Overflow's Great Thread of NASA Knowledge

[FenwickHockey65]

Oh. Makes sense.

[Overflow]

We're not replacing it with a moon landing. lol Orion isn't meant for moon landings.

[FenwickHockey65]

I just noticed there's a Shuttle in this.

And what's weird is later in the video, something related to that Shuttle.

[Overflow]

I never even caught that.

[FenwickHockey65]

The video was made before she was moved too. Funny coincidence.

[Overflow]

Predicting the future.

[FenwickHockey65]

http://imgur.com/gallery/6MqlY

That was nice.

[Overflow]

July 8th, 2011:

On this day, two years ago, Space Shuttle Atlantis stands on the launch pad for the final time.




This would be the final time a Space Shuttle would ever be on a launch pad, the final time for an unknown amount of time that man would be sent to space from Kennedy Space Center.



STS-135 was the 135th and final Space Shuttle mission. It was also Space Shuttle Atlantis' 33rd and final flight before she would retire to her new home down the street at the Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Complex. The $100 million museum was already in the process of becoming a reality.



The 4 person crew was the smallest crew on the Space Shuttle since STS-6 in 1983. The crew was so small because no other shuttle would be able to rescue Atlantis and her crew if she was damaged in orbit since Endeavour and Discovery were already retired, and could not be made flight ready before Atlantis' APU and oxygen supply ran out. So NASA had to pick a four person crew that would be able to fit on the ISS if Atlantis would not be able to return.



Originally, STS-135 was never suppose to happen. After Atlantis finished mission STS-132, it was thought to be her last hurrah. She pulled into her OPF and began processing for mission STS-335, a launch on need for the programs final mission at the time, Endeavour's STS-134.



However, at the last second, Atlantis' STS-135 mission was approved, no matter the funding problems with Congress. Atlantis would be the final Space Shuttle to fly.



The mission marked:

• 166th NASA manned space flight
• 135th shuttle mission since STS-1
• 33rd flight of Atlantis
• 3rd shuttle flight in 2011
• 37th shuttle mission to the ISS
• 110th post-Challenger shuttle mission
• 22nd post-Columbia shuttle mission
• 100th day launch
• 133rd landing overall, 78th at KSC, 26th night landing, and 20th night landing at KSC

The July 8th launch never looked favorable. It's still amazing that they launched that day due to only 30% favorable weather. At T-31 seconds, just before Atlantis's computers were supposed to take control of the flight, the launch countdown clock stopped. This was because of a lack of an indication that the Gaseous Oxygen Vent Arm had retracted and properly latched, a problem that had never occurred during previous launches in the program's history. Soon the launch team was able to verify the Vent Arm's position with the help of a closed circuit camera, and the countdown clock resumed.





The flight was witnessed in person by nearly 1,000,000 people in the Kennedy Space Center and surrounding area.


After completing it's mission on the ISS, Space Shuttle Atlantis left some gifts; An STS-1 mission patch, STS-135 mission patch, and a flag that flew on both STS-1 and STS-135. The flag would not be removed from the station until another American spacecraft with humans docked at the ISS.





On the final flight day before Atlantis flew home, the final satellite to ever be deployed from a Space Shuttle cargo bay was released. It was a small PicoSat satellite.






After the satellite was released, a poem made by STS-135 crew member, Rex Walheim, was read by Rex himself.


One more satellite takes its place in the sky,
The last of many that the shuttle let fly.
Magellan, Galileo, Hubble, and more Have sailed beyond her payload bay doors.
They've filled science books, and still more to come,
The shuttle's legacy will live on when her flying is done.
We wish PicoSat success in space where it roams,
It can stay up here, but we're going home.
Yes soon for the last time we'll gently touch down,
Then celebrate the shuttle with our friends on the ground.
— Rex Walheim





The Space Shuttle came to a final stop the next day at 5:57:54 AM. The Space Shuttle Program was done.



After Atlantis' tow back and before she pulled into her OPF, NASA held an employee appreciation event for the KSC employees that serviced the Shuttles for 30 years. Most of them wouldn't be returning the next day.

[FenwickHockey65]

Still remember that launch.

[Overflow]

Did you watch it?

[FenwickHockey65]

Yes ma'am. It was right before my parents were going out of the country for two months. We were sitting on the couch in the living room watching and my mom was rambling on and on about how stupid it was to kill the program.

