Space Shuttle Discovery Landing (STS-131)

Credit: NASA
"Good news, there's a 'go' forecast at KSC," CAPCOM Rick Sturckow radioed from Mission Control. "No precipitation concern inside of 30 miles, all the shower activity's kind of to the east of that 30-mile circle. The main concern is going to be fog. Fog is not in the forecast, but that's what we're having Fergie (astronaut Chris Ferguson) look at for the T-38 (weather assessment) flight."
"So it's going to be few (clouds) at 2,000 (feet), scattered 5,000, scattered 12,000, seven miles vis and the winds are zero-eight-zero (at) four, peak six knots," Sturckow said. "So that's all good news. We'll keep an eye on the fog for the first opportunity."
"We understand, Houston, thanks a lot," commander Alan Poindexter replied from Discovery. "That sounds like a great forecast."
Click to subscribe! bit.ly/subAIRBOYD #AIRBOYD #AvGeek

[@zee_bee_23]

The fact that the shuttle goes from the vast orbit of the earth to a precise runway landing is just mind boggling.

[@randycrocker5908]

And is a glider when it does it, you have one shot to get it right. I live in San Antonio, TX and the Shuttles flight path during re-entry took it over us or was visible. My boys were little and to the dislike of my wife, I had them up on the roof with me to witness a trail of fire going across the sky. I thought " what it must be like to be in that aircraft and experience that ride. It was humbling to watch.....

[@4bibimimi]

The fact that they need to attach it 2A Silo full of fuel with two solid rocket boosters to Escape Earth's jealous gravitational grip is somewhat crazy. Blue origin or virgin didn't go that route

[@davidfrench5407]

@@4bibimimi Blue Origin and Virgin don't go to orbit, just 50-62 miles up (and then right back down), and they don't weigh anywhere near what the Shuttle did. That's why the Shuttle needed so much fuel, in order to get inserted into an orbit, about 17,500 mph to do so.

[@ogpeekhal]

True

[@alanmydland5210]

Time ck, space X backs em in now

[@lois3356]

This isn't flying! This is falling... with STYLE!

[@markkittel44]

Literally my thought. And true. Shuttle was just enough like a plane to land but not much more.

[@chrisspells600]

@Cooper Buzz Lightyear 👨‍🚀

[@russells9687]

The Shuttle astronauts called it "the brick."

[@samsmith9075]

It has rocket engines and does fly. You don't believe they flew this to the moon with Neil Armstrong and buzz Aldrin? You flat-earther

[@lois3356]

@@samsmith9075 you clearly didn't understand the Toy Story reference.

[@westxlcr]

I don’t care what anyone says, the Space Shuttle will forever be my favorite flying machine.

[@atownofbigheads]

With the Concorde a close second :p

[@igflame.quantum7423]

What about the sr71 ?

[@itz_dubs2034]

Same

[@randlerobbertson8792]

Its the Me 262 for me , shark nosed jet killer amongst obsolete vibrating slower prop jobs. 5-10 years ahead of the field in concept. Design and implementation .designed by the losing side under incredible duress and containing ideas subsequently copied by everybody. Post war, one American wanted to race one .but was disallowed because it would just embarras the competition

[@lonelypilot3610]

imo, the space shuttle wasn't a very good spacecraft but it's arguable the coolest spacecraft.

[@40jwthomas]

It wasn’t until recently that I understood how many space shuttle missions there were. What an incredible flying machine

[@johnhito3428]

Me to, i cant belive how in school never told us about the ISS, Soace Shuttle, etc...

[@Pichouette]

Thank you for NOT having any accompanying music 😁

[@someotherdude]

Wow, as youtube trends go, this one is now becoming duckface ridiculous. It's become almost virtue signaling and it's a plea for inclusion into the 'group' (the group of people who post and exchange insults per video) You now see vids with the annoying music, followed by literally 300 comments attacking the music. I mean, after the first 5 or so anti-music posts, the uploader probably gets the idea. They probably don't care though, or they're just spewing the video out there without any conscious thought or purpose, which actually captures our modern existence pretty well. I agree, the music is almost always annoying. But realize you brought it up to someone who didn't have any music! Save your virtue signaling for vids wtih the music! I'll wait for your angry, defensive attacks......

[@Pichouette]

@@someotherdude ?

[@someotherdude]

Best possible reply from you. Nothing for me to further attack. You got me! I wish I could put annoying club music to my answer. :o)

[@someotherdude]

No worries Malcolm, get some rest.

