The launch of Space ShuttleAtlantis on
STS-98,
February 72001, at sunset. The sun is behind the camera, and the shape of the
plume is cast across the vault of the sky, intersecting the rising full moon. The top portion of the plume is bright because it is illuminated directly by the sun; the lower portions are in the Earth's shadow. After launch, the shuttle must engage in a
pitch and roll program so that the vehicle is below the
external tank and
SRBs, as evidenced in the plume trail. The vehicle climbs in a progressively flattening arc, because achieving low
orbit requires much more horizontal than vertical
acceleration.
The launch of Space ShuttleAtlantis on
STS-98,
February 72001, at sunset. The sun is behind the camera, and the shape of the
plume is cast across the vault of the sky, intersecting the rising full moon. The top portion of the plume is bright because it is illuminated directly by the sun; the lower portions are in the Earth's shadow. After launch, the shuttle must engage in a
pitch and roll program so that the vehicle is below the
external tank and
SRBs, as evidenced in the plume trail. The vehicle climbs in a progressively flattening arc, because achieving low
orbit requires much more horizontal than vertical
acceleration.