[tccrockets] My Shuttle VR tour

From: Steve Jurvetson <SJ@xxxxxxx>
To: TCC <tccrockets@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2012 21:31:28 -0700
Bovine Tule Fog fans,

Erik and I are bringing the whole family to DairyAire this year, to reintroduce 
them to rocketry since the last time they checked in with our Estes projects.  
Me scared.

Meanwhile, on the photography front, I got some unprecedented access to the 
shuttles during their last days at KSC, powered up in all of their glory.   I 
was taking images for the California Science Center.

The prototype 360° tour of the virtual Endeavour is now online (imagine a kiosk 
at the museum for what lies inside).  A pointer to guide you:  click on the the 
full screen button in the bottom right corner of the main image, and then click 
and drag to look up, down and all around.  If you click on the on the orange 
arrow, you can zoom through the airlock to the mid deck and so on…
http://nasa.everyscape.com/#p=80471362&y=104&pi=-11

The "making of" backstory is pretty interesting.  For inputs, I took just four 
images from each "room".   Here's the flight deck example:  
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/7119907039


 An astronaut friend saw the shot I took of the rear flight deck windows and 
reminisced....

"My favorite place to eat dinner was sitting "upside down" on the
flight deck facing backwards. Usually we flew the Shuttle
upside down and backwards (to protect the front windows in case of a
debris strike). From that position you are facing the aft windows
with your feet down by the overhead windows.
Out the aft windows it looks in the direction of flight towards the
Earth's horizon, and out the overhead windows looking "down" towards
your feet you see the Earth below. So the effect is like being in a
glass bottom boat drifting above the Earth with
continents and oceans below you.

It's the best restaurant anywhere!

(even if the food is just so-so)"

Such a poetic visual...  It reminded me of Michael Collins' description of his 
upper body EVA on Gemini X:

"This is the best view of the universe that a human has ever had. We are 
gliding across the world in total silence, with absolute smoothness;
a motion of stately grace which makes me feel God-like as I stand erect in my 
sideways chariot, cruising the night sky.”

More: 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/6844867978/#comment72157629611509477

P.S. Here is a digest of all of my KSC photo pages, with a few photos per page  
(Endeavour in OPF, Discovery in VAB, Pad 39A):
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=ksc&w=44124348109%40N01&s=rec

Cheers,

Steve


---------------------------------------------------------

Steve Jurvetson

Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Phone:  650-233-9000

Work:                          http://www.DFJ.com/steve

Photoblog:               http://www.DFJ.com/J

Google Tech Talk:   http://www.DFJ.com/GTT

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[tccrockets] My Shuttle VR tour

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