The end of an era approaches. On Friday, July 8, at 11:26 a.m. EDT (1526 GMT), the space shuttle Atlantis will lift off on the 135th and final space shuttle flight ever. After that, NASA's three space shuttles will be retired to museums while NASA focuses on getting humans to Mars. A good article at the link below for those thinking of trying to attend the launch. It's been an amazing ride and I hope this last mission is a great success to end the program with.
http://www.space.com/12148-nasa-final-shuttle-launch-viewing-tips.html (http://www.space.com/12148-nasa-final-shuttle-launch-viewing-tips.html)
Bitter sweet to say the least...
Yep. Pic of the crew.
Is that the whole crew? Where are the other 3? Huh, I just went to the NASA web site, it is only 4. Very interesting, I can't recall the last time they sent a 4 person crew up except for the first few shuttle flights back in the early '80's before they had mission specialists.
i watched an episode of NOVA yesterday about shuttles. all about Columbia and Challenger. it was interesting.
Quote from: Bryancd on July 05, 2011, 06:41:08 AM
Is that the whole crew? Where are the other 3? Huh, I just went to the NASA web site, it is only 4. Very interesting, I can't recall the last time they sent a 4 person crew up except for the first few shuttle flights back in the early '80's before they had mission specialists.
Yep, total crew of four this time.
Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim.
Hope no issues developed...
QuoteNASA is checking for any damage to space shuttle Atlantis or the launch pad after a possible lightning strike.
Atlantis is poised to blast off Friday on the very last shuttle flight. Thunderstorms, however, are threatening to keep the shuttle grounded.
On Thursday, heavy rain and storms pelted the Florida launch site. Early in the afternoon, NASA reported a possible lightning strike within one-third of a mile (half a kilometre) from the pad.
Technicians are checking for damage to the electrical systems.
The shuttle has yet to be fueled for its historic mission. And the four astronauts won't board until Friday.
Launch time on Friday is 11:26 a.m
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/07/07/technology-atlantis-lightning.html (http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/07/07/technology-atlantis-lightning.html)
And on a more sci fi-related note....
QuoteComposer Debuts Fanfare Honoring Final Shuttle Mission
WASHINGTON -- Emmy-nominated composer Bear McCreary, known for his television scores, has composed a fanfare specifically to commemorate the final space shuttle flight. After composing four seasons of music for a television show set in space, creating music inspired by a historic NASA mission was a natural fit. The composition will be played first on Friday morning at the NASA launch TweetUp.
People viewing the launch from some of the other locations at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will also be able to hear the composition.
McCreary composed the music for the television series Battlestar Galactica; The Walking Dead; Eureka; Human Target; and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. He also worked with film music legend Elmer Bernstein, who composed the music for The Magnificent Seven and The Ten Commandments.
NASA has worked with artists since 1962, when Administrator James E. Webb invited a group of artists to illustrate and interpret agency missions and projects. Artists, songwriters, musicians and playwrights have offered their unique perspectives on spaceflight ever since. NASA also has a long and storied connection with pop culture, frequently working with creators of science fiction films and television programs to discuss science fact.
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/jul/HQ_M11-139_Launch_Music.html (http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/jul/HQ_M11-139_Launch_Music.html)
Launch is set still for today, July 8th at 11:26am EDT. The four member crew is already aboard Atlantis. Have a great mission folks. :usflag
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle (http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle)
So weird to think that we won't be sending our own people up anymore.
Quote from: Darmok on July 08, 2011, 06:45:40 AM
So weird to think that we won't be sending our own people up anymore.
but we will be going into space somehow, right? just not with shuttles?
Quote from: turtlesrock on July 08, 2011, 07:30:55 AM
Quote from: Darmok on July 08, 2011, 06:45:40 AM
So weird to think that we won't be sending our own people up anymore.
but we will be going into space somehow, right? just not with shuttles?
Not for some time. They haven't ironed out the details, or budget, of a new fleet of any kind yet.
I thought the the Russians, ESA and Japan would be taking over launch vehicles for the time being (at least to the space station).
Quote from: billybob476 on July 08, 2011, 07:43:01 AM
I thought the the Russians, ESA and Japan would be taking over launch vehicles for the time being (at least to the space station).
I'd heard that the Russians are going to send up vehicles. This is the first I'm hearing about the others. So weird to think that Americans will be bumming rides from others. It's a humbling thought.
Quote from: QuadShot on July 08, 2011, 07:34:05 AM
Quote from: turtlesrock on July 08, 2011, 07:30:55 AM
Quote from: Darmok on July 08, 2011, 06:45:40 AM
So weird to think that we won't be sending our own people up anymore.
but we will be going into space somehow, right? just not with shuttles?
