Is the Shuttle at Ellington?

[airnutz]

...saw it fly over aboard the mothership 747 with a T-38 on their wing about 12:15.
They were heading NNE exiting from the Ellington/NASA area directly overhead of
me on the eastside of Pasadena. I thought they may be on their way to Florida. No camera...of course!

While I'm back in the house getting a cuppa and stewing over my missed photo...I hear the
rumble, and again I get out the door just in time to see them overhead on a northerly course.
This time though, they broke left in a long bank as if they may be setting up to enter the
Ellington pattern. I lost track of them on the horizon when I went back inside to retrieve
the camera in case they made a third pass. Man...they were low too...what a beauty of shot....sighhhhhhh...

I hate it when that happens!!

[Ztex]

They left Ft. Worth at 11:00 am today, headed to Barksdale. I watched them on Flight Aware and they flew by Houston...the Pathfinder C-17 flew over town and then flew out to East Texas and entered a holding pattern....then a bit later they both resumed their flight to Barksdale AFB.

Pathfinder
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/NASA912

Shuttle
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/NASA911

[APG85]

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2008/12/ ... ide-texas/

[BigGrey]

Was the flight path due to weather or a flyby for the folks in Houston?
I'll never forget being at Edwards for the first shuttle landing open to the public.

Les

[bilwor]

It was for the folks in Houston 2 low passes over EFD and 2 0r 3 over JSC.
bill word

[BCalmes]

When I lived near the space center in the '80s (when ferry flights were common), a JSC flyby was SOP. Probably still is. I only saw two brought into Ellington: Challenger and Atlantis, when new.

[airnutz]

They left Ft. Worth at 11:00 am today, headed to Barksdale. I watched them on Flight Aware and they flew by Houston..

Thanks for the Flight Aware link Z..informative, tho not terribly accurate(security reasons?) as
to the actual flight path. The path has them near NE Houston when in fact, as Bilwor noted they
were in the SE corner below the Houston metro area. Thanks APG for the NASA link..very helpful.

[CAPFlyer]

Actually, they probably cancelled IFR while SW of Houston and thus the radar track stopped until they resumed IFR north of town, which would explain the unrealistically tight turn northward and the lack of any "circling" over EFD or JSC. During that period, they would have been clear of the Houston Class B and not under radar surveilance, thus FlightAware would not have received updates.

[RickH]

We got one lowww pass at EFD. He was cleared to 300 ft but looked lower. JSC got 3 passes and he was higher. IAH got at least one pass then on to Barksdale.

[skymstr02]

[Cking]

I know they are going to preserve each shuttle, but wouldn't it be nice if they preserved one ontop of it's 747?
One of Seattle's finest will end up scrapped whilst the few shuttles will live for ever.

Rgds Cking

[RickH]

Preserving a pair together would be cool. They make an imposing pair ! Great idea ! They could actually do two. Last I heard the second shuttle carrier is in storage in the desert.

[mustangdriver]

That would be a great idea for dayton, as they are already getting a Shuttle.