OV-103_v_c_o_KPP (S83-46120)
If information within the below cited article is to be believed – do so at your own risk – this is OV-103 either on November 6, 1983, prior to touchdown at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), which is in the background, arriving from Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB); or, it’s OV-103 departing VAFB on November 8, 1983 embarking on its leg to Carswell Air Force Base, as part of the initial delivery of Discovery to KSC on November 9, 1983.
The Orbiter/Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) combination stopped at VAFB to test the Orbiter Lifting Fixture (OLF) there, a scaled-down version of the Mate-Demate Device (MDD) used at EAFB. At the time, NASA and the Department of Defense planned to fly space shuttles, with Discovery as the designated orbiter, from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6) on military polar orbital missions, beginning with STS-62A in 1986.
Article referenced:
www.nasa.gov/history/40-years-ago-space-shuttle-discovery...
For context, Honda Point, aka Point Pedernales, is immediately out of the frame to the left. What a tragedy, of which I was totally unaware:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Point_disaster
www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Articl...
A little over two kilometers out of frame to the right, slightly inland, is SLC-6.
Note the white color of the SCA, with a single blue stripe. The original American Airlines livery was repainted to this before flying to the May 1983 Paris Air Show.
This is a unique shot in that it’s one of the few I’ve seen of the Orbiter/SCA combo in a bank. Usually, the view is either in level flight, from above, or shortly before/after landing/taking off.
And check out the stark color/shade demarcation in the water. I initially thought it was a shadow cast by the nearby mountains, but I quickly ruled that out based on the other things visible. Maybe a cloud shadow? Algae? Water density differences? Changes in depth? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
oregonmarinereserves.com/2019/05/08/watergradients/
Credit: Oregon Marine Reserves website
OV-103_v_c_o_KPP (S83-46120)
If information within the below cited article is to be believed – do so at your own risk – this is OV-103 either on November 6, 1983, prior to touchdown at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), which is in the background, arriving from Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB); or, it’s OV-103 departing VAFB on November 8, 1983 embarking on its leg to Carswell Air Force Base, as part of the initial delivery of Discovery to KSC on November 9, 1983.
The Orbiter/Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) combination stopped at VAFB to test the Orbiter Lifting Fixture (OLF) there, a scaled-down version of the Mate-Demate Device (MDD) used at EAFB. At the time, NASA and the Department of Defense planned to fly space shuttles, with Discovery as the designated orbiter, from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6) on military polar orbital missions, beginning with STS-62A in 1986.
Article referenced:
www.nasa.gov/history/40-years-ago-space-shuttle-discovery...
For context, Honda Point, aka Point Pedernales, is immediately out of the frame to the left. What a tragedy, of which I was totally unaware:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Point_disaster
www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Articl...
A little over two kilometers out of frame to the right, slightly inland, is SLC-6.
Note the white color of the SCA, with a single blue stripe. The original American Airlines livery was repainted to this before flying to the May 1983 Paris Air Show.
This is a unique shot in that it’s one of the few I’ve seen of the Orbiter/SCA combo in a bank. Usually, the view is either in level flight, from above, or shortly before/after landing/taking off.
And check out the stark color/shade demarcation in the water. I initially thought it was a shadow cast by the nearby mountains, but I quickly ruled that out based on the other things visible. Maybe a cloud shadow? Algae? Water density differences? Changes in depth? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
oregonmarinereserves.com/2019/05/08/watergradients/
Credit: Oregon Marine Reserves website