Discovery: Deservicing and Retirement Updates

[Bubbinski]

Thanks to some unexpected twists of fate I'll be going to DC for a trip to see Discovery, and I'll be there on the 19th.  I'll register and I hope to get picked!

[mdeep]

Can anyone provide some photography tips for Discovery in the VAB? We are coming to visit again at the end of this month, and are taking the Up Close tour. Presumably Discovery will still be there in HB4, and I'd like to get some good pictures of her with my family.

What is the lighting like on a normal day there? From the photos I've seen, it's not the greatest so I'm thinking a fast lens is going to be needed, as a flash will probably be pretty pointless given the size of the area.

I'd also like to snap a few photos of the overall VAB inside to get a feel for the size of it all, so I'm thinking a fairly wide and fast zoom lens. My initial thought was to use a 17-55 f/2.8 IS lens in hopes it would be wide enough and fast enough.

That being said, I'm open to renting just about any lens that might work best. For you guys who are shooting lots of these great pics in the VAB, what do you recommend?

The 17-55 should serve you fine for Discovery. Do your best to make it to f4 if you can, f2.8 I feel is too shallow for this. Use the IS and crank the ISO. I have some handhelds of Endeavour in HB4 at 1/13" f4 ISO640 (1/13 is easy with IS).

For the VAB, you can get some shots with the 17-55, but for the best results, you should use an ultrawide like the Canon 10-22, Tokina 11-16, or Sigma 10-20. This photo shows the transfer aisle at 11mm.

Here are my shots from Friday:
http://www.mikedeep.com/Space-Shuttle/Transition-Retirement/2012-03-09-Discovery-Atlantis/

[psloss]

My images from Fridays move of Space shuttle Discovery and Atlantis as viewed from the roof of the VAB.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/walter-s-photo/sets/72157629191558584/

Here are my shots from Friday:
http://www.mikedeep.com/Space-Shuttle/Transition-Retirement/2012-03-09-Discovery-Atlantis/

Thanks, guys.

[jacqmans]

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-041

NASA OPENS MEDIA ACCREDITATION FOR SHUTTLE DISCOVERY DEPARTURE

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Media accreditation for activities surrounding
space shuttle Discovery's departure from NASA's Kennedy Space Center
in Florida is open. Discovery will be transported atop a NASA Shuttle
Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a modified 747 jet, to Dulles International
Airport in Virginia on April 17.

Journalists can cover a number of operations related to the ferry
flight, beginning when the SCA arrives at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing
Facility runway. That arrival currently is targeted for April 10. To
accommodate processing times, international media representatives who
want to cover the SCA arrival must apply for credentials by March 29.
For U.S. journalists, the application deadline is April 6.

For international journalists who only want to cover Discovery's
departure on April 17, the deadline to apply for credentials is April
9. For U.S. journalists the application deadline is April 16.

All media accreditation requests must be submitted online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

A schedule of all media activities and events related to Discovery's
ferry flight will be announced in the coming weeks.

After arriving at Dulles, Discovery will be removed from the SCA and
moved to the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center for permanent public
display on April 19. For more information on the shuttle's
preparations for public display, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/transition

       
-end-

[psloss]

Item running in today's Video File.

[Mapperuo]

And here's that video file as shown above:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/YySY-l0-RCw&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/YySY-l0-RCw&rel=1</a>

[Mark Dave]

I found this on Google. Discovery after her swap with Atlantis. Her banner hung on the nose landing gear doors. https://p.twimg.com/AnlTh2CCAAEJOBq.jpg:large

[psloss]

I found this on Google. Discovery after her swap with Atlantis. Her banner hung on the nose landing gear doors. https://p.twimg.com/AnlTh2CCAAEJOBq.jpg:large

Saw that Tweeted on Friday here:
http://mobile.twitter.com/spacekscblog/status/178265501154279425

[TheFallen]

Discovery and Orion inside the VAB

[Chris Bergin]

Update on the orbiter donations of MPS hardware to SLS, with some brilliant quotes from Ms Stilson via Philip Sloss' interview on behalf of the site, and some epic hardware photos from Brian Papke on behalf of the site.