[@chocomanger6873]

What I did was I opened a second window and found a good hippity-hoppity track to play in the background while watching this. It made it quite dramatic. Maybe I can add that audio to this video and republish this for you guys to check out next time. :P

[@greggriffin3998]

Was I the only person who never tired of seeing a Space Shuttle Launch or Landing? MAGNIFICENT.

[@thomass.4674]

nope! :)

[@MiadWahidKommon]

Shuttle Lift off close up Is the best moment!

[@nickfisher3591]

Nope

[@denism9789]

Non bien sûr que non, merveille de technologie, jamais égalé jusqu'à présent.

[@MrKjshiz]

Nope

[@Concussed1.]

Saw her fly over when I lived in Florida. Still brings a tear to my eye. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@mercuryfalconog]

I know right. Makes me emotional too everytime I watch a successful launch or landing sometimes even teary eyes. Dont know why but it is just damn awesome. State of the art engineering pushing technology to the limits. The space shuttle system just had style as well instead of just rockets it looked right out awesome

[@AviationTV]

30 seconds to landing and travelling at 370mph. Imagine hearing that from the captain on a commercial flight. I know it's not something the captain would announce but still!

[@greggriffin3998]

I wonder what the Wright Brothers would think if they saw this magnificent sight.

[@jasonwebb5964]

Greg Griffin one would've said to the Other, " You see Wilbur, if ya didn't spend so much time wackin it in the tool shed we could've built a space shuttle instead."

[@darrenkrivit6854]

They'd say " well ours was powered, that's just a dang glider"😁

[@kellyweingart3692]

😂😂😂😂

[@TheLocoUnion]

Darren Krivit 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@TheLocoUnion]

“Ailerons? We never thought of that!”

[@dhvanilpatel92]

The ending conversation between the mission control and the shuttle commander. GOOSEBUMPS.

[@chathamabs2011]

Nothing but respect for the Americans and the space shuttle. It had its tragedies but to me the the whole program was brave and inspiring. R.I.P. to those that died. Don’t know why but I get a bit emotional seeing the space shuttle land. Great video , thank you from🇬🇧

[@MaynardGKrebs-gv4vy]

Thank you my British friends !! I lived in England from '63 to '66 (Air Force brat). My father was stationed at RAF Chicksands close to Bedford. Many fond memories of a beautiful country and friendly people. Hoping you have made it to the States for a visit. Our Brit friends are ALWAYS welcome here. Come to North Carolina and I'll make you some of my famous bar-b-que !! But only if you make some Yorkshire Pudding....(our neighbors came over to eat and my Mom made southern fried chicken. Mrs. Renshaw asked me what I wanted the next weekend when we went to their house to eat. I told her Yorkshire Pudding. Naturally, the dumb Yank kid thought it was dessert. I was not disappointed with it however. Quite the opposite) Cheers !!

[@markh1085]

I was lucky enough to see the Sts133 launch. The most moving, amazing moment of my life. The program was coming to an end. The staff were very sad at the Kennedy complex. At a Q and A meeting the guy broken down in tears on the podium in front of everyone. People had worked there for most of their adult life with family and friends. I was excited to see the launch that was on my bucket list , by my god the emotional feelings at Kennedy space station were incredibly heart wrenching. God bless everyone that worked on the space shuttle program 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🙏

[@paulmartos2699]

What a beautiful landing! For you pilots, it enters the pattern at about 30,000 feet, approaches at a 21 degree angle and stalls at about 180 knots. And the pilot greased it on. I really miss the Shuttle; it was the finest flying machine ever built. To watch it launched in flame and noise, then operate in orbit as a spacecraft, then descend like a meteor and land like an airliner...whew!

[@vliegendehollander]

There's three kinds of approaches. Stable, unstable, and space shuttle

[@cancelanime1507]

Space Shuttle status confirmed

[@dalehall2067]

Wow

[@alerey4363]

@Mudkip909 as a matter of fact none of the 2 lost orbital vehicles got their engines on fire (if you exclude the normal combustion of the 3 main engines as "fire" that is); one exploded because of a seal malfunction during launch and the other disintegrated re-entering Earth's atmosphere over Texas & New Mexico; we don't know if crew had time to say anything, I guess NASA will never disclosure that (even if they have those recordings)

[@eatanaustralopith_3379]

Except for the time it disintegrated. Of course that was a design flaw that could have been addressed years before. Still the most awesome flying machine ever built by man. Definitely on par with the Great Pyramids.

