Atlantis' Acrobats: One backflip and a dock to ISS

[EmpireLS56KW]

2 people can't do the back flip!

This was a remarkable part of the phase to check the shuttle over and why it wasn’t put into the program years before could have saved Colombia and its crew.

[gavinwell]

I'm surprised everything didn't fall out of the shuttle when it went upside-down. #sarcasm

[extrenix]

the shuttle looks like a duke nukem 3D sprite lolol

[zploek]

one inch resolution and we get 240p???? NO FAIR!!!

[tawe2006]

Puzzling: The space shuttle at some point was travelling at 17,500 miles per hour, it looks very slow for a machine travelling at that speed. How was this able to be filmed if it was travelling at that speed? Was another spaceship with camera on-board following it? Pardon my ignorance, I just need enlightening. Thanks folks.

[njdevil281]

@tawe2006 They are looking at it from the ISS

[AnishZute]

@tawe2006 The shuttle is traveling very fast compares to the surface of the earth, but this video is from the International Space Station (ISS), which is 600 feet above the shuttle. They are both moving at the same velocity therefore the shuttle looks stationary. The shuttle is doing a backflip so that the crew on the ISS can take pictures of it's underside to check for damage to the heat-resistant tiling. Hope that helped!

[EmpireLS56KW]

@tawe2006 The ISS is travelling at the same speed the shuttle needs to catch up for docking once they have caught up with each other, well go and figure its the same if I can run beside you without falling back. In fact both vehicles are in a kinder freefall effect and just look at the ground speeding past at 18,000feet per second! You still don’t think that’s fast!

[tawe2006]

@EmpireLS56KW many thanks for the explanation. It's amazing what the human mind is capable of. 

[mewsez]

I am still amazed how quickly the earth rotates.

[QuickdrawMcShaw]

@mewsez

That's not the earth rotating, that's them moving over the earth. They're traveling much faster than the earth rotates.

[adzyb69]

@mewsez lol! Ergh that is not the earth rotating that is the ISS and the Shuttle travelling around the earth, they move way faster than the earth rotates

[noonedude101]

I'm sorry, but that chick sounds so hot and smart I want to take her on a date to the ISS lol

Space Shuttle... Must have...

[NANOFORGE]

What an amazing machine, I wan't one. What are we doing today daddy. Were going for a picknick IN SPACE!!!!.

[NANOFORGE]

@dburford9 Lol in space that is slow.

[MichaelCox]

They should do a orbit time-lapse video.  One full orbit condensed to about 3 minutes, camera at about 20-45 degrees below flight path, maybe taken in two parts to make the whole earth visible instead of just half. I think that would be really cool.

[kaiser5676]

@dburford9 and that's slow compared to other objects moving in space.

[alpinemanlover]

1:30 smile at the camera :D

[burnout10567]

ever since columbia they always do a flip to check the shuttle for damage.

[TheEltel01]

man and machine in perfick harmony.now on the serious side if the shuttle has heat shields missing do they carry spares to get em back to earth safe.more important can they be fitted in space.

[blablubb12345]

@TheEltel01

No, they don't have spares. Each tile has a unique shape so you would need a complete set of spare tiles. However, they have a repair set to fix damaged tiles. Apart from that, damaged or even missing tiles are not the biggest problem, the Shuttle has reenterd safely with several missing tiles. The really serious parts are the wing leading edges and nose cap made out of reinforced carbon/carbon panels.

[petersims411]

lol pilot poindexter

[ww2footage]

"Atlantis"... I smell Bacon... Francis Bacon

[ztscpetor]

What did you do today ??? ohh nothing special .... just back flipped the space shuttle at 17,500mph ....... what did you do today

[ScottZirpolo]

This has got to be the most intelligent Youtube page I've ever seen.

Youtubers with a basic understanding of orbital mechanics!! I have tears in my eyes, for all is not lost after all!!

Sorry, I had to say that. Ahem, regarding the video, I'd like to see a closeup of the engines during the pitch manoeuvre when the sunlight's reflecting out of them.

