It’s bad.

  • Brainspore

    She’s had a good run. Especially considering that the shuttle was named after a spacecraft whose flight computer went out of control and murdered everybody.

  • Anonymous

    I suspect the Shadow/Highight adjustment rather than an HDR compositing fail. One shot, too dark. It could also be iPhoto’s shadow manipulation control, which also has a very small radius.

  • SamSam

    That’s a very pretty photo, although I wish it weren’t so heavily ‘shopped. There are serious halos everywhere.

    It’s not necessary to do fake HDR to try to give an already-pretty photo more impact. Sometimes less is more.

  • efergus3

    I’ll be stepping out my front door to watch this afternoon. Worked out at KSC for 3 1/2 years as an OIC/ACM. Miss it.

  • awjtawjt

    Just to put this in perspective: A one-way trip to Alpha Centauri is about 26,000,000,000 miles away. 26 trillion miles. Discovery flew 150,000,000 miles over 30 years. For Disco to get to Alpha Centauri at that rate, it would be 5000 years. Let’s hope that Moore’s law someday will apply to space technology as well.

    • Antinous / Moderator

      You have clearly failed to factor Dr. Zachary Smith into the equation.

      • awjtawjt

        Affirmative.

    • airshowfan

      Let’s hope that Moore’s law someday will apply to space technology as well.

      Einstein would probably not share your optimism. Well, at least the time would go by real quick for the people making the trip ;]

      In any case… I just arrived in Florida, with 720mm worth of L-glass in my bag, and am very much looking forward to tomorrow :] I have not seen a rocket launch since I was a little kid, and this time I will be far better able to appreciate (and capture) what’s going on.

      And here’s another good piece on Discovery’s history. It’s arguably the most useful single spacecraft ever built, having been to space and back more times than any other, it took the Hubble up, etc etc etc:
      http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/flyout/discovery.html