Not for some time. They haven't ironed out the details, or budget, of a new fleet of any kind yet.
No, we will be sending crew up to the ISS using the Russian Soyuz launch vehicles. Those are the only current manned launch vehicles flying, the rest are cargo launch vehicles..
So with one last succesful shuttle flight, the shuttle program will retire with a 2% failure rate, which I beleive is much better then what NASA originally envisioned when the program was started. Back then I think they said the failure rate would be more then 5%. So one in every 50 launces. Traveling to space is a DANGEROUS buisness. These people are all heroes.
Great launch!
With such a smooth launch it makes you wonder why the program needed to be retired. Kind of sad.
Quote from: Bryancd on July 08, 2011, 08:14:35 AM
So with one last succesful shuttle flight, the shuttle program will retire with a 2% failure rate, which I beleive is much better then what NASA originally envisioned when the program was started. Back then I think they said the failure rate would be more then 5%. So one in every 50 launces. Traveling to space is a DANGEROUS buisness. These people are all heroes.
Even today, I was anxious and prayerful while it went up. It was a relief to see the shuttle separate from the booster rockets.
Quote from: billybob476 on July 08, 2011, 08:40:24 AM
With such a smooth launch it makes you wonder why the program needed to be retired. Kind of sad.
Given our current economic situation and the fact that we've accomplished the mission of seeing the Soviet Union dissolved, it makes sense. NASA has accomplished so much, including firing the imaginations of a generation. The computers we're using to communicate are to a large degree, the result of our space program.
Well, we watched the first launch live when I was at school and now I've seen the last launch live with my kids. Kind of poetic in a sad way really.
Quote from: billybob476 on July 08, 2011, 08:40:24 AM
With such a smooth launch it makes you wonder why the program needed to be retired. Kind of sad.
It's not a very efficient bang for the buck system and it's fundamentally very old technology. Yes it work great but it requires a massive amount of $ and technical manpower to make these flights happen safely. Trips to the ISS now will cost $50million per seat with the Russians and the hope is the private sector within the next 5 years can develop an even more cost effective ferry system. What NASA need to focus on is bigger manned missions over the next 20 years like going to Mars. We could go there tomorrow if we had the capital and political will, we already have the technology.
Something to think about during the final Space Shuttle mission:
The US Bank Bailout exceeded the LIFETIME budget of NASA.
The final bill for the Apollo program was $25.43 Billion dollars reported in 1973. Adjusted for inflation in 2005 that number would have been $170 Billion. They estimate the shuttle program cost about $200 Billion. TARP was $700 Billion but those costs are very likely going to end up being MUCH higher once they accounting, if ever, is done.
I know that there a lot of folks out there who don't believe that given the current crap-fest that is the US economy, it's very prudent to continue building space vehicles and exploring space. But why the heck not? I mean, I feel much better MY tax dollars being spent on exploring the great unknown (no, not Med's mind) than some greedy politician being paid 10 times more than I'll EVER make in a year. Or, on some of the stupid programs they pay for. I for one believe in the space program and pray it continues, and continues to be funded 100%
Quote from: spaltor on July 08, 2011, 09:17:27 AM
Something to think about during the final Space Shuttle mission:
The US Bank Bailout exceeded the LIFETIME budget of NASA.
And what benefit have we experienced because of the bailout? Hmm. My monies on NASA!! :)
i sure wish more tax dollars were sent to space exploration. schools too.
well, at least we'll get up there somehow. once details get ironed maybe we can start getting into space on our own again. :)
the question remains, when will that be? soon i hope.
Quote from: QuadShot on July 08, 2011, 11:55:20 AM
Quote from: spaltor on July 08, 2011, 09:17:27 AM
Something to think about during the final Space Shuttle mission:
The US Bank Bailout exceeded the LIFETIME budget of NASA.
And what benefit have we experienced because of the bailout? Hmm. My monies on NASA!! :)
Do you suppose that 3 chinese Taikonauts heading for the moon might heat up the space race again?
Yeah, me neither.
Not with the current generation of leadership on Capital Hill -
they do fund NASA you know.
Maybe it's time we sit back, take it easy and let someone else to the hard work for a change.I wonder if this is how it looked when the first dark ages descended.
According to this latest article in
Forbes, China will have a base on the moon in 14 years. They're on the fast track - I bet they'll do it in 10.
