Space Shuttle Endeavour's launch, as seen through the clouds from a plane

Stefanie Gordon shot this striking snapshot of Space Shuttle Endeavour lifting off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida this morning. Video of the same view follows...

• [Laurie Mann]

  Now THAT is extremely cool!

• [Enormo]

  Bitching.

• [emmdeeaych]

  A penultimate space shuttle image.

• [VagabondAstronomer]

  The view from here in northeast Florida was very nice; we hardly had any clouds, but we could see them to the south. I haven’t been at the press facility for a launch since 1997, but I still get the same thrill watching even at a distance. I envy those who were there!
  Pity I won’t be able to make it down for Atlantis.

• [Anonymous]

  This somehow looks like those crystal trees that you grow in a beaker in chemistry class…

• [Stooge]

  This is clearly an optical illusion. It’s actually a jet heading almost directly towards the camera.

• [irksome]

  A launch is something I’ve always wanted to witness. Ah well.

  Good for you, Xeni.

• [angusm]

  “Whoa! How the hell do you steer this thing? … Wait, that’s better. Sorry about that, folks. I think I’ve got the hang of it now.”

  (and yes, I know the wavy smoke trail is caused by different windspeeds at different heights, but still …)

• [Kevlar]

  See that shadow on the clouds? Here is what it looked like from below.
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/forthebirds/5726717452/

• [Anonymous]

  Looks like a thread pulled from a tuft of material.

• [General Specific]

  That is a beautiful sight.

• [caipirina]

  Seen a launch once from a boat travelling back from the Bahamas … was a sight to behold …

  I wonder … was that a commercial airliner? (should it have been out of the flight path) ?

  • [Jake0748]

    Um… I guessing it WAS out of the flight path, as I haven’t heard any news about the shuttle crashing into an airliner on it’s ascent. :D

    This photo was taken from many miles away from the KSC. I’m pretty sure that there are well-advertized limits as to where any air traffic can go during shuttle operations. And also that any aircraft violating those limits are swiftly dealt with by fighter jets.

    Anyhoo, congrats to all for another (and second to last) :(
    successful ride to orbit.

    • [Anonymous]

      Yeah. Given that they’ll delay a launch for a speedboat straying into the SRB recovery zones, this plane must have been well outside restricted airspace… or there would have been no launch to be filmed.

• [Thebes]

  That image reminds me of a fungus shooting spores.

• [Mujokan]

  Humanity f*** yeah!