Josef “Jeff” Sipek

STS-128

The other night, just before midnight, STS-128 launched. I took a few screenshots of NASA TV. NASA described the launch as:

Liftoff from Launch Pad 39A was on time at 11:59 p.m. EDT. The first launch attempt on Aug. 24 was postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions. The second attempt on Aug. 25 also was postponed due to an issue with a valve in space shuttle Discovery’s main propulsion system.

The STS-128 mission is the 30th International Space Station assembly flight and the 128th space shuttle flight. The 13-day mission will deliver more than 7 tons of supplies, science racks and equipment, as well as additional environmental hardware to sustain six crew members on the International Space Station. The equipment includes a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill.

Here’s the “beenie cap” with the moon in the background:
Beenie cap

A nice shot of the whole shuttle:
Shuttle

The engines:
Engine closeup

Beenie cap being retracted before launch
Beenie cap retracted

Later on, I found this image on NASA’s site. Wow.

STS-128 Launch
(original link)

Viewed from the Banana River Viewing Site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery arcs through a cloud-brushed sky, lighted by the trail of fire after launch on the STS-128 mission.

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