Discovery final flight

[gatorzingo]

Non INFI thread. Yesterday was the final launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. I scored tickets in a NASA lottery last year for this launch. The tickets granted us access to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex which is 6 miles from the launch pad. This is the closest a civilian can get with out "special" privileges. The day was PERFECT, clear sky and mid 70s. Tight security meant no obligatory INFI for the pics.

My son and me.

Mission patch

 

[reddawn]

awesome:thumbup:,,but im sad to see it end

 

[Jaxx]

Too bad about the no obligatory INFI...if I've ever seen a piece of wood that needed chopping badly, I'd say that telephone pole is it!

Nice pix, thanxx for posting them!!! :thumbup:

 

[shunsui]

Wow. I remember watching the first one go up on CNN.
That was a long deployment for one space vehicle.

 

[Jroden5446]

Nice man!

 

[kiessling]

It is somewhat sad to see it end, back then when the shuttles were new we thought this would be the start of a new era of spaceflight.
But nevertheless ... IMHO they did great, despite the problems and crash.

 

[Izhmash]

Very cool, Gator. Glad you and your son got to enjoy that together!! We don't have children yet, but I can only imagine the look on his face watching that thing light off!

A few pics from inside Discovery, circa 2007:

 

[Bufford]

They should keep them in reserve for specialized missions where they could utilize the versitility and resources these vehicles have. They will have nothing to replace them with for years other than basic rocket/heavy lift capability.

 

[SilentJohn]

That is a really cool patch

 

[knife hunter]

I love NASA. My mom was a finalist for the Challenger flight , but thankfully she wasnt picked. SHe worked for the news paper and was a private pilot. SHe was an Instructor at SPace Camp recently.

Its heart breaking that the current President has shut this down. I hear there is enough He3 potentially on the moon to provide earth energy for the next thousand years and all we have to do is go get it and bring it back.

WHo else but us, as in THE US< has been to the moon?

Other thing bad is since CHina wasnt allowed to join the Inernational Space team. THey are the only county that goes up alone with no supervision. Yeah, scary hu.

Knock out our satelittes and its NO more Blade FORUMS!!! NO!!


Stone ages

 

[knife hunter]

Very cool, Gator. Glad you and your son got to enjoy that together!! We don't have children yet, but I can only imagine the look on his face watching that thing light off!

A few pics from inside Discovery, circa 2007:

Lightyears ahead of Abel and Baker:thumbup:

 

[gatorzingo]

That is a really cool patch

Yeah, here is the back-story of the STS-133 mission patch from NASA.....

STS-133 Mission Patch
The STS-133 mission patch is based upon sketches from the late artist Robert McCall; they were the final creations of his long and prodigious career.

In the foreground, a solitary orbiter ascends into a dark blue sky above a roiling fiery plume. A spray of stars surrounds the orbiter and a top lit crescent forms the background behind the ascent.

The mission number, STS-133, is emblazoned on the patch center, and crew members' names are listed on a sky-blue border around the scene.

The Shuttle Discovery is depicted ascending on a plume of flame as if it is just beginning a mission. However it is just the orbiter, without boosters or an external tank, as it would be at mission's end. This is to signify Discovery's completion of its operational life and the beginning of its new role as a symbol of NASA's and the nation's proud legacy in human spaceflight.

 

[SilentJohn]

Can the public buy them