STS-133 Lands at Kennedy Space Center for the last time

[135poly]

Look at the left near Discovery at 7,30 minutes of video. There are some lights? or something else? what do you say?

[TrainGuy33]

Makes Me Cry Seeing The End Of Discovery. :(

[nascar1998]

For a second I thought he said KFC 9:01

[hderhty]

The last day landing

[Gearsofwarboy2009]

How Could A Parachute That Big Stop It That Quickly!

[adamsachs2]

@Gearsofwarboy2009 it has air brakes as well as disk brakes in the wheels too

[Aviator0x8]

reminds me of a AC-130 Lockhead but with out the guns

[jonnyreverb]

Now America has to thumb a ride into space from Russia on a piece of their failed lunar mission, Soyuz...

Thanks for letting our last great achievement slide into the toilet, baby boomers.

[kjcrazyes]

well i think space shuttle should be retired because itis soold and we dont want anymore tradedy. IM SERIOUS

[kjcrazyes]

well i think space shuttle should be retired because itis soold and we dont want anymore tradedy

[truthplzthx]

what is the black object flying behind the shuttle at 6:58?

[ti994apc]

My big problem with Constellation is the approach using Shuttle parts. It seems to more about jobs that progress. We use to feel we had to do everything in one or two launch's like Skylab. But, later we found we can assemble something better with several launches like ISS. We can go to the moon the same by assembling parts using Falcon9. If it takes 10 Falcon9 launches to assemble a moon / mars system it would still be safer and cost less than a single Ares1 rocket.

[AVMamfortas]

An era passes. Another starts. History will richly reward the Shuttles for their major part in the first move into Space. Well done.

[10CMilesS]

@AVMamfortas what new era? The shuttle era is nearly finished. Obama decided a year ago to cancel Constellation so until mid 30's with the proposed mars missions NASA will be 2nd rate.

[spacevidcast]

@theuserofmynameisme STS-114 (flown by Discovery) hit a turkey vulture at about 100 mph with the external tank at liftoff. See the event at watch?v=zTCjx5DEPkE

[alienhunter36]

at 7:31 check out the left hand side of screen i thought it might be birds i zoomed in on my mac, are they birds? or have i seen my first ufo i'm sure there is a simple explanation

[spacevidcast]

@alienhunter36 Yep, those are birds. Not sure of breed, but they are. Kennedy Space Center is in the middle of a wildlife preserve.

[alienhunter36]

@spacevidcast aah rats thought i was on to something there, on my screen they look like 4 balls thanks mate

[karjens41]

Obama and Bolden have said we don't have the technology to get back to the moon without international help. That confuses me as we did it before, 50 years ago. So, are they saying our technology has gone backwards? They don't have confidence in the NASA engineers or that the moon landing never really happened?

[spacevidcast]

@karjens41 Some of the Spacevidcasters don't feel the administrator is capable of making the right decisions to get us back to the moon without help from others. The engineers are certainly capable of making it happen if they got the funding Apollo did. 

[vicorly]

@spacevidcast The engineers know what to do, but NASA only get 0.5% of the federal budget. Back during Apollo, NASA got 12% of the budget. NASA's budget is only about $20 billion, but we waste $2 billion a week on useless wars. If they would cut defense spending by 4%, they could double NASA's budget.

[Phar2Rekliss]

this sucks hat they never built another craft better than the shuttle. All they are have thought of doing is a damn orion capsule. the more and more you look, they planned to not build anything after 2012.

[spacevidcast]

@popsupercorn The US will be getting rides from Russia aboard Soyuz as well, for about 5 years, perhaps more.

[spacevidcast]

@theuserofmynameisme It's called experience and training.

[bwd81977]

So long Discovery, You were the oldest surviving shuttle. See you in the museum. A well dessereved retirement.

[Neptune997]

Goodbye Discovery :(. We'll miss you.

[GNeuman]

Farewell! :-((

[GlenStorageCenter]

i say we arm the space shuttle and send it the Libya !

to fight in there war F16 agent the Shuttle will put rocket in cargo bay !

put in a big gun in front of the shuttle

and will paint it to look like a shark !

[spacevidcast]

@GlenStorageCenter Spelling isn't your strong suit and you can't "send" a space shuttle orbiter to Libya as it would be completely useless there (the OMS doesn't work below 70,000 ft and the main engines need the external tank to operate because that's the only tank used for the SSME propellant), and it's also incredibly expensive to bring back to the states.

[GlenStorageCenter]

@spacevidcast ROFL you moron i was jokeing !

you have no sense of humor ROFL

oh man !

dont you think paint the space shuttle to look like a shark !

is not joke !

you need to get out more !

[GlenStorageCenter]

@spacevidcast

i want you to look at a movie called.. 1941 staring john belushi

then youl understand

[shi9d1]

39th Discovery-133 reached home,Houston cermony  delighted.

[shadowspork]

Discovery will be dearly missed... my favourite orbiter too. Where ever she ends up, I will visit her one day.

[ShepperdOneill]

An amazing vehicle considering the avionics its using.

[aimhigh59]

@ShepperdOneill Whats wrong with the glass cockpit avionics ?

[spacevidcast]

@aimhigh59 The avionics and computers are from the VERY early 80's. Pretty much every cell phone in the US has more computing capability than the shuttle does. Biggest reason; heat is hard to dissipate in space. That's why the shuttle orbiter's radiator panels are so massive (they line the inside of the payload bay doors)

[aimhigh59]

@spacevidcast I'm pretty sure the computers were updated in the mid 90's and the glass cockpit installed in the year 2000. It doesnt make sense to install 20 year old avionics. The computers are kept simple for a reason. The less lines of code, the less problems.

[mj1234321]

Somehow watching SpaceX capsules splash down and then get fished out of the ocean just won't be quite the same! So much for progress....

[bgamelson]

George Bush didn't cancel the space program. He only called for the shuttle's retirement because it was 1970's technology. NASA would have continued the space program but Obama cancelled that. Now, thousands of people at NASA have been forced into unemployment when Obama promised to add jobs, not take them away.

[usnsquirrel]

@bgamelson Actually, Bush did. See VSE. A quote from his speech; To meet this goal, we will return the Space Shuttle to flight as soon as possible, consistent with safety concerns and the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. The Shuttle's chief purpose over the next several years will be to help finish assembly of the International Space Station. In 2010, the Space Shuttle -- after nearly 30 years of duty -- will be retired from service." Wednesday, January 14, 2004

[csapilot1]

Ok, what about to build BC-304 Daedalus :DDD

[apodino]

@theuserofmynameisme The commander is the one who actually flies the landing. While the shuttle is in the HAC (Heading Allignment Cone) the pilot takes over for a bit to get a little stick time flying the orbiter. This is customary on every shuttle mission. Then the Commander will take back over to actually fly the final approach and landing.

[Beergut222]

Thanks Obama...

Thanks Democrats...

[spacevidcast]

@Beergut222 Well, lets be fair. The Space Shuttle Program was cancelled by President George W Bush back in 2005, which would be Republicans. Obama and the Democrats opted to not reverse that decision. So both parties canceled the shuttle, not just one. Also note that the shuttles were built in the 80's, and in my opinion it is time to move past LEO which the shuttles can't do. This isn't the end, this is just the beginning of something new!

[hereHehereHE]

@spacevidcast incorrect.

obama and joe bidden the zionist loving racists spent hundreds of millions of dollars in afgahnistan

[feynmanizma]

@spacevidcast but we should keep in mind that President Obama cancelled the Project Constellation, which was supposed to continue the space exploration after shuttles' retirement.

[BlindBlannche]

@spacevidcast YES parties are obsolete. excitement abounds as we LEAP into a new era a "human spaceflight" hmh hm hmm. Let the people know, here we go!

[ThisBoyTV]

@spacevidcast

You are right... Russia is so far ahead of us we are eating their dust. Fine with me :)

[flanksteak2]

@spacevidcast Where is the "Something New"?

