Apollo 15 said no caption is needed.
Spacebat really happened as this article from NASA explains.
Bat Hung onto Shuttle During Liftoff
17 March 2009
A bat that was clinging to space shuttle Discovery’s external fuel tank during the countdown to launch the STS-119 mission remained with the spacecraft as it cleared the tower, analysts at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center concluded.
Based on images and video, a wildlife expert who provides support to the center said the small creature was a free tail bat that likely had a broken left wing and some problem with its right shoulder or wrist. The animal likely perished quickly during Discovery’s climb into orbit.
Because the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge coexists inside Kennedy Space Center, the launch pads have a number of measures available, including warning sirens, to deter birds and other creatures from getting too close. The launch team also uses radar to watch for birds before a shuttle liftoff.
Nevertheless, the bat stayed in place and it was seen changing positions from time to time.
Launch controllers spotted the bat after it had clawed onto the foam of the external tank as Discovery stood at Launch Pad 39A. The temperature never dropped below 60 degrees at that part of the tank, and infrared cameras showed that the bat was 70 degrees through launch.
The final inspection team that surveys the outside of the shuttle and tank for signs of ice buildup observed the small bat, hoping it would wake up and fly away before the shuttle engines ignited.
It was not the first bat to land on a shuttle during a countdown. Previously, one of the winged creatures landed on the tank during the countdown to launch shuttle Columbia on its STS-90 mission in 1998.Steven Siceloff
NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space CenterPoor creature.
Happy Birthday NASA!
Fifty-three years ago today, on October 1st, 1958; NASA became an operational and fully functioning governmental administration.
From the National Archives of Australia: “In July 1979 the US Skylab space station, in a poor state of repair and with its orbit decaying, spiralled back to earth and crashed into the Indian Ocean off Western Australia. Several fragments from the wreck fell in the Western Australian outback, and became popular finds. This image shows a piece of the debris on display at the 1979 Miss Universe contest held in Perth.”
Why we should get out of the city every once in a while.
Light pollution is robbing us of dark skies.
The astronauts aboard the International Space Station said Tuesday that ground controllers are figuring out how best to leave the vast complex running — what lights to leave on, which vents to keep open — in case it needs to be temporarily abandoned.
A Russian rocket carrying space station supplies failed during liftoff two weeks ago and crashed into Siberia. It’s the same type of rocket used to launch people to the station. Until Russian engineers can figure out what went wrong, all Soyuz launches are on hold.
Astronauts have been living aboard the station, without interruption, for almost 11 years.
A Russian rocket carrying space station supplies failed during liftoff two weeks ago and crashed into Siberia. It’s the same type of rocket used to launch people to the station. Until Russian engineers can figure out what went wrong, all Soyuz launches are on hold.
Astronauts have been living aboard the station, without interruption, for almost 11 years.
