Author Topic: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING  (Read 339952 times)

Offline MadameConcorde

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #780 on: 07/21/2011 09:52 pm »
As Mike Leinbach said today, "the sun will rise tomorrow morning."  And we will fly again.

Fly again how?
Fly again when?

Look at this.
http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2011/110721faa-braces-for-shutdown.html

 ::)
***
For once you have tasted Concorde you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.
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Faire du ciel le plus bel endroit de la terre c'est impossible sans Concorde

Offline Brian Mc

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #781 on: 07/21/2011 10:17 pm »
Just some rambling thoughts…

I don't have an opportunity to comment here very often because of my busy life and because when I do log on to NSF, it’s like drinking from a fire hose! THIS SITE IS AWESOME!
A thousand thanks to the NSF team for the excellent nonstop coverage of all things related to being off planet!

I have vivid memories of the ASTP launch back in ’75. As a kid growing up in Northern Ontario, coverage of space activities was sparse. We only had two TV channels (one in French). I used to have to wait a couple of weeks after launch for weekly news magazines to be published hoping to see pictures of the latest missions.  Often I was disappointed with disappearing coverage as the shuttle program became more “routine”.
I could never have imagined that one day the type of coverage offered by NSF would be available. Again a thousand thanks!

After seeing and hearing the word “final” so many times with this past mission of STS 135, I find that I am not saddened by the end of the Shuttle program.

I just feel numb.
 
The passing of time will place perspective on all this.

I remember the first time I read an article about the space shuttle. There were two things I distinctly remember thinking about it in relation at the time to Apollo.
 
1 Instead of the crew having a cramped capsule environment they would have a mid deck in addition to the flight deck to float around in. I thought that was pretty cool.

2 The space shuttle was only going to be able to go to low earth orbit. I remember thinking that that wasn’t very cool at all.

It is that contrast of feelings that has stuck with me throughout the program. The space shuttle has been a very capable machine and awesome missions have been flown and technologies demonstrated. But the shuttle was also somehow limited in its ability to support beyond earth orbit human space flight. Any BEO HSF would have to be accomplished either through the shuttle (requiring a high low cost flight rate) or instead of the shuttle.  With the never ending NASA budgetary limitations and the STS51L and STS 107 tragedies and impacts, something had to give and give it did and give it has.

I know many feel sad now that the space shuttle program has come to an end and doubt over what the future holds. One of the goals of STS 135 was to “finish strong” and it did just that in fine style. Change is difficult but come it must. However what wonderful memories are left in its wake. 30 years from now people will still be talking about this era and we the people reading  this now have had the great privilege (with the incredible help of NSF), of witnessesing these moments.
 
For example who can ever forget seeing John Young walking around Columbia punching the air in delight post STS-1?

"This is the world’s greatest auto electric flying machine, I’ll tell you that. It was super!”, John Young during STS-1 roll out.

It’s a far better thing to have witnessed a something that no longer happens than to have never witnessed it at all.

Thank you…
To the crew of STS 135 for the strong finish
To Endeavour
To Discovery
To Columbia
To Challenger
And to Enterprise for starting it all
To NASA you are the very a best at what you do.
And again to the NASA Space Flight.Com for sharing so much

And as a non American may I close by saying America you did well and God bless the United States of America.

Thanks for reading,

Brian

Offline TheGame0135

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #782 on: 07/21/2011 10:34 pm »
Just kept thinking about this quote all day (great movie btw)

" I watched other men walk on the Moon, and return safely, all from the confines of Mission Control and our house in Houston. I sometimes catch myself looking up at the Moon, remembering the changes of fortune in our long voyage, thinking of the thousands of people who worked to bring the three of us home. I look up at the Moon and wonder, when will we be going back, and who will that be? "


that time, is now.


Enjoy retirement Atlantis, Discovery & Endeavour and RIP Challenger and Columbia.
"Human Spaceflight: While our path may not always be clear, our destiny is!"

Offline Alpha Control

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #783 on: 07/21/2011 11:06 pm »
Good words here--thanks.  I too find it difficult to make meaningful comments.  I plan to get back to the "fav pics of the shuttle" thread(s) at some point and throw a few pics there.  In the meantime, this is one of the all time favs of Atlantis.

