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Space Shuttle Launch - High-Speed Footage

High-speed (slow motion) footage of a launch of a Space Shuttle. This footage focuses on the exhaust nozzles of the shuttle’s main engine. 

The white plumes that are venting through the edges of the engine nozzles are excess oxygen, while the sparks are designed to burn off any free hydrogen gas that might be lurking near the vehicle. The shuttle engines will ignite first, followed by the external booster rockets. 

The Space Shuttles were spacecraft designed to be launched into low Earth orbit. Operated by NASA, the National Aeronautical Space Administration, they flew 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. 

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They were launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The vehicle was attached to an external fuel tank and two solid rocket boosters. Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen stored in the external tank was piped into the Shuttle in order to run its three main internal engines (pictured above). 

Most of the thrust came from the two booster rockets that were attached to the external tank. They used an explosive solid fuel mixture. Once their fuel was exhausted, the spent boosters were later jettisoned and fell back to Earth, landing in the Atlantic Ocean. The empty fuel tank was also discarded and burned up in the atmosphere. 

An ascent to Earth orbit took about 9 minutes. The rocket thrust accelerated the shuttle upwards, achieving an escape velocity of over 40,250 kilometres per hour. 

Footage from launch pad cameras were used to monitor and analyse each launch.

Video above © NASA / Science Source