[MarkuzLee]

*course and speed...

[StephenETavington]

At mach 20+, there is high hope for commercial flights like Virgin Galactic to fly from England to Sydney in 30 mins, suborbital (an interview with Richard Branson).

You feel your weight because the (immobile) floor supports you. In orbit, both you and the shuttle floor are pulled by the gravity (both are moving) so the floor cannot support you anymore. This gives the so-called "apparent weightlessness".

[TheTubedup2]

can anyone tell me whay they go soo fast?? 17000 miles an hour? you could fly england america in what 10 mins? And secondly, are they at a specific point where microgravity keeps you in constant orbit? thus avoiding them overshooting and going elsewhere?

[xiaoyangkao2]

they have to go that fast to maintain orbit around the earth. if they are not moving at all, they would fall back to earth in a few minutes.

[ArranoGris]

I don't know why or how they go that fast, but it does go that fast, trust me. I think I saw the space station this morning as the sun was coming up and I was taking my dog for a walk. I was freaked out because it looked exactly like a star, but it went across the entire sky in .....a minute? Maybe less? I doubt they do it with constant propulsion as that would be an ungodly waste of fuel....no idea.

[StephenETavington]

@ArranoGris No. The shuttle turns off its engine once it has reached its orbit.

1) There is very little (NOT NONE) drag in space they won't slow down very much.

2) As erictooth, its 17000mph orbit simply KEEPS the shuttle/ station at that height.

But there are small engines for SHORT propulsion in orbit when needed e.g. slowing down for re-entry

[erictooth]

@TheTubedup2 at 17000 miles an hour the resulting "centrifugal force" on the shuttle (the earth's gravity being the centripetal force) is just right to keep the shuttle at a constant altitude. The wings don't create any lift in space because there's no air, so that's why they do it that way.

[SparksterMk1]

At the altitude they are at there is almost as much gravity as on earth. However they are falling at exactly the right height and speed so the curve of their fall matches the curve of the earth; imagine shooting a bullet - it curves down and eventually hits the ground. With this it is like that but they are high enough and fast enough that they are in perpetual freefall, in effect a zero-g environment.

[lazdo20]

@SparksterMk1 exactly

[ngamalieu]

c'est super

[SendPrestonToTheMoon]

Thats what I'm talking about!!!

If you are going to be in space you might as well have fun and live it up while you are at it

[GenerousVideos]

omg u guys r sooooo smart i dont know any of this

[power3star]

Video seems okay but I thought I see the ISS which I think is misleading! Whatever I guess :)

[mareleblond98]

they should have made a better shuttle to replace this one, but I guess its better to build so many different new warplanes (i.e.f22, and jsf) and so on. Couldnt they at least upgrade it?

[Ravenflight104]

The shuttle is one marvelous craft. Admittedly its expensive to fly, but it has capabilities that surpass even those of the next generation of manned spacecraft (Orion & Kliper).Also, despite two flight accidents ( The Challenger's was caused by a bad judgement call...launching when it was too cold ), the overall success rate of all shuttle flights is over 99 %. That's astonishing for what this vehicle does.

[fergus247]

Indeed. We take materials from earth, process it and are able to go to space. Just think about it

[Ravenflight104]

Fergus... I've not only thought about it, I was there. I personally saw Fuel control systems for both the LM and Shuttle being manufactured at Parker-Hannifin. My dad was one of their principal designers. "Processing materials" is to state that process mildly !

[alanneo3]

17500 mph that is cool!!

[robotwun]

this is sad ! they did that to check out for damage before a re entry they didnt survive. All astronauts are real heros !!

[UnevenMatrix]

Ummm no... Nothing has ever happened to Atlantis, I think you're thinking of Columbia...?

[painandink37]

what a sexy voice

[Shazee083]

@painandink37 which one guy or girl 

[Grohowiak]

@painandink37 yep. You can basically fall in love without seeing the person :)

[shinobiZfire]

I wonder how the crew was doing upsidedown...