Thanks to all at the NASA centers for your efforts over the years!



i have no words as well, this does not seem like it is totally real  will take 3 or 4 days to post comments and try to make sense of it all and try to do deal with the reality of what is going on

This thread won't be locked, because we'll have a new thread for "T&R" processing updates - so take your time.

That is a beautiful shot, PahTo.   I love the shadows of the clouds on the ground, far below.

In one sense it's quite surreal, as if she's in orbit over a terraformed Mars of the future. :)
Space launches attended:
Antares/Cygnus ORB-D1 Wallops Island, VA Sept 2013 | STS-123 KSC, FL March 2008 | SpaceShipOne Mojave, CA June 2004

Offline Chris Bergin

Such wonderful posts I think it's a much better idea to have these posts in the FD13 and FD14 threads. They won't be "bumped down" like a standalone thread on General etc. would be. And people will always come back to this "live" coverage, so they'll get read so many times over the years. Feel free to keep them coming.
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Offline bobthemonkey

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #785 on: 07/22/2011 01:01 am »
I don't think I've posted during this flight; I din't think I could add anything.

Now, we are at wheels stop I guess I should say thank you.

As a kid, I found reading adult, coffee table, books on NASA much more important than learning to speak properly (or any of the stuff 4 year olds are meant to do, shy of lego)! I remember being desperate to vacuum up any titbit of information I could find on the programme; thankfully it was a reasonably eventful time for space flight with a few documentaries airing over the course of a few years. I watched my recording of BBC Horizons on STS 61 (HST SM1) so many times, I broke the VCR.  That flight, more than any other has stayed with me, and Endeavour was always my 'favourite' ship.

~~~Wavey lines to indicate the passage of time~~~

This 'little' website has brought me closer to the programme than I ever thought possible. It's hard to believe how much water has flown under the bridge since ESAS was published just before Christmas. It still amazes me that we have this level of access to the outstanding work of a team of dedicated people, spread across the country and latterly the world that struggled to the stars and kept this fantastic machine well above the surly bonds of earth. I hope these flight day threads, generated by all the contributors here, show that people still do care about space and appreciated the work of every member of the SSP.


Offline landofgrey

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #786 on: 07/22/2011 01:15 am »
I shot this video from the 15 end of the SLF this morning. I edited out the three minutes between the sonic booms and landing.

Twitter: @spacearium; YouTube: spacearium

Offline stockman

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #787 on: 07/22/2011 01:18 am »
Wow.. Great video - you can really Feel those sonic booms... I have to admit.. I am envious of where you got to be... well done.. thanks for sharing
One Percent for Space!!!

Offline Austin

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #788 on: 07/22/2011 01:38 am »
I shot this video from the 15 end of the SLF this morning. I edited out the three minutes between the sonic booms and landing.



That's just fantastic!

Offline juleshow

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #789 on: 07/22/2011 01:39 am »
I shot this video from the 15 end of the SLF this morning. I edited out the three minutes between the sonic booms and landing.



Thanks! The NASA TV footage is gorgeous and beautifully shot and professional and many of the long angles make Atlantis look like she is regally sailing in, but watching her shoot by in yours felt so real especially with the sounds as if I was standing out there with you :)
Hail Enterprise, Hail Columbia, Hail Challenger, Hail Discovery, Hail Atlantis, Hail Endeavour

Offline steveS

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #790 on: 07/22/2011 02:02 am »
Have images of Atlantis taken by the pico-satellite released in NASA websites? If so can some one provide a link?

Offline martin_nv

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #791 on: 07/22/2011 02:24 am »
Great video, landofgrey!  It sounds like she makes quite a noise gliding past!


Offline kraisee

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #792 on: 07/22/2011 02:26 am »
Can someone please point me towards a video of today's ceremony outside of the OPF?

Ross.
"The meek shall inherit the Earth -- the rest of us will go to the stars"
-Robert A. Heinlein

Offline Spooks

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #793 on: 07/22/2011 02:27 am »
