Today ATK test fired the very last of the Shuttle booster rockets ever to be static tested. A few more Shuttle launches, then…. pfffft. End of the line. Unless some policy change occurs to keep the booster line open for some Shuttle derived vehicle – an unlikely proposition at this point – the day of the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor seems to be done. ATK-Promontory will likely turn into something of a ghost town. Hopefully that’ll help with the night-lighting situation out here, and permit better astrophotography.
Anyway, I and a bagrillion other people turned up for the show. The lighting for this test was *terrible,* there was a great deal of haze and overcast. Up until half an hour or so before the test, the test stand and rocket couldn’t even be seen due to fog. So, they ain’t the best pics, but they’re what I’ve got.
7 Responses to “RSRM static test: end of the road”
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Beautiful pictures of a ugly day
*salute*
Nice pictures.
Did you know Ammonium Perchlorate cost about eight times what it did a year ago? Supposedly there is only one plant still making the stuff so they jacked the price. Crazy.
Sigh…
Darn, I wish I had had the chance to see one of those.
very nice, and I’m sorry I missed it too. how bad do you think the crowds will be for the final 4 shuttle launches?
> how bad do you think the crowds will be for the final 4 shuttle launches?
I’d imagine the crowds will be fairly impressive, especially if they make it to the final scheduled flight (if something goes seriously wrong from here on out, Challenger or Columbia-style, I doubt they’ll fly again).