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That’s so cool. So cool. That’s so cool. So cool. :)

Like, OMG , like, look at it, like i can’t believe it, like, like, whoa.

“Holy Shit…. Look how fast it is going. OMG .”

You know what is even sweeter. The first space flights were done with less reliable systems then we have today. That is what I find absolutely amazing.

Great video, but enjoyed it even more with the sound turned off…

pretty cool!

thx for the video post

that is just awesome, thanks!

like watching paint dry

You know what else is cool? Silence.

You know what would have been cooler? If it rammed into the plane just to shut that guy up.

Jesus, chill out people. They guy was excited. Give him a break. Hit mute if you don’t like hearing him. But why do you have to give him shit? So sad.

Frak, please be nice. It’s so incredible to experience something like this!!!

Judging by the comments, kind of glad I watched this sans-sound. Still, damn cool.

Cool video! This guy had a better view though :)

Pretty sweet view!

Seriously lighten up people. If you’ve ever seen a launch in person, or even from this close, you’d understand this guy’s enthusiasm.

Anyway, I am surprised this, and other commercial planes, aren’t routed even further away during launch.

i took a early morning flight out of miami sometime around 94’.

the sun started to rise once we hit cruising altitudes. with the colors dancing on the clouds the pilot made an announcement that ‘the space shuttle is about to lift off and we may be able to see it’.

5 minutes later a bright ball comes shooting through the clouds surrounded by the colors of the sunrise, the view of the shuttle was much clearer then this video.

defiantly one of the most memorable times of my life.

I used to live in Melbourne, FL from 79 until the end of 86. I used to be able to see the shuttle take off from my front yard. It was always a special thing for me to see it, as my grandfather was also a pretty high-ranking engineer for its development.

For all the beauty of watching it launch so many times, however, having also watched the Challenger explode with my naked eye pretty much made watching subsequent launches all but impossible. I must admit, though, that watching a shuttle take off while in an airplane must be pretty damn awesome.

An amazing video but I also do agree with Chad Crowell’s comments on NASA not recommending re-routing commercial flights away while the launch is in progress. Shouldn’t that be a stipulated norm for all forms of space and military launches?

The plane is probably a good 50 or more miles away from the launch site. Horizon is over 200 miles at 30,000 ft.

What an amazing view. Good on him for capturing it for the rest of us.

very cool!

nice post ….enjoyed that

Neat—but is that really for real? Surely the airspace restrictions are larger than that?

Yeah, but we were supposed to be driving space cars right now like the Jetson’s, the kind that make the “b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b…” sound.

That was our future, damnit! Where did it go?

For the hearing-impaired, a transcript of the poetic color commentary:

look at it go man
do you see it? do you see it? holy smokes can you see it? look at it holy smokes that is so cool look at it that is so cool holy shit see how fast it’s going? holy shit look how fast it’s going oh my god

That? ROCKS .

Used to work on the 33rd floor in Tampa, Florida and on a clear day we could see the launch from our windows. Only a handful of times, but I remember one in particular that looked just like this. You could see it go on forever.

Don’t let the haters bring you down, Jason. My commentary was exactly the same, just with a few more “DUDE!”s thrown in. ;)

I can’t believe how many childish comments this post got. Lame.

@Sean: I think there’s a good balance of silly vs. intelligent here. It is awe inspiring, and can bring our childish side. My boyfriend still turns into a five year old when the C5’s pass overhead on their way to Lockheed out here.

@Jason: Realizing that was probably not your voiceover there, der. Point my comment at whoever shot it, I guess.

I like this. I work as a video/photo journalist who works all the space launches at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral, so I get close to the launches, but I’ve never (yet) had the opportunity to shoot video from the air. I’d love to though.

Perhaps our friends up north in Canada need a little help with vocabulary expansion … oh my god, see how it’s fast it’s going … oh my god, see how fast it’s going …

Hm… I don’t know, from all the “dude”s I’d say he’s from Calofirnia or Florida. Just kidding. Here we use the word as a generic pronoun and adjective, dude.

And I’m apparently dyslexic… C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A

That’s hot!

Don’t think thats the shuttle as there is no seperation of the solid rocket boosters which is an explosive event.

But its nice anyways.

Ah, a moment of special eloquence :)

@beeman; the separation happens later, I think.

Nice video!

Back when I lived near Orlando, I could see all the components of the shuttle (orbiter, external tank, SRBs) pretty clearly when it launched, and that was at a distance of ~30 miles. Given that this is just speck, I’d say the plane was easily 50 miles away.

As for doubting this is the shuttle, SRB separation happens after the two minute mark and this video is only 1:49 long. At that point, if he could still see it at all, it would have looked like a faint star. Having seen 30+ launches with my naked eye (albeit from the ground), I’d say this definitely was the shuttle.

Several things are suspicious about this to me:

+The audio sounds fake. Sounds like it’s straight out of a commercial actually. Some guy’s idea of what some guy might sound like.

+The SRB ’s probably should have separated by about 2 mins after launch—as with this launch. Since the launch has already occurred (and presumably the guy has got his camera, the 1 min 45 of the video probably should cover the separation, right? Also, the SRBs burn as they separate and should be visible.

+It’s on the internet. On a site called LiveLeak.

The launches I’ve seen live don’t look a lot like this, and several of the things that impressed me most are absent, but then I’ve never seen a launch from a plane. So I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not.

Sure..It’s neat..A space launch always is…HOWEVER…Have any of you seen a Saturn 5 launch from 3.5 miles away ?..Makes this look like a pop rocket !!! NO COMPARISON either with site,feeling or sound…Maybe the Ares 5 will beat that..but only time will telll :)

Why did he stop filming??

@Chad Crowel & Bhooshan

Cape Canaveral has very significant airspace security 24/7. The restricted zone is extended to a 40 mile radius from the launch pad during shuttle launches. Planes are allowed to get as close as 30 miles as long as they receive prior approval and are in constant contact with ATC .

Also, there are intercept planes in the air before the launch starts to enforce the airspace restrictions. 30 miles gives the intercept planes more than enough time to address any security violations.

@Marc Yeah. And plus, as is in accordance with military guidelines, anywhere outside of a 3-3.5 mile radius (can’t remember exactly) is safe from a bomb (or, in this case, a Shuttle, or in 60s/70s, a Saturn V; despite their different payload capacity and fuel).

@Squaregirl: I guess I wasn’t clear. I meant that the people making fun of the guy who took the video were being childish, and that was lame. This video == coolness. I just watched it again. :)