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Friday, April 2, 2010

Close Encounter Set for Shuttle Launch as ISS Flysover and the Clock Ticks Down to T-0

SpaceWeather.com is pointing to a unique situation for the Monday morning, April 5, 2010 launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Kennedy Space Center on the STS-131 mission.

SPACE SHUTTLE SKY SHOW: On Monday morning, April 5th, thousands of people gathered in Florida to witness the launch of space shuttle Discovery may get more than they bargained for. Just fifteen minutes before the shuttle takes off on the STS-131 [vid] mission, the International Space Station (ISS) will fly over the launch site [vid]. The station's path across the dawn sky takes it right past the gibbous Moon [vid]--a beautiful close encounter!

The ISS target vehicle pre-launch flyover will only add to the 'go fever' pre-launch 'rocket experience' [vid] atmosphere for the thousands of the SpaceCoast launch observers leading up to the ignition of the space shuttle solid rocket boosters [SRBs] and the thundering rush to the main engines full throttle-up to 104%!

Photographers should be prepared for the ISS at 6:06 am EDT followed by Discovery's launch at 6:21 am EDT. Sky watchers with iPhones can prepare themselves by downloading our Simple Satellite Tracker (http://simpleflybys.com/); it will guide you to the ISS and count down to the flyby so you can't miss it.

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