Bat Hung onto Shuttle During Liftoff

[kpete]

Bat Hung onto Shuttle During Liftoff
03.17.09

A bat on the external tank This free tail bat was hanging on to space shuttle Discovery as the countdown proceeded. Credit: NASA


A bat on the external tank

The bat was seen on the external tank as the shuttle cleared the launch tower at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Photo credit: NASA
View Hi-res Image

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.

more here:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts119/launchbat.html

[hlthe2b]

1. Poor little guy... the ride of his life--literally.... n/t

[Renew Deal]

2. The little guy went out in a blaze of glory.

That's the glass half full way of looking at it.

[bleever]

3. Steele Hung onto Limbaugh During Meltdown.

At least the poor bat didn't know better.

:hi:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. It is rumored by wise brained rats...

...which burrow the citied earth and by the knowledgeable cats that stalk its shadows and by the sagacious bats that wing its night and by the sapient zats which soar through airless space, slanting their metal wings to winds of light, that those two swordsmen and blood-brothers, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser...

[cherokeeprogressive]

5. If you put your ear real close to the picture you can hear the bat screaming

WAIT!!!!!!

[AndyA]

6. Poor little thing.

Mankind sure takes its toll on the rest of nature.

[Javaman]

7. This would make a really funny animation. nt

[enlightenment]

8. There's a little story waiting there -

*a VERY poor attempt - I'm not a writer, nor particularly clever*

From the moment it first glided through the clear, star-filled night, the young bat wondered what lay beyond the sky. Every evening, as it sought its fill of tiny insects its curiosity grew - and every day was spent in quiet dreaming of what it might find if it could only fly high enough.

Days passed, then months, then years. The bat lived as bats do, but the question remained. Leaving the place of its birth, the bat wandered slowly southward - a solitary shadow in the moist Florida night. Soon it began to notice the occasional ascent of great flaming wingless beasts, roaring skyward until they winked from view.

Days passed, then months, then years, and the solitary bat grew gray around the muzzle and frail of limb. Its flight was labored and its senses dulled, but it still wondered at the sky above and slowly drifted closer and closer to the place where the blazing beasts rode fire beyond its sight.

One day, sleeping fitfully among the trees, its tired limbs lost their grip and it fell heavily to the ground. Wracked with pain and unable to fly fast enough to catch its meals, the bat knew that it would not survive. It despaired - not for the end of life, but for the great unanswered question of its life - what lay above?

In agony, the bat carried itself to the edge of the field in which the great wingless beast sometimes resided. To its amazement, a single beast sat, clouds of white billowing around its feet. The bat realised that it was about to leave . . . to travel to that place beyond its sight, beyond its ken.

With a final effort, the bat pushed itself into the air and flew toward the beast. Lungs laboring and body shrieking with pain, it reached the beast. Reaching out with a last effort, the bat clung to the smooth, warm side, feeling the vibrations as the beast breathed deeply before riding the flames. It took no notice of the tiny bat, made no attempt to brush it from its side. The bat sighed and closed it eyes as the roar of the great beast grew. Flame erupted from its belly and the bat flew one last time.

[cherokeeprogressive]

11. THAT was awesome.

Damn if it didn't bring tears to my eyes!

[closeupready]

12. Very poignant. Thanks for posting it.

:hi:

[Blue Diadem]

16. "and the bat flew one last time"

:cry:

Yes I'm crying over a bat. You're a good writer.

[lpbk2713]

9. Holy hitch hiker, Batman!

:eyes:

[burythehatchet]

10. BREAKING: Shuttle returns with mutant bat superhero clinging to its' side

[MineralMan]

13. Suicide by Spaceship.

[gauguin57]

14. Maybe it flew off like a bat out of hell?

or not

[gauguin57]

15. I think that, in the bat's honor, we should start using a catchphrase that involves ...

... "like a bat on a Space Shuttle."

Like, he clung to his old ideas like a bat on a Space Shuttle.

[foxfeet]

17. R.I.P. bat.

[gratuitous]

18. I thought George Brett would figure in here somewhere

But no.

[Blue_Tires]

19. wouldn't the sheer g-forces or vibrations at launch shake it off?