[Overflow]

Space shuttle Enterprise, as it appeared inside its original Space Shuttle Pavilion aboard the Intrepid, Sea, Air and Space Museum, prior to Hurricane Sandy. (Ben Cooper / LaunchPhotography.com)


July 8, 2013 – Space shuttle Enterprise is ready for its re-debut.

NASA's first winged orbiter, a prototype spacecraft used in the late 1970s for atmospheric flight and ground tests, the shuttle Enterprise will reopen on display Wednesday (July 10) at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City.

The space shuttle, which has been off-limits to the public for the past eight months, first debuted on exhibit on the flight deck of the Intrepid museum, a converted World War II aircraft carrier, last July. Three months later, Hurricane Sandy hit Manhattan, leaving the space shuttle with minor damage but destroying its air-pressurized enclosure.

The Intrepid's new "Space Shuttle Pavilion," which relies on a metal skeleton to maintain its shape, is now ready to again open to visitors.

"After many months of hard work recovering from Sandy we are extremely excited to announce the opening of our new Space Shuttle Pavilion, and to once again [be able to] share Enterprise with all who visit the museum," Intrepid president Susan Marenoff-Zausner said in a statement.

The new structure is more than just a redesigned shell to cover the same exhibit.

Enterprise, which as before is mounted 10 feet (3 meters) off the deck, allowing guests to walk underneath it, is now joined inside the pavilion by another spacecraft.


Russia's Soyuz TMA-6 capsule, on loan to the Intrepid by "space tourist" Greg Olsen, is seen being moved into the museum's new "Space Shuttle Pavilion" to join Enterprise on display. (Intrepid)

The Intrepid moved its Russian Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft exhibit from the aircraft carrier's hangar deck to the flight deck pavilion on June 25. The capsule, which flew to and from the International Space Station (ISS) in 2005, is on loan from Gregory Olsen, who landed aboard the Soyuz as a privately-funded flight participant, or "space tourist."

Since retiring the space shuttle fleet in 2011, NASA has relied on Russia's Soyuz to fly its astronauts to the space station. The U.S. space agency is intending to hire private launch providers to resume domestic flights to the orbiting outpost as the commercially-built and operated spacecraft become available in 2017.

The Intrepid's flown Soyuz is one of only three on display in the United States.

In addition to the capsule, the rebuilt pavilion also features a new stage for programmed demonstrations, new exhibits highlighting technology spin-offs from the 30-year shuttle program, and a film narrated by "Star Trek" actor Leonard Nimoy about the history of the winged spacecraft.

Enterprise, however, remains the centerpiece. The exhibit includes a larger observation platform, atop which guests can get nose-to-nose with the prototype orbiter.

And a new soundscape entryway greets visitors coming to see the space shuttle with the audio that was recorded between NASA's mission control and the astronaut crews who flew Enterprise's approach and landing tests.

"Our team is working hard to bring an incredible exhibit to life that will allow space shuttle Enterprise to continue to inspire generations of innovators and dreamers for years to come," said Marenoff-Zausner.


Space shuttle Enterprise, as seen from the air, is surrounded by the framework for its new display pavilion at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. (Courtesy Tom Kaminski / WCBS Chopper 880)

The reopening on Wednesday marks just the beginning of the Intrepid's planned festivities to welcome visitors to the new display. As it did last year for the first ribbon cutting, the museum is again organizing a "SpaceFest" celebrating "all things space."

For four days starting July 25, the Intrepid and its partners will host hands-on demonstrations, astronaut appearances and free movie screenings. Among the other SpaceFest highlights, the museum will unveil a LEGO model of space shuttle Enterprise assembled by a LEGO master builder.

The rebuilt Space Shuttle Pavilion is a temporary home for the real shuttle, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in March. The Intrepid is working toward building a permanent exhibit facility for Enterprise, which will display the orbiter near, but not on, the aircraft carrier, while providing enhanced educational programs.

[FenwickHockey65]

Oh, Intrepid finally got up off their ***es and did something?

[Overflow]

It's almost like Intrepid really doesn't want to deal with Enterprise anymore. They didn't rush to fix her or her display pavilion after it was damaged. And they didn't want to spend the money on an actual building before Sandy.