Endeavour lands at KSC for STS-127 (HD)

High definition coverage of the landing of OV-105 or Space Shuttle Endeavour at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Landing date was 07/31/2009

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• OV-105
• Endeavour
• Space Shuttle
• NASA
• Landing
• STS-127
• STS127
• Spacevidcast

[MCP53]

Wow - excellent! My son has just completed his first few solo glider flights - Endeavour must be the ultimate glider.

[spacevidcast]

@MCP53 The orbiter descends at 10,000 ft/minute. Like littlepyro said, "just like a brick" heheh.

[qwertygnf]

Well worth watching the whole 9 mins

I found it relaxing to watch  (just finished work)

That camera can see a long way!!!!

[GmrWeb]

6:27 look at the size of that bird!

[puncheex]

@MCP53 The shuttle is a lifting body as much as the wings help, but it is not really very aerodynamic. As a glider it has it's moments, but the byword is "energy management", keep tagged right to the computed flight profile because there is no second chance if they don't make the first try. The last rockets it uses are before atmosphere, where attitude thrusters still work.

[puncheex]

@spacevidcast: I note that the Russian shuttle, the Buran, actually completed one orbital flight and landing successfully under totally automatic control, the only flight the Buran made. It was later destroyed in a hangar collapse.

[blueb0g]

@TheMightyKinkle The sound is partly from wingtip vorticies from Endeavour's wingtips

[sentaway01]

simply stunning what a rush to be on the shuttle whan it blasts off sign me up

[TheMightyKinkle]

cool, thanks

[spacevidcast]

@TheMightyKinkle The jet sound you hear though is the APU (auxiliary power unit) providing power for the power and hydraulic systems. The "chuff chuff" sound is also the APU. NASA's airborne security helicopters (not actually NASA's helo's) are UH-1's, and their 2 main rotor blades rotate at about 300 RPM's. You'd hear 12 distinct "wop-wop" sounds per second.

[spacevidcast]

@TheMightyKinkle T-38 Jets stopped chasing the shuttle orbiters back in 1984, the first time the orbiters landed at KSC. There have been WB-577's but those were not used after STS-116, and from a further distance (the WB-57's were to help check for debris problems after the Return To Flight [RTF] missions).

[spacevidcast]

@Manolara84 Nope, the shuttle is a glider from over 160 miles up. The OMS engines just can't be used below 70k ft. They dump the OMS propellant during the descent, but it doesn't create any thrust then. The orbiter sometimes uses the OMS engines during ascent (above 70k ft) to give a little extra velocity to the craft. The OMS engines are also used for the deorbit burn though. That's at 160+ miles. Below 70k ft, they dump the prop overboard, as it's extra mass and toxic to humans at landing.