[@michaell.2744]

@@eatanaustralopith_3379 do you think the space shuttle is still the most advanced space vehicle we have or do you think maybe some of elons rockets are better

[@jimbilton1956]

It never ceases to astound me that the shuttle could come back to earth without any engine power, yet land almost to the inch of where they want it to. And what a lovely calm voice the woman has who is doing the commentary.

[@override7486]

It's a plane.And you still have on-board systems. fly-by-wire etc. Shuttle "just" added possibility to try to land from the orbit. Of course never used as regular "space truck" as intended tho...

[@NoobieToob]

@@override7486 Still, isn't it just a gigantic glider (with a terrible glide ratio)?

[@override7486]

@@NoobieToob It is.

[@Phoenix-zu6on]

@@override7486 a plane? a flying brick, maybe. glide slop of a normal plane is 3°, Shuttle has 20° and it needs a 4x higher speed to achieve those 20°, it literally falls as fast as a free falling skydiver when on its "glide"

[@jimbilton1956]

@Butttits Ballsack The shuttle did not use engines after re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The noise to which you refer could be aerodynamic noise from the shuttle, or from a pursuit aircraft. . It is, as Raghav said, a gigantic glider. That's - in your terminology - " WTF" I'm talking about.

[@juliamihajlovich]

I saw something that said, the sound of the Sonic Boom is never heard by the passengers because they are moving faster than sound! So cool!

[@owenlastname.3500]

Oh yeah, didn't think of that, that makes sense, awesome.

[@europeanzorro4330]

3:01 sonic boom! Awesome!

[@techmaniac43]

Thats the most wonderful part.

[@Ford_Raptor_R_720hp_V8]

The only Completely Silent Aircraft to Experience Sonic-Booms that Resonate for 10's of miles around an Eerie and Wonderful Sight and Sound

[@gKay99]

@jayaveeran the first boom is the initial shock wave reaching the mic. Since the flight is supersonic, its tail crosses the initial wavefront produced by the tip or leading edge of the flight, sudden repressurisation occurs as the tail cuts through and causes the second boom.

[@tirthankarsarkar4206]

@@gKay99 Wow! Thanks for the cool info 👍

[@ramaroodle]

@@gKay99 yeah, what he said.

[@fortimusprime]

Truly, the Space Shuttle sets the bar for how beautiful rockets can be.

[@merduino]

5:52 30 seconds until touchdown. exactly 30 seconds later (6:22)

[@sitsia3808]

@Twilight living ?

[@Pejelo]

@@sitsia3808 he means, Maths are important to calculate the exactly time and other things, because, if something are wrong with a simple number, it would kill the people in the shuttle. For example, they lost a satelite ONLY Just by a wrong digit. They put a wrong "-" and the satelite fails to orbit a planet. Well, this was because it was a project between US & UK, and they uses different rules, but there's the importance about not doing a simple mistake, because everything would be wrong.

[@MohammedShahrukhKhan]

Science in Action

[@AugoZone]

Nasa dont play games when it comes to precision

[@damachine3]

I was thinking the same thing and then I saw your comment. She didn't even start her sentence until 5:53 and she finished the sentence at 5:54. If you play it at .25x speed then you can clearly see that it was still in the air at 6:22. It may have touched at 6:23 but the smoke came off the tires at 6:24. Either way, still 30 seconds in my book. ;)

[@edwinmorales5709]

That's a beautiful landing. Incredible spaceship.

[@bogeyp6731]

What an amazing vehicle...seems like nowadays we are going backwards in time with all these capsules. The space shuttle was a marvel of engineering.

[@owenlastname.3500]

Space shuttle was so cool. But it was somehow a TON more expensive and not as effective as what we use today. This mission costed like 450 million. But current stuff is like 60 million. I don't know how it got so expensive since it is reusable and can land without rockets.

[@baha3alshamari152]

@@owenlastname.3500 It's so expensive because of repair costs

[@alexanderlundqvist1779]

This is human exellence in it's peak!

[@StephanieNikki.H2]

I lived 15 minutes from KSC and although I was in elementary school during these, I vividly remember the sonic booms shaking my house! And the one time my dad took me to watch it land at the runway!

[@boostedM]

I'm not much for personifying machinery, but something about the way the shuttle looks when it is flying just gets me. It's like it knew it had design flaws, it knew it was growing outdated, but despite all that, it was giving everything it could to complete its mission and serve those that had so much faith in it. Like an old, loyal dog just trying to please its owner.

[@andysels9619]

the space shuttle was an amazing piece of engineering, can't wait to see a fully operational starship launch and land

[@Stahlflug]

....and what a nice voice from the Lady......

