[murd0c]

Really sad that after 30yrs this is the final NASA mission. My question is what are they going to be doing now? I'm at work so I can't imbed the video.

Atlantis blast off marks final NASA shuttle launch - News1130 (http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/251369--atlantis-blast-off-marks-final-nasa-shuttle-launch)

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL (NEWS1130) - After a slight delay, space shuttle Atlantis blasted off Friday morning, marking NASA's final space shuttle launch.

The four astronauts on board are making one final supply run on a 12 day mission to the International Space Station.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators made the trip for the final launch, just over 30 years after the first ever trip to space.

Astronaut Bob Thirsk, originally from New Westminster, was in Cape Canaveral for the historic event.

Speaking live on News1130, Thirsk says it's a big moment. "It's the end of a glorious era. The space shuttle program is 30 years old, has accomplished incredible things. Done some pretty amazing feats in space and it's the sad end of an era."

Thirsk is the only Canadian to have lived on the International Space Station. "Exhilarating. We're well trained, it's hard work to train for a flight it's not easy what we do, but everything on my flight went really well."

After this flight, Atlantis is set to return to Kennedy Space Center, where it will end up on permanent display.

[Jgresch]

Why are they not sending any more?
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[- kT]

Why would they name it atlantis
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[LiquidTurbo]

Issues are cost related aren't they?

[Gumby]

Yeah, #1 reason why they're ending the shuttle program is cost.

[JD¹³]

I think it's primarily due to the shuttles being at the end of their service life and a replacement can't be afforded right now. The Russians have a shuttle but it has never been flown. All NASA astronauts will be sent up on Russian rockets now, including Canadian Chris Hadfield who will be spending 6 months on the ISS soon.

[falcon]

Why are they not sending any more?
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

Because the decepticons aren't there anymore. :fullofwin:


For serious though... I thought I watched something on how NASA wants to focus on long range shuttles now? Instead of just earth orbit missions.

[CP.AR]

hopefully the first of the next gen shuttles will be called the "Enterprise"

[urrh]

hopefully the first of the next gen shuttles will be called the "Enterprise"

Too soon. "Enterprise" should be reserved for the first shuttles with warp

[gars]

hopefully the first of the next gen shuttles will be called the "Enterprise"

But there has been a space shuttle called Enterprise already....??

[CP.AR]

there's been a lot of ships that's been named the enterprise

[JD¹³]

Some very cool shuttle footage in this tribute from Aprilia USA. Thought you all might enjoy. At 2:05 watch for the shockwave through the air as the shuttle breaks the sound barrier.

YouTube - ‪Aprilia USA pays tribute to the Space Shuttle‬‏

[murd0c]

Gotta love seeing the Canada arm at 57 seconds.

[Gumby]

I get the feeling that those of us born in the early 80s or before have much more of an affinity to the shuttle program, partially because we grew up watching the shuttles launch on TV. It was such an awesome display of technology, and the media always made a spectacle of it.

Nowadays, the younger generation kinda takes technology for granted. And there's so much other distracting stuff.

Am I alone on this?

[Gumby]

Why would they name it atlantis
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

From http://hotword.dictionary.com/atlantis/:
Superheroes and lost cities aside, the space shuttle Atlantis was actually named after the RV Atlantis – a research vessel used from 1930 to 1966 by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute to study marine life and the ocean floor. All of the shuttles have been named after historically important maritime research vessels. The two-masted sailing ship was named in honor of – you guessed it, the” lost city” of Atlantis.

[DC5-S]

who cares.. zzzz

[Gumby]

who cares.. zzzz
See what I mean? :speechless:

[gars]

I get the feeling that those of us born in the early 80s or before have much more of an affinity to the shuttle program, partially because we grew up watching the shuttles launch on TV. It was such an awesome display of technology, and the media always made a spectacle of it.

Nowadays, the younger generation kinda takes technology for granted. And there's so much other distracting stuff.

Am I alone on this?

