Want to Know What It’s Like to be a Solid Rocket Booster? (Video)

This video is incredible, almost like something from a sci-fi movie – and the sound is unbelievable! But this is the real deal. NASA mounts cameras on the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), enabling those of us who are Earth-bound to ride along (and for NASA engineers to have a first-hand look at what is going on, too – the real reason for these cameras). In the first part of the video, you see the SRB separation and the shuttle pulling away, which is just magnificent! Plus, you ride along the whole way back to Earth until the parachutes deploy on the SRBs and you splash down in the ocean. The second part, you ride the along for the launch. You get a bird’s eye view (or is that a BAT’s eye view?!) of when the water suppression system starts, the SRBs light, the main engines start, and then you’re hauling the mail. Its great fun and way, way cool: