NASA'S Final Four: Meet the Last Space Shuttle Crew Videos :
Kamis, 07 Juli 2011 by Android Blackberry
NASA'S Final Four: Meet the Last Space Shuttle Crew
The video below will be showing live streaming coverage of the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis and ongoing NASA TV coverage of the STS 135 Mission including the landing. Launch is scheduled for Friday, July 8, at 11:26 a.m.
Below the video is the latest news via RSS feeds, for more space news see this page too!
Both video feeds below are on autoplay you will need to mute or pause one of them!
Final Shuttle Crew Arrives at Kennedy for Launch Videos :
The four astronauts who will fly Atlantis on the final mission of NASA's space shuttle program have a busy mission ahead and an important legacy behind them.
The 4 crewmembers are slated to launch aboard Atlantis on Friday (July 8) at 11:26 a.m. EDT (1526 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Nevertheless, weather forecasts predict a murky 70 percent chance that rain will prevent a liftoff on Friday, so the mission may possibly need to wait until the weekend or later to launch.
Commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim make up the pretty last space shuttle crew. The veteran group of spaceflyers will carry out Atlantis' 12-day STS-135 mission to the International Space Station.
Here's a closer look at "the final four" astronauts of NASA's last shuttle flight:
Commander Chris Ferguson
Chris Ferguson, 49, can be a United States Navy captain who has flown on two prior shuttle missions. A Philadelphia native, Ferguson began astronaut training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston in August 1998.
Ferguson completed his 1st spaceflight as pilot of Atlantis' STS-115 mission in September 2006. Throughout the 12-day mission, the crew delivered and installed the International Space Station's massive P3/P4 truss segment and two sets of solar arrays.
Ferguson was also commander of Endeavour's STS-126 flight to the space station in November 2008. In total, he has logged over 28 days in space. From November 2009 to September 2010, Ferguson served as deputy chief of the Astronaut Office.
Ferguson has spoken about the huge quantity of pride he and his crewmates have in their vehicle, Atlantis, too as the rest of NASA's shuttle fleet. As commander of the final flight, his focus has been on executing a effective mission, but the legacy of the agency's 30-year space shuttle program isn't far from his mind.
"I'm not any a lot more apprehensive or nervous about this mission coming off than any other one," Ferguson told SPACE.com. "In spite of the truth that there's been a good deal of attention surrounding the mission since it is the last one, we still have a really tight timeline along with a extremely complex mission to pull off. We want to put NASA's finest foot forward, and I think that is on the back of everyone's mind. We desire to go out using the respect plus the dignity that the shuttle program deserves. I think we've been performing a nice job of that so far."
Pilot Doug Hurley
Doug Hurley, 44, is actually a lieutenant colonel within the United States Marine Corps who was born in Endicott, N.Y. A highly experienced pilot, Hurley has logged over 4,000 hours in far more than 25 aircraft.
Hurley was selected to join NASA in July 2000, and reported for training at Johnson Space Center the following month. Right after completing stints as the lead Astronaut Support Personnel (ASP) for the STS-107 and STS-121 missions, Hurley served on the Columbia Reconstruction Team at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and was also the NASA Director of Operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.
Hurley completed his first spaceflight in July 2009 as the pilot on Endeavour's STS-127 mission, in the course of which time he logged over 376 hours in space. Most recently, Hurley served as the safety branch chief inside the Astronaut Office. Becoming able to fly on the final space shuttle mission is a great honor, Hurley stated, and witnessing the capabilities of the iconic orbiters at a young age was what inspired him to become an astronaut.
"This is what I bear in mind inspired me to get into this enterprise, seeing this magnificent winged vehicle go into space for the very first time," Hurley stated.
Hurley is hoping the spectators who might be there in individual to watch Atlantis' launch soak inside the encounter as they witness a key moment in history.
"Until you see 1 in person, you truly haven't seen a shuttle launch," he stated. "It definitely is an emotional expertise to basically see the boosters light and see the shuttle head skyward as it starts to catch the space station. I want as quite a few folks as feasible to see a shuttle launch and understand what this country has accomplished."
Mission specialist Sandra Magnus
Sandy Magnus, 46, is an engineer and also a veteran spaceflyer. Born in Illinois, Magnus was selected to join NASA in April 1996. Prior to that, she worked for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Provider as a stealth engineer.
The video below will be showing live streaming coverage of the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis and ongoing NASA TV coverage of the STS 135 Mission including the landing. Launch is scheduled for Friday, July 8, at 11:26 a.m.
Below the video is the latest news via RSS feeds, for more space news see this page too!
Both video feeds below are on autoplay you will need to mute or pause one of them!
In October 2002, Magnus completed her initially spaceflight as component of Atlantis' STS-112 mission, logging a total of 10 days, 19 hours and 58 minutes in space. In 2005, she began training for a lengthy duration mission aboard the International Space Station.
Magnus flew to the orbiting outpost with the crew of Endeavour's STS-126 mission, which launched on Nov. 14, 2008. She spent 4 1/2 months aboard the station as a member of Expedition 18. Magnus logged 133 days in orbit prior to returning to Earth using the crew of Discovery's STS-119 mission, which landed on March 28, 2009.
For someone who is intimately familiar with life onboard the space station, Magnus is confident that following the retirement of the shuttle program, far more attention will be paid to the cutting edge science being performed at the orbiting lab.
"I believe what you'll see using the space shuttle retirement is you'll likely see more and more news about what we're doing on the space station," Magnus told SPACE.com. "The shuttles are just such an obvious, in your face, example of what we're performing in space, and people have been focusing on that for such a lengthy time. But in the meantime, we have 10 years on the space station behind us, along with a lot of experience there as well as a lot of good function done there that I feel you will see increasingly more in the news."
Final Shuttle Crew Arrives at Kennedy for Launch Videos :
Mission specialist Rex Walheim
Rex Walheim, 48, is actually a retired colonel within the United States Air Force who hails from Redwood City, Calif. Walheim was selected by NASA in March 1996 and reported to the Johnson Space Center in August of that year.
A veteran of two space flights, Walheim has logged over 565 hours in space, which includes much more than 36 hours in five spacewalks. He completed his very first spaceflight as part of Atlantis' STS-110 mission in 2002. The mission delivered component of the International Space Station's backbone-like truss, and also marked the very first time that the station’s robotic arm was used to maneuver spacewalkers around to facilitate their function.
Walheim flew again on Atlantis for the STS-122 mission, which launched in February 2008. On this flight, the orbiter delivered the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory. Walheim performed 3 spacewalks to help prepare the new module for its scientific work.
A self-described "frequent flyer" on Atlantis, Walheim will ride the orbiter 1 last time on its STS-135 mission.
"I told them I only fly on Atlantis," Walheim joked during preflight interviews.
He also recalled the awe he felt as a student watching the quite 1st launch of the space shuttle, and hopes Atlantis' space finale will inspire others also, especially those who are able to witness the event in person.
"When you get to see a launch, it is not just witnessing a launch, you expertise it," Walheim told SPACE.com. "It's some thing you hear, you feel, you encounter. I think persons will likely be proud to be component of a country that will take this magnificent vehicle and sling it into orbit, and just see the incredible power and majesty of this vehicle taking off. It is a genuine treat.