(a few excerpts)
"Unless there's a financial miracle, America's once-proud space program is effectively shutting down when shuttle Atlantis returns from its 12-day mission to the International Space Station.
China, meanwhile, is cooking with rocket fuel.
On the other side of the world, China, the third country to put a human into orbit on its own rockets, will be launching Tiangong 1, the first module of its own space station, as soon as September. They'll be following up just weeks later with its first in-orbit docking attempt which, if successful, could mean China could have a fully operational space station by 2020. The station will accommodate a three-person crew, and will be roughly the size of NASA's Skylab, the first U.S. space station
Tiangong 1 is in "final check" status and will be launched on a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan, a space center in the Gobi desert in northwestern China. The launch site is near the border between China's Gansu and Inner Mongolia provinces.
China also hopes to make its first moon landing within two years and to put an astronaut on the moon as early as 2025."
http://blogs.forbes.com/raykwong/2011/07/07/u-s-boldly-goes-no-more-as-chinas-space-program-takes-off/ (http://blogs.forbes.com/raykwong/2011/07/07/u-s-boldly-goes-no-more-as-chinas-space-program-takes-off/)
Ok, so there's nothing wrong with China or any other country picking up the baton we dropped to stand on the shoulders of giants (benefiting from) a space program of their own.
After all the U.S. took the same initiative post WWII with Germany's ballistic missile program and were even given RADAR and advanced jet engine technology from the Brits (Thanks mates!)
Now we share the same disappointments as Russia, when Mir was terminated after 14 years due to similar circumstances.
Just hoping our comrades can continue to keep a manned space program together for the rest of the free world. ;)
I guess it's not so much a logical argument. It's more a question of national pride (says the Canadian :) ). You go back and listen to JFK's speeches, watch old Apollo videos, shuttle test flights, etc and you get a certain feeling. There haven't been many disasters, but when there have been it has pulled people together. People gave their lives for manned spaceflight and I guess it just hurts a bit to see it come to an abrupt (but hopefully temporary) halt.
It's a complicated issue, but most people who don't think the space program is "worth the money" really have no idea how much technology has been spun off from the program. Not to mention satellites for their cell phones and so forth. And I also firmly believe some things like exploration and the advancement of science you can't simply put a price tag on. I'm just happy I lived in a time that has had some amazing events in space take place - and there will be more to come.
i just had a thought. you know how lots of countries use the ISS? what about an international space program, like NASA but international? that would be cool.
then nobody would have to worry about personal pride or anything like that.
what's gonna work? teamwork! (wonderpets) :)
Quote from: billybob476 on July 09, 2011, 06:33:50 AM
I guess it's not so much a logical argument. It's more a question of national pride (says the Canadian :) ). You go back and listen to JFK's speeches, watch old Apollo videos, shuttle test flights, etc and you get a certain feeling.
But now Michael Bay has proven that was all just a cover up to go see Decepticons on the Moon... ;)
During Dr. Kiki's Science Hour on TWiT they were talking about how John Glenn punched some guy out for implying the moon landing was faked. :)
Quote from: billybob476 on July 09, 2011, 02:01:10 PM
During Dr. Kiki's Science Hour on TWiT they were talking about how John Glenn punched some guy out for implying the moon landing was faked. :)
While mowing the lawn today, I was daydreaming about my favorite TV show and recent current events
I know this is just wrong, but the bar fight was pretty cool.
Quote from: billybob476 on July 09, 2011, 02:01:10 PM
During Dr. Kiki's Science Hour on TWiT they were talking about how John Glenn punched some guy out for implying the moon landing was faked. :)
Hell no, that was Buzz, baby!
Buzz Aldrin punch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOo6aHSY8hU#)
Nice... :boxing
Quote from: turtlesrock on July 09, 2011, 07:15:42 AM
i just had a thought. you know how lots of countries use the ISS? what about an international space program, like NASA but international? that would be cool.
then nobody would have to worry about personal pride or anything like that.
what's gonna work? teamwork! (wonderpets) :)
They'd just end up arguing where the launch facility would reside and where the vehicles would be built.
I'll give the guy credit, he was at least willing to stand in front of Buzz and say those things, even if the consequences were rather sudden eheh.
I believe we've had more than enough evidence that the moon landing wasn't faked by now. So unless you want to call a lot of people liars, not much to argue.
King
I think Buzz is right handed!! :boxing
lol! I stand corrected ;)
Quote from: KingIsaacLinksr on July 11, 2011, 01:16:45 AM
I believe we've had more than enough evidence that the moon landing wasn't faked by now.
Gee, you think? :o
Was there ever a time you felt there wasn't?