Never realized the sounds they made on landing...

Thank you
« Last Edit: 07/22/2011 02:27 am by Spooks »
Spooks is my nickname for 20+ years, I'm David and I'm a Space Junky!

Offline stuart_wildcat

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #794 on: 07/22/2011 02:46 am »
Awesome retrospective video on shuttle with a clip from all of the missions.



(Feel free to move somewhere else if it makes more sense.  Didn't know if it really fit in the "personal photos thread")

Offline Danderman

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #795 on: 07/22/2011 03:08 am »
Rex working cubelab middeck deactivation

I believe that this indicates that the last Shuttle payload/experiment/cargo to be handled in space was a CubeLab, strangely enough.

 8)

Offline Alpha Control

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #796 on: 07/22/2011 03:55 am »
Thank you, Chris, for keeping this thread open. I'm sure folks will have a variety of thoughts to share in the days ahead.

I added my reflections on space flight to the FD-13 thread, so I'll add some specific shuttle comments to this FD-14 thread. 

I just finished watching the William Shatner-narrated shuttle tribute, and the tears were flowing again. This whole recent period has been emotionally draining (I couldn't watch the Challenger portion of it, as it hurts too much).

Some thoughts I want to share:

SHUTTLE AMAZING FIRSTS:
 - The world's first spacecraft that returns from orbit with wings and wheels, and lands on a runway.
 - First spacecraft in history to be launched into space more than one time (Columbia).
 - First shirt-sleeve, 14psi sea-level cabin atmosphere in space.
 - First general purpose spacecraft.
 - First recurring use of a fleet of production space vehicles.
 - First large-capacity windows in a spacecraft, and the most total windows on a spacecraft (11).

SHUTTLE FIRSTS THAT WE CELEBRATE FOR NOT HAPPENING:
 - No RTLS abort ever.
 - No TAL abort ever.
 - No inflight SSME failure ever.
 - No OMS engine failure ever.
 - No contingency EVA to manually close the payload bay doors ever.

SHUTTLE TRIUMPHS TO CELEBRATE IN THE YEARS AHEAD:
 - The astounding versatility of the shuttle - satellite launcher, orbiting science laboratory, planetary probe dispatcher, telescope repairman, and space station assembly truck.
 - Opening up space flight to a broader range of people beyond just test pilots.
 - The amazing dedication and focus of the NASA employees and contractor personnel who maintained and operated the fleet with superb professionalism, to the very last day.

I know my list is incomplete, so I welcome any and all additions!

Thank you,
David
Space launches attended:
Antares/Cygnus ORB-D1 Wallops Island, VA Sept 2013 | STS-123 KSC, FL March 2008 | SpaceShipOne Mojave, CA June 2004

Offline Skylon

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #797 on: 07/22/2011 04:08 am »
- No inflight SSME failure ever.

STS 51-F? Center SSME shutdown prematurely.

As for the rest, I concur, cheers to them never happening. After ascent I was thinking "Goodbye RTLS and TAL! All that practice, and you never had to be used."

Offline Alpha Control

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #798 on: 07/22/2011 04:31 am »
- No inflight SSME failure ever.

STS 51-F? Center SSME shutdown prematurely.

As for the rest, I concur, cheers to them never happening. After ascent I was thinking "Goodbye RTLS and TAL! All that practice, and you never had to be used."

Thanks for asking about that, Skylon. I remembered that flight when I was posting. The 51-F shutdown (abort ATO) was due to a faulty sensor, not to an engine failure itself.
« Last Edit: 07/22/2011 04:58 am by Alpha Control »
Space launches attended:
Antares/Cygnus ORB-D1 Wallops Island, VA Sept 2013 | STS-123 KSC, FL March 2008 | SpaceShipOne Mojave, CA June 2004

Offline dsky

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Re: LIVE: STS-135 Flight Day 14 - EOM - RE-ENTRY and LANDING
« Reply #799 on: 07/22/2011 04:59 am »
...

SHUTTLE FIRSTS THAT WE CELEBRATE FOR NOT HAPPENING:
 - No RTLS abort ever.
 - No TAL abort ever.
 - No inflight SSME failure ever.
 - No OMS engine failure ever.
 - No contingency EVA to manually close the payload bay doors ever.

...

I know my list is incomplete, so I welcome any and all additions!

David, I think you should add:
- No ECAL/Contingency abort ever.

Pam Melroy once told me how difficult is to accomplish an ECAL abort and the very tiny margins involved.

And perhaps you should also mention:
- No Ku-band antenna jettison ever required.
- No RMS jettison ever required.

I also think that the RMS never had failures worthy a mention. But I am not sure about that.
Why be a rocket scientist, when you can be a spacecraft engineer?

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