I agree - I remember going to Kennedy Space Center when I was 6 - and thinking that Space Shuttles are the most amazing thing. These days, kids just look at shuttles and think of them as everyday technology. They aren't, there was so much research put into these shuttles - so much work done aboard, especially in recent years.

To think of Star Trek / Star Wars - you have to look at NASA and think of how they are pioneering the way towards space travel, so one day, we will be able to [...] explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

30 years of the Space Shuttle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3tM5SxbvDw

Launch of Atlantis today. It sent shivers down my back...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcMtsAXj4UQ&feature=channel_video_title

[shenmecar]

I guess NASA engineers can just chill at work since theres no need for developing space shuttle equipment anymore................

[ajei]

hand space exploration off to private companies...
should watch some of the progress vids for Virgin galactic.

[twitchyzero]

Are Canadians really that proud of the Canadarm? I remember learning it in elementary school and 'til this day I still lulz at the name.

[impactX]

FYI, the next spacecraft of NASA:

Space Launch System - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_System)

[SkinnyPupp]

As long as they aren't ending or cutting the space program, I don't mind the shuttles coming to an end. It's time to move on, I guess.

Imagine where we would be if the US diverted funds from their military program to NASA :fullofwin:

[murd0c]

As long as they aren't ending or cutting the space program, I don't mind the shuttles coming to an end. It's time to move on, I guess.

Imagine where we would be if the US diverted funds from their military program to NASA :fullofwin:

The US doesn't have to pump money into NASA any more she the NRO is now going to be in control :troll:

National Reconnaissance Office : 50 Years of Vigilance From Above (http://www.nro.gov/)

National Reconnaissance Office - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Reconnaissance_Office)

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) develops and operates space reconnaissance systems and conducts intelligence-related activities for U.S. National Security.[3]

It also coordinates collection and analysis of information from airplane and satellite reconnaissance by the military services and the Central Intelligence Agency.[4] It is funded through the National Reconnaissance Program, which is part of the National Foreign Intelligence Program. The agency is part of the Department of Defense.

The NRO works closely with its intelligence and space partners, which include the National Security Agency (NSA), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the United States Strategic Command, Naval Research Laboratory and other agencies and organizations.

It has been proposed that the NRO share imagery of the United States itself with the National Applications Office for domestic law enforcement.[5] The NRO operates ground stations around the world that collect and distribute intelligence gathered from reconnaissance satellites.

According to Asia Times Online, one important mission of NRO satellites is the tracking of non-US submarines on patrol or on training missions in the world's oceans and seas.[6]

[Gumby]

Some very cool shuttle footage in this tribute from Aprilia USA. Thought you all might enjoy. At 2:05 watch for the shockwave through the air as the shuttle breaks the sound barrier.

YouTube - ‪Aprilia USA pays tribute to the Space Shuttle‬‏ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmrifjXStSY)
Wow I just watched the video now - and it was worth it! Aprilia basically gives props to the Space Shuttle, but also says "hey, our motorcycle's no slouch either".

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. :)

[blkgsr]

Imagine where we would be if the US diverted funds from their military program to health care, social programs and education

fixed that for you

[JD¹³]

fixed that for you
No US military? We'd probably all be speaking German, Japanese or Russian.

http://www.bulbish.com/PICS1/11_12really_high_quality_photographs_of_Nazi_Germa ny.jpg

[Bouncing Bettys]

The Challenger Disaster was one of those events that will always stand out for me. The loss of schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe from the Teacher in Space Project made it even more notable. Put away somewhere are drawings I made that day of the disaster I would be interested to see again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hQL0NWS1Rc

At least some of the astronauts were likely alive and briefly conscious after the breakup, as three of the four Personal Egress Air Packs (PEAPs) on the flight deck were found to have been activated. Investigators found their remaining unused air supply roughly consistent with the expected consumption during the 2 minute 45 second post-breakup trajectory.

