Hurrah! They finally made it! I'm sitting here watching NASA TV and the launch replays from various cameras around the Cape. Very cool. It makes me homesick though, since I know most of the camera locations very well. The view from TV-16 on Playalinda Beach was extra-cool as it featured an extreme closeup of the engines as Atlantic cleared the tower. The view from the External Tank was awesome too. Nice shot of Atlantis pulling away after separation and firing the RCS jets.
As a communictions/networking weenie, I'm really curious just how they are able to maintain nearly flawless video all the way up the hill. If I can find some info on how they do it, I'll post it here. From what I can find, it uses a 5W FM radio. Info on the RocketCam system can be found at http://www.eclipticenterprises.com/products_rocketcam_dvs.php
By the way, the fuel cell cooling pump which delayed the launch functioned flawlessly.
This is going to be a very complex mission. The crew has trained for four years - longer than any crew has ever trained before. They'll be installing 17.5 tons of equipment, including solar panels which will double the available power on the ISS and a new truss. NASA says it's as difficult as anything they've ever done, so it will be a fun one to watch. All of this to is to ready the station to support new station modules from Europe and Japan. Stay tuned!
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