space shuttle in so cal today

Thats the best shot so far. Question for you guys who saw it from the ground. What altitude do you think it was flying at? I know it came in and did circles at certain points but was it flying low the entire time?

 

I saw a launch a couple years ago in Sarasota, FL. I was a good distance away but just to see it from that far was awesome. I can't imagine how cool it would be to see it up close

 

They maintained a pretty consistent AGL... at least 1000ft up.
That's why Griffith was such a good spot... they were flying on the LA side of the hill so even though they might have been a couple of thousand above the actual ground, they may have only been 500 or so above the observatory.

They cleared Griffith, and over I-5, began a steep turn to the north over Burbank, passed over the NBC studios, then back for another pass over Griffith. There was a fair elevation drop making the turn over Glendale, then a climb back out of Burbank, and a moderately steep climb out of Griffith on the way to Pasadena.

 

OKay. Thanks. Man that must have been amazing to watch in person

 

It was really cool.

I haven't seen a shuttle in person since the Enterprise running the approach and landing tests at Edwards back in 1977.
I was also there for the rollout in 1976. Dad worked for Rockwell.

 

It came by and buzzed my place of work before landing. We built both the shuttle, the 747 and it's parking spot in space.

 

Well... that's stretching it a bit.
Boeing and Rockwell International were fierce competitors when the Shuttle was built. Boeing's design did not win, and Rockwell was still Rockwell when the Endeavour was built to replace the Challenger.

But ya, Boeing has provided support for the program since it bought Rockwell and MDC.


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