Two Flypasts

[major_clanger]

- one a lot higher than the other!

On Sunday June 17th there will be a flypast over Buckingham Palace as part of the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War. The flypast route comes in from over the East End to fly along the Mall before turning right over the palace to head out over Northolt. Looking at the planned route it'll be heading in over Barkingside, Leytonstone and Cambridge Heath before the final approach takes it over Shoreditch, the Barbican, along the Strand and down the Mall. The flypast will be sometime around 4.30pm (I should have a more accurate time closer to the day) and I may well be seeking to park myself on purplecthulhu's balcony with my camera around about then :-)

However, tomorrow night there may be a chance to see something even more unusual. The space shuttle is due to launch at about 0040 Saturday morning our time, on a trajectory that will take it over the UK about twenty minutes later. Yes, this is in the middle of the night - but it's almost the summer solstice, and the sun is so low below the horizon even at midnight that there's a good chance that the shuttle will be in sunlight as it passes over. What makes this particularly unusual is that as the orbiter will have separated from the external fuel tank only ten minutes earlier, you ought to be able to see them as two distinct point of light flying in formation. Assuming the weather is clear, I'll post an update if the launch looks like going ahead on time.

Comments

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

hanks for the heads up.

We live in Chigwell Row and, over the years, the Battle of Britain flight and Concorde and loads of other aircraft come right over us on their way into inner London. (I have a picture somewhere of Concorde and the Battle of Britain flight taken through my kitchen window.

Of course, I got much better ones from New King's Beam House after the Falklands..

[whotheheckami.livejournal.com]

I'll be in North Wales tomorrow evening with a wonderful view out to the South and West. I may well give it a look if the sky looks promising.

Do you know the line-up for the Falklands fly past? Such a shame that the Bruntingthorpe Vulcan won't we in the air.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

All I've seen is that it is meant to include types and/or units that flew in the Falklands. As you say, a pity that the Vulcan isn't going to be ready in time.

[whotheheckami.livejournal.com]

Well that'll be Nimrod leaking fuel everywhere then.

I keep promising myself a trip to Bruntingthorpe one Sunday afternoon.

[purplecthulhu.livejournal.com]

You're most welcome to visit!

The last flypast you warned us about (golden jubliee?) was most impressive!

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

[coth.livejournal.com]

M and I watched the Millenium flypast from our back bedroom window - Red Arrows escorting Concorde. One of the small pleasures of living here.

[whotheheckami.livejournal.com]

Just a thank you for the Shuttle Launch heads up. We had clear skies in North Wales and certainly saw something tracking like a very bright satellite on the right track at the right time. No sign of the ET though.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Reading the post-launch coverage, the ET would probably still have been within a few hundred metres of the orbiter at the time and from 150km below they could well still have looked like one object.

It was cloudy here, but Saturday night I clearly saw the Space Station pass over at 2245 and the Shuttle follow on exactly the same path about fifteen minutes later.

[whotheheckami.livejournal.com]

Can you point me at the site with the ISS viewing times?

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

http://www.heavens-above.com/main.aspx

You can create an account with one or more default observing locations. Predictions are very accurate - I've even seen daytime Iridium flares using this site.

[whotheheckami.livejournal.com]

Thank you

[purplecthulhu.livejournal.com]

So - do you want to make arrangements for Sunday??????

If so, I might as well make a more general invitation...