Orpington Astronomical Society

Astronomy => In the Media... => Topic started by: mickw on Oct 27, 2009, 20:30:21

Title: The Strangest Moments in Space Launch History
Post by: mickw on Oct 27, 2009, 20:30:21
At times, NASA's attempts to launch a new Ares I-X rocket Tuesday seemed surreal — with bad weather, a stuck sensor sock and a wayward cargo ship offshore appearing to conspire to prevent the booster's liftoff. But believe it or not, there have been stranger things to pop up in NASA's launch history.

There was an astronaut who peed in his spacesuit before liftoff — a seemingly inauspicious start to what became the first American manned spaceflight. Bats and vultures have besieged space shuttles at the launch pad, not to mention lightning, which tried and failed to tackle NASA's mightiest rocket.

More:   http://www.space.com/news/091027-strange-launch-moments.html (http://www.space.com/news/091027-strange-launch-moments.html)