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STS-135 Crew Welcom Home - Ellington Field
by
astrobrian
on 23 Jul, 2011 03:34
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Here are my shots from the Crew Welcome Home ceremony. My only other time having been to one was for STS-130, needless to say there were many more people there this time.
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#1
by
astrobrian
on 23 Jul, 2011 03:36
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#2
by
astrobrian
on 23 Jul, 2011 03:37
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#3
by
astrobrian
on 23 Jul, 2011 03:39
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#4
by
astrobrian
on 23 Jul, 2011 03:40
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#5
by
astrobrian
on 23 Jul, 2011 03:41
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#6
by
astrobrian
on 23 Jul, 2011 03:42
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Sen. Hutchison, and Houston Mayor Annise Parker
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#7
by
astrobrian
on 23 Jul, 2011 03:45
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#8
by
astrobrian
on 23 Jul, 2011 03:48
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Some of the crowd gathered. On the drive home, a sunset, a fitting metaphor for the trip back home, and a proud end to the shuttle era.
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#9
by
Chris Bergin
on 23 Jul, 2011 03:53
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Nicely done!
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#10
by
jacqmans
on 23 Jul, 2011 07:43
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Very Nice Brian,
Thank you !!!
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#11
by
dpolhamus
on 23 Jul, 2011 08:38
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cool pictures thanks!
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#12
by
Lewis007
on 23 Jul, 2011 10:17
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Video of the welcome home ceremony
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#13
by
Melroy Fan
on 23 Jul, 2011 10:37
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Thanks Brian. Great job.
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#14
by
Jeff Bingham
on 24 Jul, 2011 04:20
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A couple of candids before and during the Crew Return Ceremony from my little Canon Powershot,
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#15
by
Jeff Bingham
on 24 Jul, 2011 04:27
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#16
by
psloss
on 24 Jul, 2011 11:22
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Couple More
Add you to the list of people I missed there -- why didn't I put Senator Hutchison's appearance and yours together until now?
(Thanx for the pix -- some more behind the scenes footage.
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#17
by
Chris Bergin
on 17 Aug, 2011 00:03
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@NASA:
#STS135 crew will be on @ColbertReport tonight at 11:30 pm EDT. go.nasa.gov/STS-135
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#18
by
Chris Bergin
on 17 Aug, 2011 00:04
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And Commander Ferguson on Letterman (very good and Letterman clearly is a space program supporter):
"You always love your first Space Shuttle"
Would you get on (SpaceX's Dragon)? "I'd have to read the manual first".
SLS gets a mention.
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#19
by
Jeff Bingham
on 17 Aug, 2011 00:55
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And Commander Ferguson on Letterman (very good and Letterman clearly is a space program supporter):
"You always love your first Space Shuttle"
Would you get on (SpaceX's Dragon)? "I'd have to read the manual first".
SLS gets a mention.
Very good appearance by Commander Ferguson; Letterman's enthusiasm is reflective of the impact I've heard so many times before, even from prior skeptics. For that reason alone I think one of the greatest missed opportunities was the scrub of STS-134 on the first attempt, which President Obama was scheduled to attend. He and his family went ahead and visited KSC and toured the OPF, etc., but missed the launch. Not that I necessarily expect it to have changed his views or policies, but it would have brought the realities of human space flight to his attention in a way no briefing or report could ever approach.
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#20
by
zerm
on 17 Aug, 2011 01:32
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I'm amazed- that Letterman spoke as perhaps one of the most well informed talkshow people I've ever seen on TV as far as spaceflight is concerned. In fact, there were news people at the press site during the STS-135 launch that were not that well informed (lots of 'em too). Good job Dave!
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#21
by
Jorge
on 17 Aug, 2011 01:44
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For that reason alone I think one of the greatest missed opportunities was the scrub of STS-134 on the first attempt, which President Obama was scheduled to attend. He and his family went ahead and visited KSC and toured the OPF, etc., but missed the launch. Not that I necessarily expect it to have changed his views or policies, but it would have brought the realities of human space flight to his attention in a way no briefing or report could ever approach.
Personally, I'm glad we missed that opportunity. The *negative* impact had something gone wrong with the president watching is too horrible to think about, and the launch team showed a lot of integrity by not letting the presidential visit influence their decision-making.
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#22
by
Jeff Bingham
on 17 Aug, 2011 01:55
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For that reason alone I think one of the greatest missed opportunities was the scrub of STS-134 on the first attempt, which President Obama was scheduled to attend. He and his family went ahead and visited KSC and toured the OPF, etc., but missed the launch. Not that I necessarily expect it to have changed his views or policies, but it would have brought the realities of human space flight to his attention in a way no briefing or report could ever approach.
Personally, I'm glad we missed that opportunity. The *negative* impact had something gone wrong with the president watching is too horrible to think about, and the launch team showed a lot of integrity by not letting the presidential visit influence their decision-making.
Valid point about the potential for a much more negative outcome, and I agree that kudos go to the launch team for making the right call. Hindsight is of course always 20-20, so in the end it that negative outcome did not materialize. Nevertheless, I believe the "dialogue" between Congress and the White House on the future of human space flight would have been different than it currently is, if only because it would be elevated above the mid-level policy and budget folks with a more direct level of involvement at the Oval Office level than I personally believe is currently the case.
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#23
by
Chris Bergin
on 17 Aug, 2011 02:07
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I've got a better idea. 51D for President!
There's a guy on here who works for Amtrack - so that's the campaign train sorted. I'll have a word with PM Cameron - who says yes to everything - so there's your standing abroad topped up!
Shake some hands, kiss a few babies and we're half way to having the space program back on track!
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#24
by
psloss
on 17 Aug, 2011 12:41
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Very good appearance by Commander Ferguson; Letterman's enthusiasm is reflective of the impact I've heard so many times before, even from prior skeptics.
Skeptic or not, I agree about the immediate impact. I think most people are perhaps more objective -- or non-committal -- before experiencing a Shuttle launch up close, in person. But afterwards the responses to the experience are more one-sided. We see it in interviews with people afterwards a lot and I couldn't help smiling at Anderson Cooper's reaction on CNN on the air, because it was so similar to what I've seen/heard from others.
Not that I necessarily expect it to have changed his views or policies, but it would have brought the realities of human space flight to his attention in a way no briefing or report could ever approach.
True, but if it doesn't change a decision maker's politics, does that change the dynamic? (And in this case, would it have changed anything before either the election or the next administration?)