A good documentary on the disaster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hEh70BJAXM

[Bouncing Bettys]

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/1an_ENMuh9UQ_TmUT_bqJA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/152/2011/07/12/bray_210254.jpg

Two photos, thirty years apart, move the Web

Thirty years ago, the first space shuttle launched into the stratosphere. Chris Bray and his father Kenneth watched -- and took a picture. Then last Friday, the shuttle Atlantis took its final trip. Again, the Bray men were there. And again, the two snapped a photo to capture the moment.

The side-by-side photos, which are up on Chris Bray's Flickr photostream, immediately went viral on the Web.

The first shot shows 13-year-old Chris with then 39-year-old dad looking through binoculars at the space shuttle Columbia's first launch on April 12, 1981, from the Kennedy Space Center.

The second snap comes three decades later and recreates the same moment at the last shuttle voyage. The young son is now an adult. His father is now gray-haired.

Chris Bray wrote on his Flickr page of the side-by-side images: "The picture we waited 30 years to complete."

The younger Bray told the Washington Post, "We've always loved that first photo. Taking a similar one for the last launch seemed like the perfect opportunity to celebrate the shuttle program and our relationship by putting the time passed in perspective, celebrating the interests we share, and illustrating the father/son bond we've maintained over the years."

The Brays' photo touched a chord of nostalgia in many rocket enthusiasts, and the pic has been viewed on Flickr an astronomical 510,000 times.

Comments on the pictures commend the melding of the personal with the historical. Says one: "Epic. To be able to share in something so wonderful with your dad, both beginning and end. I am jealous -- both that you watched not only the first but also the last mission -- but also that you did it with your father."

Another fan of the photo who used to work on the space program wrote in, "Everyone I used to work [with in the shuttle program] thinks it's so cool, [they] get chills."

Chris Bray responded in an email that he was overwhelmed by the response: "I was surprised. The picture had a lot of significance for me and my father, but we didn't expect that the photo would touch so many other people." He added, " The moment has stayed with me since that day, and is one of my fondest memories and childhood experiences."
Two photos, thirty years apart, move the Web | Daily Brew - Yahoo! News (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/two-photos--thirty-years-apart--move-the-web.html)

[FerrariEnzo]

so what happens to those rocket boosters after it gets detached? floats around in space?

[gars]

so what happens to those rocket boosters after it gets detached? floats around in space?

The solid fuel rocket boosters parachute back to earth and are retrieved. The fuel tank floats around in space.

[Gumby]

The solid fuel rocket boosters parachute back to earth and are retrieved. The fuel tank floats around in space.
The external fuel tank falls back to earth, but breaks up before impact in the ocean. It doesn't float around in space!

[tiger_handheld]

noob question: Once the space program ends, what will happen to the International Space Station? I have NOT been following NASA, so i'm not sure what the whole story is. Coles notes would help :)

[Bouncing Bettys]

so what happens to those rocket boosters after it gets detached? floats around in space?

The external tank re-enters the atmosphere, breaks up in the process, hits the ocean away from land and shipping lanes, and is not recovered/reused.

The solid rocket boosters re-enter the atmosphere, parachute to earth, land in the ocean, and are recovered, de-watered, and floated back to the Kennedy Space Center.

[7seven]

noob question: Once the space program ends, what will happen to the International Space Station? I have NOT been following NASA, so i'm not sure what the whole story is. Coles notes would help :)

It's only the NASA shuttle program that is ending, the ISS will be serviced and resupplied by Russian rockets/shuttles. The US will also pay the Russians to transport their astronauts on their shuttles.

[Jsunu]

It's only the NASA shuttle program that is ending, the ISS will be serviced and resupplied by Russian rockets/shuttles. The US will also pay the Russians to transport their astronauts on their shuttles.

Yup they are outsourcing their space program now :okay:

[FerrariEnzo]

pretty soon China's astronauts is going up there...

[keitaro]

Here's a video of the retrieval process, as filmed from Discovery's final mission.

‪Shuttle's Boosters Recovered in HD‬‏ - YouTube

[twitchyzero]

derp
canadehrm