Quote from: Bryancd on July 11, 2011, 06:49:02 AM
Quote from: KingIsaacLinksr on July 11, 2011, 01:16:45 AM
I believe we've had more than enough evidence that the moon landing wasn't faked by now.
Gee, you think? :o
Was there ever a time you felt there wasn't?
good point. :)
This is awesome. I don't know how else to explain it.
QuoteCameras mounted on the two solid rocket boosters that helped propel space shuttle Atlantis into orbit on July 8 provide unique angles of the launch from the Kennedy Space Center and their subsequent water landing downrange in the Atlantic Ocean
Booster Camera Video of Atlantis Launch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxE3KBRorZI#)
Watching the launch was my first time viewing from that angle. So first, there's the end of Stargate Atlantis and now the end of Space Shuttle Atlantis.
They have had that cam for a few years now, including ones on the SRB's which follow them parachuting into the ocean. Speaking of cool, check this!
http://360vr.com/2011/06/22-discovery-flight-deck-opf_6236/index.html (http://360vr.com/2011/06/22-discovery-flight-deck-opf_6236/index.html)
If you go to exactly 7:00 minutes in the booster video you get the SRB separation from the left aft camera. It looks like a really good CGI shot! Complete with JJ Abrams lens flare!
Yeah, the moon landing was fake! So was every mission into space before and after! We never put up satellites, that's just signals bounced off ham radios. The internet is also fake too. I'm not really talking to anyone, it's a fake program on my system that generates fake items based on the words that I type.
Quote from: X on July 14, 2011, 09:01:24 PM
Yeah, the moon landing was fake! So was every mission into space before and after! We never put up satellites, that's just signals bounced off ham radios. The internet is also fake too. I'm not really talking to anyone, it's a fake program on my system that generates fake items based on the words that I type.
Fake fake fakey mcfake fake. Your just a faker. Fake.
;)
King
I've never met any of you! You're al fakkkkkkke!!!! :D
Quote from: Bryancd on July 14, 2011, 04:51:26 PM
They have had that cam for a few years now, including ones on the SRB's which follow them parachuting into the ocean. Speaking of cool, check this!
http://360vr.com/2011/06/22-discovery-flight-deck-opf_6236/index.html (http://360vr.com/2011/06/22-discovery-flight-deck-opf_6236/index.html)
Very cool. The instruments almost resemble those on NX-01. :-)
I like the Dell laptop off to the side.
Bryancd thanks for the link. That was cool. And I dont think those seats looked very comfortable.
Quote from: X on July 14, 2011, 09:01:24 PM
Yeah, the moon landing was fake! So was every mission into space before and after! We never put up satellites, that's just signals bounced off ham radios. The internet is also fake too. I'm not really talking to anyone, it's a fake program on my system that generates fake items based on the words that I type.
How very Matrix of you X...or are you REALLY X???? :)
Quote from: X on July 14, 2011, 09:01:24 PM
Yeah, the moon landing was fake! So was every mission into space before and after! We never put up satellites, that's just signals bounced off ham radios. The internet is also fake too. I'm not really talking to anyone, it's a fake program on my system that generates fake items based on the words that I type.
I for one KNOW the moon landing was real. The little moon-men told me it was real. And I read it on Wikipedia and EVERYONE KNOWS Wikipedia is real! :)
The Shuttle Atlantis is now undocked from the ISS and on her way back home.
Early this morning, the space shuttle Atlantis separated from the International Space Station for the last time, beginning its two-day journey back to Florida's Kennedy Space Center.
After eight days, 15 hours, and 21 minutes, the shuttle undocked from the ISS at 2:28am Eastern time while it was 243 miles above the Pacific, east of Christchurch, New Zealand. At 4:18am, Atlantis fired its jets and formally separated from the space station.
Before starting their journey home, Mission Specialists Rex Walheim and Sandy Magnus snapped photos of the ISS from 600 feet above the station, capturing angles the shuttle never has seen before during a fly-around, NASA said.
The crew then started an inspection the shuttle's thermal protection system shortly after 6am. Crew members used the 50-foot-long Orbiter Boom Sensor System to conduct a 3D scan of areas of the wing leading edges and nose cap, which experience the highest heating during entry. Mission control officials will review that heat shield data in the coming days to make sure everything is operational.
In all, NASA has completed 37 missions devoted to assembling and maintaining the space station for a total of 276 days, 11 hours and 23 minutes, or almost 40 weeks.