[@markymark2191]

relaxing

[@funsak112]

Hear from 7:24 for an opposite voice

[@TheBasher-_-]

Lol Weird thing to comment but ok

[@dilbertdoe601]

I could listen to her all day.

[@phantomstratocaster]

so professional compared to today's crew

[@PortCharlotteAlex]

For some reason watching these live made me proud and gave me hope regarding humanity. It was an escape to thinking about good things we can do together rather than all the bad that is now being done to each other.

[@OdysseeVisuelle]

🙏🏻

[@Neil7026]

4:41 Houston discovery runway in sight ... Rogeeeeerrrrrrrrr

[@velociraptor3097]

Lmaoo

[@ticharribetikymo257]

My favorite part

[@iAncientOne]

Used to love hearing that double sonic boom when it would land at Edwards AFB. Got to see a sunset, full moon launch. What an experience! A shame these were retired.

[@alexperuna1386]

Two billion per launch.

[@NToombes]

@@alexperuna1386 Got to spend it on something & we wont learn anything if we don't spend and push the limits.

[@wheeln24-79]

Grew up in Florida and could watch the shuttles launch from our front door. Night launches were amazing. Saw so many of them it was just another thing we took for granted and would only notice when driving or outside doing something and we'd see the shuttle blazing it's way out there

[@ashlogan2049]

@@wheeln24-79 i had no idea they flew 130 odd shuttle missions. Here in Australia we saw the occasional launch on TV. You were very lucky to catch them in person!

[@richardashworth400]

@@NToombes Exactly what Elon did, and look what happened..... SpaceX now land 100% of their boosters, mostly on a tiny barge, floating in the middle of nowhere at sea.... amazing what a bit of "out of the box" thinking can achieve...

[@slartybarfastb3648]

BOOM...BOOM!!! Welcome home.

[@jbfonfrias9133]

I'm 68, & the rush I get watching this spectacular descent & landing is truly mind blowing & something literally out of this world - absolutely phenomenal !

[@StandingUpForBetter]

Even now in 2021 this is still amazing! I am glad I was around to see these magnificent machines fly live. Incredible! I will always be a fan of the Space Shuttle program and for fans I highly recommend the Lego NASA Space Shuttle Discovery set. The Lego designers did the Discovery and Hubble justice.

[@express49]

Never get bored of this so beautiful event !

[@utbelegs]

That boom woke me up off the couch more than once..haha loved it!

[@wilboersma9441]

I think the main reason people don't appreciate the shuttle now is because it was active for so long and grew " old and boring" imagine if we were still launching Saturn Vs. as impressive as it would be, people would grow to hate it because it was not new and inovative. The shuttle may not have gone to another world, but it was still an amazing leap forward in spacecraft design.

[@jogman262]

I never ever got tired of seeing this. I miss it.

[@johnmetson7950]

This was bloody spectacular

[@NotUpdated005]

I think this is one of the most impressive videos on the internet.

[@joshpfaffenberger6181]

Glorious.

[@otawwato]

That was well worth watching as they all are w/out ads or music. I remember the 1st one flying over east coast Australia 1981.

[@Sebastian-cg6of]

Who is Here after the successfull Space X Flight in 2020?

[@patrickkearney3515]

Isnt Orion going to bring the first human to Mars?

[@pmudri]

shut the fk up

[@8EightMan]

@@patrickkearney3515 doesnt matter who brings humans to mars lets hope someone can do it

[@diegosalinas3636]

Me

[@RollrickGaming]

Mars = death / Earth = life .

[@MsOthmar]

Best for ever; Unique Job for all the company.

[@tomsawyer9403]

PERFECT landing! SO impressive.

[@assasing123sleep9]

Such a beautiful ship, amazing work of engineering, Bravery and passion... as incredible as newer rockets might be, nothing will ever have the allure of the Space Shuttle, here is hoping in the future we get a true successor Shuttle like ship.

[@kulmainer]

We will never ever have a Spaceship like you Discovery!

[@desfees]

Love the Boom-Boom! Scared the Bejeezers out of us when we saw it!

[@darrenkrivit6854]

Miss these, looking forward to Crew Dragon soon😎

[@GG-wd9sx]

I don't think much people understand the amount of sweat & tears they built into making this possible!! 🙏🏼Glad to see something like this in my lifetime

[@owen7185]

It is so impressive, beautiful to watch. I can't type anything that does these people justice.

