If the shuttle's landing is delayed by one orbit...

[Hoss]

...then Tulsans could be treated to a sight tomorrow morning between 9:05am and 9:10am, when the shuttle makes a rare CONUS transit from the NW to the SE on it's landing entry.

It's possible that we could see the shuttle tomorrow morning IF they have to delay the entry by one orbit (entry on orbit 223 as opposed to 222).  It's a rare transit over the US either way, as the shuttles usually come in from further south.

If that does happen, then at it's highest point in our sky would happen between 9:07 and 9:08 local time (at 68 degrees above the horizon), and would start on the WNW horizon beginning at just shy of 9:05 and transit the sky to the ESE to leave the horizon between 9:10 and 9:11 am.

If you want to verify the accuracy of my story, please visit http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/SSapplications/Post/JavaSSOP/JavaSSOP.html and plugin all the data.  Then go to the satellite dropdown and select "KSC223(ENTRY)".

If it makes entry on schedule, it will be too far east for us to see unless you have an absolutely unobstructed view along the horizon, then the best you could do is 6 degrees above the horizon in elevation and would start from the NNW at 7:30 am and exit the horizon to the ESE at 7:35 am.  The highest point you would be able to view it from in this case is the aformentioned 6 degrees in the NE sky at around 7:32am.

[buckeye]

Sweet!  Got a handy link to a NASA page that'll tell us what their plans are?

[Hoss]

Sweet!  Got a handy link to a NASA page that'll tell us what their plans are?

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

They scrubbed today's landings, but it really wouldn't have matter given the cloud cover here was horrendous.

I need to look more at tomorrow's, but it appears the first window that they would try doesn't even give us a visual acquisition, but possibly the second one does, but not near as good as if they had landed today.  That would be on orbit 238 (first possible window is on orbit 237, no possibility of acquisition on that one)

That would bring the first possible viewing in Tulsa   Closest approach at 7:52:27 am (range 60 miles, elevation 38.5 degrees, the shuttle would start its transit at 7:49:53 on the northwest horizon, transit towards the ESE horizon.  At it's closest point, it will be in the east-northeast sky (about 58 degrees from true north).  It will vanish from site at 7:55:16 am in the east-southeast sky.

So, hope for a scrub of the first window, and pray they land on orbit 238.

Pray they land safely in any regard.

The last graphic for today's scrubbed landing showed the speed at which it would have passed overhead.  I would imagine it will be similar for tomorrows chance.  That speed was Mach 18, so don't blink.

[Hoss]

Well, looks like we'll get a chance after all, since the first de-orbit burn was scrubbed (which gave us no chance of viewing).

A little modification of the actually viewing is in order; Channel 6 is already talking about on 6 in the morning.

Viewing windows starts:

Date/Time               Deg     Elev    Range (miles)
Tue Apr 20@07:49:54*   314.5   000.5   00541
Tue Apr 20@07:49:54*   314.7   001.5   00482
Tue Apr 20@07:50:24*   315.1   002.5   00425
Tue Apr 20@07:50:40*   315.6   003.7   00368
Tue Apr 20@07:50:55*   316.3   005.2   00312
Tue Apr 20@07:51:11*   317.6   007.1   00258
Tue Apr 20@07:51:26*   319.7   009.7   00204
Tue Apr 20@07:51:41*   323.5   013.7   00153
Tue Apr 20@07:51:57*   331.6   020.8   00105
Tue Apr 20@07:52:12*   354.2   034.3   00067
Tue Apr 20@07:52:27*   054.9   040.9   00057
Tue Apr 20@07:52:43*   092.9   025.6   00084
Tue Apr 20@07:52:58*   104.9   016.2   00125
Tue Apr 20@07:53:13*   109.9   011.1   00169
Tue Apr 20@07:53:29*   112.4   008.1   00213
Tue Apr 20@07:53:44*   113.6   006.0   00257
Tue Apr 20@07:53:59*   114.3   004.5   00299
Tue Apr 20@07:54:15*   114.5   003.3   00341
Tue Apr 20@07:54:30*   114.6   002.4   00380
Tue Apr 20@07:54:46*   114.4   001.6   00419
Tue Apr 20@07:55:01*   114.1   000.9   00456
Tue Apr 20@07:55:16*   113.7   000.3   00491

Line in red notes closest approach, just a little east of northeast in the sky and at about 40 degrees elevation.  But you should be able to start picking it up from northwest sky as it transits.

[Red Arrow]

Anyone see it?  We had about 30 people looking from about 7:45 to 7:55.  No one here saw it.

[sgrizzle]

Apparently the sky was too hazy. I heard it but never saw it.

[Hoss]

Apparently the sky was too hazy. I heard it but never saw it.

Same here.  Sorry for all the hype.  I do know of one person telling me he saw what appeared to be a contrail in the eastern sky just below the sun.  I heard the boom about 8am.

[EricP]

Damn! Wish I had heard it.

[Hoss]

Damn! Wish I had heard it.

I know my mother didn't hear it, but she was indoors.  I was outdoors with camera in hand.

[Conan71]

I was driving in from OKC and listening to KRMG.  I never saw it as I was coming to the end of the turnpike and didn't hear the boom when I got to my office which is about the time people were saying they heard it.  Bummer.

[RecycleMichael]

I can't believe you guys fell for this hoax. I bet you think we really set foot on the moon too.

[Cats Cats Cats]

Damn! Wish I had heard it.

Come drive over and I will kick your car door really hard if that will make you feel better.

[Hoss]

I can't believe you guys fell for this hoax. I bet you think we really set foot on the moon too.

Where's Buzz when you need him?

[patric]

Lots of people heard the sonic booms around Tulsa...

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=12340012
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=13&articleid=20100420_13_0_CAPECA937553

[bmuscotty]

My wife called me this morning and said she saw it dropping our daughter off at school. They brought the whole school out ot see it. Had to laugh at the news this morning though. Fox had their cameras trained on the sky and they said everyone ran out to see it but missed it. They blamed it on a NASA radar glitch. Channel 6 had the contrail on video.