You mean the U.S. watches as the Chinese go to the Moon. That would be something new.

[nestfilms]

@spacevidcast

Anyone who thinks that are fooling themselves

NASA just wants commercial to take over they will not build anything themselves, they say the missions in the shuttle are to risky but there is far more risk going beyond LEO. it won't happen under the management of a goverment organisation only under commercial group

but so far only one group has put a single rocket into space. Its not happening, US space travel is essentially dead.

[karjens41]

@spacevidcast I also wonder why, during the economic "boom" of Clinton's administration, they didn't take the opportunity to build at least one new shuttle. After Challenger, Reagan quickly ordered a new one (Endeavor) so why Clinton didn't I don't know. The people that fly these shuttles believe that the shuttles still have life in them. I agree. Cmdr Lindsay said 2 flights year to the ISS could keep the station stocked. Also it will keep jobs and a US Icon until that new thing is built.

[spacevidcast]

@karjens41 A lot of manufacturers for components of the orbiters were no longer in business a short time after Endeavour was built, and she was built from a lot of spare parts, simply to replace Challenger. It costs 2 billion dollars to make an orbiter. There are some components, like the Composite Overwrap Pressure Vessels whose manufacturer no longer exists, thereby making the warranty expire after 10 years. Atlantis is literally a ticking time bomb on the pad the last 4 days before a flight.

[usnsquirrel]

@karjens41 They can't do two different launch designs at the same time because it's simply too expensive. See the National Launch System design from the early 90's for further explanation.

[moop2000]

@spacevidcast Weren't shuttles were built in the 70s, and designed in the 60s. Not exactly cutting edge technology these days.

[aimhigh59]

@moop2000 They were designed in the late 70's and built in the late 70's and early 80's. They were way ahead of their time and have been updated continuously. Even today an awesome piece of machinery.

[flchange]

@spacevidcast yes, but the problem is that that "something new" is decades away...

[ThisBoyTV]

@Beergut222

Obama slashed the NASA budget by 30% throwing 10s of 1000s of people out of work.

[usnsquirrel]

@ThisBoyTV NASA's budget went from 0.59% in 2010, to 0.58% in 2011. Next year it's expected to go down to 0.45%. That's about 17 billion dollars. In 1966, the budget for NASA was 6.5%. You should look up VSE if you honestly think Obama had anything to do with it.

[ThisBoyTV]

@usnsquirrel

I have a copy of the entire NASA budget and it was Obama would did the slashing. It is a 1000+ pages if you want a copy. I am not a fan of Bush, however, he was the one who wanted a moon mission and further exploration to Mars. Bush also asked NASA to come up with a replacement for the Shuttle.

[usnsquirrel]

@ThisBoyTV I've read the facts. I'm the resident Q&A guy for spacevidcast. I've read the VSE and i have the link that explains it. And guess what. It's dated Wednesday, January 14, 2004. see spaceref (dot) com (slash) news (slash) viewpr (dot) html?pid=13404

[josefilhoish]

Muito bom o video,se tivesse um video mostrando os astronautas sendo recebidos,ai ficaria melhor.

[MadeInLat1]

This is soo sad :(

[MlPichard99]

212 ft per second. Woah!

[csapilot1]

@MlPichard99 It's pretty smooth, for "flying brick" :DD

[bahrainTVchannel]

Sell it to the Chines

[coldbloodid]

@bahrainTVchannel fail

[philritter21]

Hooray Discovery! I was on the causeway for the launch. Happy retirement!

[thxdts]

Welcome back, Discovery! Congratulations to the crew and all involved at Nasa!

[free2009ytb1]

Farewell Discovery.Good Luck to NASA in the future.

[Astrobrant2]

Congratulations Discovery. One helluva truck!

Why would they hear sonic booms when the orbiter is going well less than the speed of sound?

[oomblikkies]

@Astrobrant2 I assume your question refers to what the astronauts hear. During the assent all they hear is the overwhelming noise of the solid rocket boosters. During the descent they do indeed hear the sonic booms very well when their speed drops below the speed of sound.

