STS-50 launch

STS050-S-040 (25 June 1992) --- A low-angle perspective captures the Space Shuttle Columbia as it lifts off on its way toward a scheduled record 13-day mission in Earth-orbit. STS-50 Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102, soars into a cloudy sky after liftoff from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) Pad 39A at 12:12:23:0534 pm (Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)). A low-angle perspective captures OV-102 after it has cleared the launch tower and looks up the long trail of exhaust smoke pouring out the skirt of the left solid rocket booster (SRB) to the top of the external tank (ET). The three space shuttle main engines are visible as is the diamond shock effect produced at the SSME nozzles. This is the beginning of OV-102's scheduled record 13-day mission in Earth orbit. OV-102 is NASA's first extended duration orbiter (EDO).