[@giovannigatti2191]

The music of the birds touching this unique lovely machine ❤

[@eclair9]

This is truly a magnificent piece of machinery. I mean, WOW!!

[@MrKjshiz]

This never gets old.

[@lasvegassnowman5505]

Purely amazing feat due to all the challenges and calculation

[@renseruig3870]

i miss the space shuttle program every month a mission that was awesome thank you columbia,challenger,discovery,atlantis,endeavour

[@CPT_Nelson]

I could watch these video all day long...and I just did! :D

[@jennym_edits]

Still the coolest looking space craft

[@kulmainer]

Thank you so much Discovery, and welcome Home!

[@TheLocoUnion]

We need to bring this badass machine back!!! Even better and more advanced!!! This machine made you proud to be a human being and show what we can do when we want to do it!

[@baha3alshamari152]

It was expensive and dangerous

[@TheLocoUnion]

@@baha3alshamari152 so’s New York, but I love it here! 😀

[@LucasBatistussi]

I can hear the birds singing at background ahahhahaah It was an amazing space shuttle! Discovery

[@coronachinesevirus8808]

Lucas Batistussi Female birds must be saying,wow what a bull.

[@dulalazad4881]

[e-mail] 6th 6 6 u 52 req up 700 b chinchilla hrs by TV TV Ted b TV uh uh 6 up ta 52 6bxzvcxmkhds8432vg b 700 9562g

[@JustJohn505]

6:05 for some reason i always liked how you hear this massive whoosh from a spaceship then it cuts to Floridian wilderness ambience

[@natesturm448]

Imagine sending this footage back 100 years in time.

[@Ltldrk]

"Houston Discovery, Runway in sight" "Rojaaaa!" Love it

[@KevinSun242]

"Discovery, Houston, go around, fly runway heading, climb and maintain 2000, contact approach for vectors around."

[@override7486]

@@KevinSun242 "Roger. Try my best!".

[@oubrioko]

​@@KevinSun242 Houston, Discovery: _Unable._

[@ticharribetikymo257]

So funny

[@nipponhouseplayer]

Fantastic landing!

[@timdem5089]

I`ve tears on my eyes! The last landing Space Shuttle! Yes, i`m watchin this at 2020)

[@sharqueeshajohnalaneesha2019]

This was STS-131, there were four more launches and landings after this ending with STS-135. Here’s a vid of that landing: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2PZfaePnNZnj9k

[@XxKingdomHeartsxXZ]

I think Atlantis was the last mission shuttle...

[@BrickThunder]

The space shuttle was an amazing invention!

[@Jonaskongla]

"This is discovery, runway in sight" "Roooooooger! x) haha, funny

[@carlosmatos3088]

Jajajajaj

[@Jonaskongla]

carlos matos god bless you

[@sitsia3808]

@@Jonaskongla where in the video

[@russells9687]

Excitement. Remember also, the earlier forecast was for ground fog (and there is quite a bit in the video), so catching sight of the runway from a few miles out is a big deal for any pilot.

[@pf2941]

sitsia 4:46

[@MashupHub]

Love the double boom at 3:00! Be great to hear that in person!

[@F30Beamer]

you dont wanna hear that in person hahahaa

[@justina249]

Sonic boom.here I come!

[@petermiller5701]

Norman, I never tire of them either

[@manojs2410]

Goosebumps !!!! 👌 Respect 👍

[@charlesstock3323]

welcome home everyone mission accomplished job well done proud of you all

[@marcel_the_m]

Incredible. Landing that thing the way they did with only one shot.

[@nancyhobson9710]

Marcel G. NO room for error

[@zawadix9574]

And no power

[@andrecandrade]

Nevermore will be such a beautiful and amazing craft as this!

[@Ford_Raptor_R_720hp_V8]

what an amazing sight, and something we'll never see again

[@derek-press]

brilliant! respect respect respect !!!

[@PITBULL26398]

Beautiful landing perfect

[@michaeludeze8470]

Is there anything more majestic and awe-inspiring in the sky!

[@Robochop-vz3qm]

I can never get my head around it, simply awe inspiring

[@frank2398]

I love that you can hear the APU "Puffing" starting around 7:00 minutes on this video.

[@oliverg98]

i went to see the launch of this mission at 5:00 in the morning such an amazing site

[@moemanncann895]

Stick and rudder Alan, God bless 👍🇨🇦

[@sharon94503]

What a great time to be alive, to have witnessed this time and time again.