[Astrobrant2]

@oomblikkies I was talking about from the ground. I think I know why now. I think the announcer was where the camera was since you could tell he was outside, and that appeared to be over 30 miles before the cape. I wondered why he said "about to go sub-sonic" when the speed was already down to 654 mph. I suspect it was because he hadn't heard the sonic booms yet, but it probably took two minutes or more for the shock wave to get there.

[spacevidcast]

@Astrobrant2 The announcer is inside, the camera tracking the orbiter is outside. The orbiter is a few miles away when it's supersonic. It slows to subsonic before getting close, but the pressure wave carries on until it's dissipated beyond the landing site.

[Astrobrant2]

@oomblikkies I was talking about from the ground. I think I know why now. I think the announcer was where the camera was since you could tell he was outside, and that appeared to be over 30 miles out. I wondered why he said "about to go sub-sonic" when the speed was already down to 654 mph. I suspect it was because he hadn't heard the sonic booms yet, but it probably took a couple minutes for the shock wave to get there. In fact it could have been from well before they went sub-sonic.

[roamingcroat]

@Astrobrant2 The PAO fellow is in Houston, so he's listening to the flight loops and watching the video. The speed of sound goes by the square root of temperature, so at 9 miles, it's right around 660 MPH. If they were a little higher than 9 miles or if the atmospheric conditions were a little different from the standard atmosphere model, 654 MPH could still be supersonic. In any case, they were right around Mach 1.

[txfirehawk]

The most complicated machine ever created by man.

[CharlesTelevision]

@txfirehawk oh yeah by far!!!

[rideordie650r]

Thank You Discovery for everything you have done for Mankind.

[delorien06]

Just like the concorde, we are now back on sputnik days.

[spacevidcast]

@delorien06 This was only the last flight for Discovery. There are still two more shuttle flights. One on April 19, one on June 28. That's the last one, STS-135.

[runwax]

that's it. New fascinations to come...

still I'm gonna miss it

[TuneLoony61]

Ciao Bella Discovery.  Thank's NASA and STS 133 Mission.

[SPYK3O]

@popsupercorn

They never didn't go to the ISS.

[plastic410]

I cried when this was over...

[gregthebunny553]

Time to build the Millennium Falcon now.

[bwd81977]

@gregthebunny553 Yeah, how long before we can make the jump to light speed? ;-)

[MWFrontier]

@gregthebunny553 What a piece of junk!

[patienceking]

I wtf'd when he said "I'd also like to thank KFC..."

Then I figured it must mean Kennedy Flight Center or somesuch.

[Snyperx77]

@patienceking Dude he said KSC not KFC. You must be hungry or something.....

[Nebula1701]

Nasa needs to make all those who have flown on her sign their names on the shuttle next to the hatch.

[hpswin2002]

Welcome home, rest in the Museum :)

[1958boomergirl]

Yes, I'm sure this was a sad day for everybody involved, but look at it this way. It's better to quit while you're ahead than it would be if NASA kept using & using & using the spaceplane until the poor thing is just one or two rivets away from disintegrating completely in mid-flight & causing yet another disaster.

[Unstung]

@1958boomergirl The space shuttles are certified for a hundred missions each; Discovery had only 39 missions. All of NASA's disasters (from Apollo 1 to Columbia) were caused by possibilities overlooked and not thought of. It is impossible to think of everything. Now NASA has no clear direction in manned spaceflight, and what aren't the chances for Mars and the asteroid mission not just to be more jobs programs? Congress itself allocates their funding, a huge 0.52% of the US budget; on freeze.

[spacevidcast]

@Unstung They aren't certified for that 100 flights. They were EXPECTED to be certified for 100 flights when they were originally planned. They were also expected to have a turn-around time of a maximum two weeks too. 1986 had 14 flights planned for that year and everyone from the engineers and technicians knew that was impossible due to the lack of funding (and manpower). Challenger was the second of those 14 expected. It was a matter of time in 1986 before something catastrophic happened.