We've got such a good team on this. Really couldn't of hoped for better.

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/03/vehicle-record-sls-discovery-mps/

[robertross]

Update on the orbiter donations of MPS hardware to SLS, with some brilliant quotes from Ms Stilson via Philip Sloss' interview on behalf of the site, and some epic hardware photos from Brian Papke on behalf of the site.

We've got such a good team on this. Really couldn't of hoped for better.

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/03/vehicle-record-sls-discovery-mps/

"It’s no secret how much the KSC workforce love the orbiters,...": and those here on NSF 

Another great article Chris. Thanks Phillip for providing us those quotes.

[brettreds2k]

Its funny because people who are not into the Shuttle Program cant understand how those who care for them and those of us who love the Space Program see the Orbiters as living machines and care for them as if they were people, BUT what they also fail to understand is that love for the Orbiters the people who cared for them had, is EXACTLY what brought them home safe every mission, the care and love that went into them is what kept them safe.

[Namechange User]

Its funny because people who are not into the Shuttle Program cant understand how those who care for them and those of us who love the Space Program see the Orbiters as living machines and care for them as if they were people, BUT what they also fail to understand is that love for the Orbiters the people who cared for them had, is EXACTLY what brought them home safe every mission, the care and love that went into them is what kept them safe.

Here is a possible way to explain it, via Star Trek - a franchise that has endured for 50 years and has been engrained into popular culture. 

The Enterprise is as much a character in the show as anyone else.  Even those who may not like Star Trek, "know" the Enterprise. 

Why do you think this is?  Is it because that fictional starship is a representation of what we want to become as culture and/or species?  That it reprensents the "better part" of what we can do?  And while we can't build starships just yet, we CAN build spaceships. 

And, at least for some of us, it's also just cool.  In addition, and in the most general sense, people have always had a somewhat romantic fascination with ships and vehicles.  This goes back to the days of the first sailing ships and can also be seen with how some take care of, modify/upgrade and baby their personal vehicles.   

Now these vehicles are committed to history, although there are still many who believe they went before their time.  And like the fictional Enterprise 1701, there will - eventually - be a 1701-A and so on. 

Cheese-factor is now "off". 

[mr. mark]

Reminds me of the saying "Which came first, the chicken or the egg" for some strange reason.

[brettreds2k]

Its funny because people who are not into the Shuttle Program cant understand how those who care for them and those of us who love the Space Program see the Orbiters as living machines and care for them as if they were people, BUT what they also fail to understand is that love for the Orbiters the people who cared for them had, is EXACTLY what brought them home safe every mission, the care and love that went into them is what kept them safe.

Here is a possible way to explain it, via Star Trek - a franchise that has endured for 50 years and has been engrained into popular culture. 

The Enterprise is as much a character in the show as anyone else.  Even those who may not like Star Trek, "know" the Enterprise. 

Why do you think this is?  Is it because that fictional starship is a representation of what we want to become as culture and/or species?  That it reprensents the "better part" of what we can do?  And while we can't build starships just yet, we CAN build spaceships. 

And, at least for some of us, it's also just cool.  In addition, and in the most general sense, people have always had a somewhat romantic fascination with ships and vehicles.  This goes back to the days of the first sailing ships and can also be seen with how some take care of, modify/upgrade and baby their personal vehicles.   

Now these vehicles are committed to history, although there are still many who believe they went before their time.  And like the fictional Enterprise 1701, there will - eventually - be a 1701-A and so on. 

Cheese-factor is now "off". 

I am one who will say they were retired well before their time, and just like when Columbia and Challenger were lost, I mourned for the orbiters just as much as the lives lost, because like so many, we see them as living machines, especially Columbia, I think she had a place in my heart cause she was the old lady, and was different than her sisters, and fought so hard to bring her crew home on that last flight.