[lovemachine6969]

theres no gravity, so the blood wont go to their head or anything, but it would prolly still be weird

[shinobiZfire]

Oh, I know. You know just to think about it, it wouldn't feel any different than sitting upstraight...

[painandink37]

if you think about it, there isn't even any such thing as "upsidedown". once you get into space there aren't any directions. earth is just a ball of chemicals and organisms nearby.

[Shinglor]

Down is where the (Newtonian) force of gravity pulls you. Gravity from Earth in orbit is not much weaker than it is on the surface.

[painandink37]

Yeah, I understand. I'm referring to the theory of relativity though, meaning every point of observance is literally the center of the/a universe. In a non-geocentric point of view, planets are just heavy balls of chemicals and up, down, etc. are just concepts.

[Mamba205]

shinobiZfire: They are in free fall around the Earth, in other words, orbiting. When you are in free fall, you feel as if there is no gravity. Since they are experiencing microgravity (weightlessness), there is no way to tell which way is up or down. There is no up or down in microgravity. Their blood, organs, and everything inside of them isn't being pulled "down".

[kyokushinkai]

As cool as it is to watch this, it really begs the question; there has GOT to be a better way to get payloads to the ISS. The current shuttle technology seems somewhat....outdated?

Still cool though! Seems so peaceful and quiet up there, I envy them.

[antifaschiat13]

it's peacful and quiet there,'cause there is only vacoum and without air no sound. so if you'll there any time it will be very very very peacful.

[sgtpayn3]

speaking of peaceful, i know this question is somewhat dumb, but do they get free satellite radio? cuz been peaceful kinda sucks if you in space where no1 can call the cops if you party too loud.  im just saying.

[FloydATC]

Actually, they use rockets for routine shipments and heavy lifting. The shuttle is only used for personell and delicate equipment since it's much more expensive to use.

[britoca]

god man, flip that thing over already!!!

hehehe

[jcooper43]

Do you think they all get together after a hard days work and play Hearts???

[youman9001]

Idiot

[CamiloSanchez1979]

i heard they watch a lot of youtube videos up there on the shuttle.

[franck700]

muy bonito

[Be99n]

Oh sorry wasnt listening, it is the ISS filming :P

[Be99n]

This is very interesting, but i have one question, what is filming the space shuttle?

[zeesham13]

well i think its the space station fliming space shuttle!!

[oomblikkies]

The Columbus module is rather small - it occupied less than halve the payload bay.

[godbluffvdgg]

that is animation!! you can see its fake it looks like google earth in space

[magigg]

thank you very much :-)

[tischloch]

i also want to be thereee

[kyokushinkai]

oh man, that is cool.... looks so peaceful out there!

Get me off this rock! :(

[trendgil]

get yourself off this rock.. not to be mean.. buyt if you really wanted to be there you wouldnt be wasting your time here.. and what am i doing here wasting my time?? well i dont know.. good question..

[pyrrhonian2]

nerds

[Crashland1947]

Thats Fantastic.

[icemen77]

fake

[YawnGod]

Very interesting.

[fsfer]

awesome

[outrageous00]

this is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee­eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee­eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeettttttt­tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt­tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt­tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt­tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt­tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt­tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt­tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt­tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt­tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt­tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt­tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt­tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt­tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt­tttttttttttt

[spideyboy07]

takes 9 mins 4 a space shuutle 2 do a backflip good job

[MinkOWar]

technically, the slow is because there's no reason to rush it, and they wanted to take pictures of the whole surface...

[craigjkb]

i have charter cable who has nasa tv channel? anyone good video love this video

[switm27]

i get nasa on dish...i dont watch it at all though..major boring

[chicagocraig]

Very nice!

[heat000]

Thank you NASA for these videos, where I live, at the moment the space shuttle and space station come over Hull, in England, it comes over right on the time you say, thanks again.

[miamifin]

i would like for nasa to add here the day 1,2,3,4 video like the one shown on nasa tv thanks