Say goodbye to Discovery :( NASA activitys

Personally I cant afford to go, but if I could oh my...

On April 17, 2012, space shuttle Discovery will depart out of the Kennedy Space Center for the last time. This time on top of a Boeing 747! The orbiter will be placed on top of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and flown to its new destination at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.
In celebration of the fly-out, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will be hosting four days worth of activities for guests including:
Special "Discovery" tour including a drive-by of the Mate/Demate Device at the Shuttle Landing Facility to view Discovery as it is mated to the SCA (April 14 and 15). Additional fees will apply.
Appearances by crews from inaugural and final missions, STS 41-D and STS-133 (April 16).

http://kennedyspacecenter.com/discovery-fly-out.aspx?ic_campID=4&ic_pkw=GH_FlyoutPromo_Mar12

Beeker

Jake1 wrote: »

Personally I cant afford to go, but if I could oh my...

On April 17, 2012, space shuttle Discovery will depart out of the Kennedy Space Center for the last time. This time on top of a Boeing 747! The orbiter will be placed on top of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and flown to its new destination at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.
In celebration of the fly-out, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will be hosting four days worth of activities for guests including:
Special "Discovery" tour including a drive-by of the Mate/Demate Device at the Shuttle Landing Facility to view Discovery as it is mated to the SCA (April 14 and 15). Additional fees will apply.
Appearances by crews from inaugural and final missions, STS 41-D and STS-133 (April 16).

http://kennedyspacecenter.com/discovery-fly-out.aspx?ic_campID=4&ic_pkw=GH_FlyoutPromo_Mar12

Love to go myself but waiting until they are all in place and then I plan a pilgrimage to visit each one:)

Beeker

Beeker wrote: »

Love to go myself but waiting until they are all in place and then I plan a pilgrimage to visit each one:)

Oh I had a feeling you'd be going at some stage Beeker

Chemistry Ftw

Wonder of they'll bring you inside of them when they are on display to the public.

Beeker

Chemistry Ftw wrote: »

Wonder of they'll bring you inside of them when they are on display to the public.

That would be fantastic but not a chance. The public will be kept well away from them. You can look but do not touch:)

Chemistry Ftw

Beeker wrote: »

That would be fantastic but not a chance. The public will be kept well away from them. You can look but do not touch:)

They couldnt even just allow one of them to be entered? Would be awesome if they allowed it :cool:

lord lucan

Chemistry Ftw wrote: »

They couldnt even just allow one of them to be entered? Would be awesome if they allowed it :cool:

Given their historical importance there's no way they'd let anyone enter them.

Also,they're not gravity friendly when it comes to getting around them. A hatch you have to crawl through to get to the mid-deck,a skinny ladder up to a fairly cramped flight deck and a narrow airlock leading to the payload bay. Even if you were agile enough to get around it there would be a lot of wear and tear on the Orbiters from people rubbing off it.

Gonna be sad to see Discovery being first to leave 'home' for the last time.:(

thecommander

There was the full size mockup "Explorer" in KSC. That's now moved to make way for the new exhibit. They'll probably clean it up and put it back when the building is complete.

lord lucan

thecommander wrote: »

There was the full size mockup "Explorer" in KSC. That's now moved to make way for the new exhibit. They'll probably clean it up and put it back when the building is complete.

That's heading down to Houston.

thecommander

lord lucan wrote: »

That's heading down to Houston.

Really? Wonder if they'll build some sort of mockup at each of the exhibits so you ca get a feel for it. I couldn't believe how cramped they were. I know they're designed for micro gravity, but still, 7 people inside that small room.

The IMAX cameras that filmed the movies are on their way to the Smithsonian too.
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2214.html

lord lucan

Explorer got moved from her spot at the visitor centre last December. Here's a report with pics from the event:http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-121111a.html

Standard Toaster

360 view inside the Space Shuttle Discovery

Slick50

This is being covered live on Sky News today @ 12:50.!

That was their advertised time, on live now.

Such a damn sad day

Ive been in tears

im listening to them bring her in..

http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/?feedId=1605

Discovery is 10 mins out.

how lucky are those people standing on the roof at the airport, she is flying so low, what a view

lord lucan

Nearly as heartbreaking as watching the last manned landing of Discovery.:(

What else is heartbreaking is the live feed is down !!!NASA one and Ustream, cant find another.

Listening to them go back and forth between air traffic control and the pilot on radio ref for now

coylemj

Just spotted it live on BBC website, very spectacular, lots of people out on rooftops and balconies observng it.

They are getting annoyed at the airport now because a load of contractors have showed uo and have no permission to be there, they are going to be shifted

cant blame them for trying...

ok they said just leave them there to late and dangerous to move them, plane is 12 miles out

Shes down now. Bye bye darlin'..

Skyknight

Touchdown.....one last time.

lord lucan

I take it back,it IS as heartbreaking as watching the final manned landing. Didn't think the ferry flight would be particularly emotional but that was very sad. She'll never feel the wind beneath her wings again.:(

Robert Edmonds

lord lucan wrote: »

I take it back,it IS as heartbreaking as watching the final manned landing. Didn't think the ferry flight would be particularly emotional but that was very sad. She'll never feel the wind beneath her wings again.:(

More disappointing is the lack of direction at NASA, planetary science just took a ~20% cut in spending from NASA.

thecommander

How we nearly lost Discovery

http://waynehale.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/how-we-nearly-lost-discovery/

Standard Toaster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07oW8O_9Mw0

jfSDAS

Awesome coverage of the retirement of Discovery to the Udvar-Hazy Center. I visited the displays there a few years ago and it was really impressive.

Space.com have a new infographic posted up showing where US spacecraft can be seen on display – check out their site at http://www.space.com/infographics/

john

Beeker

It was sad to watch but it provided some stunning visuals of the Shuttle/747 combo.

Beeker

Interesting blog from Wayne Hale about Discovery.

http://waynehale.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/how-we-nearly-lost-discovery/

Standard Toaster