NASA Photo ID: STS033(S)004       File Name: 10063655.jpg

Film Type: 120 CN                 Date Taken: 11/27/89

Title: STS-33 Discovery, OV-103, early morning liftoff from KSC LC Pad 39B

Description:

STS-33 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, lifts off from Kennedy Space 
Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) Pad 39B at 7:23:29:989 am Eastern Standard 
Time (EST).  OV-103, its external tank (ET), and solid rocket boosters
(SRBs)  are highlighted by spotlights during its launch into darkness. 
OV-103 is  nearly clear of the launch tower as an exhaust cloud covers LC
Pad 39B and  the surrounding area.  A palm tree and other vegetation in the
foreground are  silhouetted against the exhaust cloud and the glow of the
SRB and space  shuttle main engine (SSME) firings.  The light colored plume
with the  slight "diamond shock" effect comes from the SSMEs.  The STS-33
launch is the  first post-Challenger nocturnal launch.