[@garysphotography]

that sonic boom jeeezzzz

[@joycejackson971]

Amazing what we have accomplished since the Wright Bros

[@oliverlison]

so beautiful to watch

[@dexterm1285]

Must feel amazing landing....you did space and back safely.

[@ullgeologist]

There were only four more STS missions after this. It’s hard to believe that was 10 years ago! The space shuttle program has been finished for nearly a decade. I remember it like yesterday. Where has the time gone?

[@qckndrty1]

Yeah I live in Brevard county in Florida. It's just amazing it's already been that long

[@janstein2142]

Want this the last mission?

[@strikeout1991]

Coming down from orbit and landing by just gliding without the use of any engine. Only the best could handle that thing.

[@andyh4747]

Sounds like it has an engine to me.

[@scp-049lover8]

I think it had 2 small jets hidden somewhere on the back, I do think it went to space tho, I'm not a flat earther

[@Ford_Raptor_R_720hp_V8]

The Shuttle's Descent through the Atmosphere until it goes Sub-sonic, is Fully Automated Once the Shuttle goes Sub-sonic the Commander takes over manual Flight until Landing

[@EricIrl]

@@Ford_Raptor_R_720hp_V8 In reality, the Orbiter was usually flown all the way until the final flare using the onboard computer system. The Orbiter was aerodynamically unstable and needed very careful control if being flown manually. During the initial phase of re-entry, attitude was controlled using the Reaction Control thrusters - of which there were over 30 at the front and rear. . Once into denser atmosphere, the RCS system gradually handed over to the aerodynamic flight controls such as the rudder, elevons and split rudder airbrakes. For the last 5 minutes of flight the Shuttle was a genuine aerodynamically controlled flying machine.

[@Ford_Raptor_R_720hp_V8]

@@EricIrl - 2:35 didn't she say the Commander has taken over and is Flying it down? and Touchdown at 6:20

[@pittik-m8193]

Very interesting and fascinating a perfect landing 🖖😃👍

[@prakashturlapati8215]

What a smooth landing!👏👏👏

[@patrickkearney3515]

Whoever invented the shuttle is a freaking genius. Even though it blew up twice. It had more successes than failures.

[@natelav534]

I really hope we see the return of the space plane in the future. Imagine taking off as an airplane and flying to space without rockets.

[@natelav534]

@Steve Acho perhaps but you can fly to space without them with enough velocity

[@alt8791]

Gorg you kinda need rockets to get to orbit

[@dutchgunner8856]

Beautiful just beautiful. Fantastic video

[@elisabertucci5769]

Un' emozione. Grazie.

[@reegans7335]

Love how accurate they predicted the ETA for landing

[@Helen25243]

Wish they hadn't had to stop the shuttles. I find them absolutely fascinating.

[@hubbsllc]

Eventually they were bound to lose another one...and then another, and then another. What the Shuttles did was, and would remain, risky. Do a risky thing enough times...

[@hmdwgf]

I saw a few Shuttle launches while I was in Florida in 2009-2011. It never got boring, let me tell you...

[@hubbsllc]

@@hmdwgf I saw one in the early '90s. The thing I remember the most was that the thing absolutely *got up and went* - no lumbering climb like the Saturn 5.

[@hmdwgf]

@@hubbsllc Absolutely. The engines on the Shuttle were started 5 seconds before the SRB's were lit, and there was an arm there to restrain the Shuttle for those 5 seconds. Once those 5 seconds were up, the SRB's were lit, the arm thing would let go of the Shuttle and up she went. Super smooth initial launch.

[@hubbsllc]

@@hmdwgf That "arm" did nothing of the sort; the STS stack was held down by explosive bolts at the bottom of the SRBs. The timing was such that the SRBs went off and the bolts were blown just as the stack rocked back through vertical after the initial deflection caused by the main engines.

[@marianneregispierrot4016]

Toujours admiratif de cette technologie départ et retour merci de ces exploits passés.

[@oldflorida2003]

I was one of her techs, such a honor

[@MrElSatan]

RIP Alan Pointdexter the commander!

[@sagehiphop]

Crazy he survived space and dies in that manner

[@davidwaynechoate8059]

@@sagehiphop What happened to Him?

[@vincentahwe6347]

What killed him?

[@r.a.contrerasma8578]

@@davidwaynechoate8059 Water skiing accident 2 yrs later.

[@r.a.contrerasma8578]

@@vincentahwe6347 Water skiing accident.

[@alexandrecunha8416]

Simplesmente fantástico.

[@lawjwab]

What a wonderful sight, awesome 👍

[@samuelcardoso8919]

Perfect!!