Yesterday, the Atlantis crew successfully packed up the vehicle's cargo bay, depositing the 21-foot long Raffaello storage bin back on Atlantis. It arrived at the ISS stuffed with 9,403 pounds of spare parts, equipment, and other supplies—including 2,677 pounds of food that will sustain the ISS crew in the coming year. It departs with 5,700 pounds of supplies, including faulty parts, and a good amount of trash that had accumulated on the ISS.
Atlantis is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center at 5:56am Eastern time on Thursday. The night before, New York City's Empire State Building will be lit up in red, white, and blue in honor of NASA's space shuttle program.
For more on NASA's shuttle program, see the slideshow above.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388681,00.asp (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388681,00.asp)
Quote from: Rico on July 19, 2011, 08:41:27 AM
The Shuttle Atlantis is now undocked from the ISS and on her way back home.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388681,00.asp (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388681,00.asp)
Bittersweet. Proud that we produced something as cool as the shuttle program. Sad that it's ended.
Interesting article on what the NASA staff related to the shuttle program will be facing in therms of thier jobs:
Quote
With the space shuttle Atlantis completes its last mission this week, the 30-year space shuttle program officially comes to an end. Like the other retired shuttles, Atlantis will be shipped off to a museum, leaving NASA without any vehicles for human spaceflight.
When that happens, what will all the employees involved in the program — from astronauts to flight controllers and technicians — do?
For some of them, post-shuttle NASA will mean business as usual. Others will shift their focus toward developing future missions and vehicles. Thousands of employees expect to be laid off
http://www.space.com/12378-nasa-space-shuttle-program-workforce.html (http://www.space.com/12378-nasa-space-shuttle-program-workforce.html)
Quote from: billybob476 on July 21, 2011, 09:07:18 AM
Interesting article on what the NASA staff related to the shuttle program will be facing in therms of thier jobs:
Quote
With the space shuttle Atlantis completes its last mission this week, the 30-year space shuttle program officially comes to an end. Like the other retired shuttles, Atlantis will be shipped off to a museum, leaving NASA without any vehicles for human spaceflight.
When that happens, what will all the employees involved in the program — from astronauts to flight controllers and technicians — do?
For some of them, post-shuttle NASA will mean business as usual. Others will shift their focus toward developing future missions and vehicles. Thousands of employees expect to be laid off
Reminiscent of circa 1970 when along with a bunch of aerospace engineers in L.A., my father was laid off.
Really nice set of STS-135 photos from early VAB shots through launch, and in space. What makes this series so different are the very unusual angles and non-typical shots, including around the outside of the ISS while spacewalking. See link below. Also see the father-son shot taken at the first and recreated for the last launches. Touching.
V
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/07/welcome-home-atlantis/100111/ (http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/07/welcome-home-atlantis/100111/)
We Canadians sure know how to represent in space :)
(http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/atlantis072111/s_a34_5e007547.jpg)
Starbase 66 July 26th show interviews a NASA engineer regarding the last Shuttle mission:
http://www.simplysyndicated.com/shows/starbase66/ (http://www.simplysyndicated.com/shows/starbase66/)
Quote from: davekill on July 29, 2011, 10:46:52 PM
Starbase 66 July 26th show interviews a NASA engineer regarding the last Shuttle mission:
http://www.simplysyndicated.com/shows/starbase66/ (http://www.simplysyndicated.com/shows/starbase66/)
cute pic!
The orbiters are being decommissioned and 'autopsied' by the remaining engineering crew right now:
Quote
Technicians had worn them for decades as they prepared the space shuttles for their move from Kennedy Space Center's three Orbiter Processing Facilities to the towering Vehicle Assembly Building, and eventually the launch pad. "Bunnysuits," those white coveralls with floppy hoods and rubber-banded booties, were designed to keep dirt and debris from contaminating the orbiter interiors.
But on this summer day in one Orbiter Processing Facility, technicians working inside Discovery's crew module wore street clothes. No need to worry about contamination: Discovery would not be returning to space.
After flying 148 million miles and orbiting Earth 5,830 times, Discovery, first flown in August 1984, was being decommissioned and readied for its trip to the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in northern Virginia, where it will arrive in mid-April. The three main engines had been removed from the shuttle's aft end, which was now covered by a tightly fitted mask with three white discs the size of the engine bells. Clear plastic stretched across the crater in the orbiter's nose, where the forward reaction control system—small thrusters that maneuvered the spacecraft in orbit—had been removed. And this harvesting of the orbiter's components was only the beginning.
[ ... ]
http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/Orbiter-Autopsies.html (http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/Orbiter-Autopsies.html)