STS-135 [4K]

[@JacksonTyler]

Update: Since the production of this film, several new developments have occurred which significantly change the ending. After a rough unmanned test flight, CST-100 Starliner and Boeing have fallen behind SpaceX and Dragon 2, which made the first successful US return to space instead. Also, Chris Ferguson has retired from Boeing and the planned Starliner flight. It should be mentioned, however - that Doug Hurley commanded the SpaceX mission, which means an STS-135 vet still flew into space on the next American mission, just not the one I had thought it would be.

[@Speckled10]

2020 was a big year no doubt ! Maybe do a 'remaster' ala Apollo docos of this briliant tribute with the updated ending at some point ?

[@NormandoHall]

Please, enable subtitles!!! I read english better than listen

[@franciscodanconia45]

Scoring is magnificent, as in all Homemade Documentaries videos.

[@realisminscale6478]

Jackson, I was born in 1964 and I was not around for the Mercury missions, although I do remember some of the Gemini missions. I remember all of the Apollo missions and of course, all of the Space Shuttle missions. I just want you to know that when I have watched your documentaries, they have transported me back in time, especially with Apollo to where I can almost remember what it feels like to be laying on the floor, in front of the family floor model black & white Magnavox television, 2atching Walter Cronkite and the coverage of the missions. Your wonderful effort to put together these informative, heart-felt documentaries with love and technical expertise allows people like me to relive days of our lives when it truly was a thing of wonder and imagination. I can never thank you enough for the many wonderful times I have been reminded of those evenings during the Vietnam war, where the space program in the late 60's and early 70's allowed a 8-9 year old boy to escape the horrors of a world tearing itself apart. Being an American kid, riding my spider bike, eating a moon pie and drinking down an RC Cola during a hot summer evening and watching Walter on TV talking about what NASA was doing. Those trips down memory lane are to me special and your documentaries have done just that. I just want you to know how eternally grateful I am for your effort in what you have done with your channel. I might just be another fan of your channel but I feel it important for you to know that you have brought much joy and happiness to so many people that have relived moments of their lives that are of a different time and era, when space was way cool, full of wonderful excitement with each upcoming NASA mission. Thanks for rekindling a little bit of that spirit in me through your efforts. God Bless you.

[@scottwheeler2494]

@@realisminscale6478 Being born in 1962, you captured my feelings and memories in a very similar fashion. Thanks for saying what I couldn’t in such a fantastic manner. I too am thankful for these wonderful films.

[@Sandman-bs3if]

Said it before and I'll say it again.....this whole series needs to be available on DVD. Stellar job sir 😎

[@specialk8168]

You actually still use DVDs?

[@abundantYOUniverse]

@@specialk8168 Lots of people do future man.

[@specialk8168]

@@abundantYOUniverse I was just surprised because most people use BD over DVD nowadays. Why would they choose to produce a DVD over a BD? I just don't see that happening (unless profit is not the goal). Maybe there are more people still buying DVDs than I thought.

[@paulmorley1225]

​@@specialk8168 I'm pretty sure what Sandman-bs3if was inferring was this series should be released to the mainstream masses due to it's top quality production.

[@gives_bad_advice]

i think the filmmaker could box up the whole series and sell it to undergraduate aerospace programs to be used as curriculum.

[@djbeezy]

I'm not kidding. I have watched this documentary 4 times in a row. As soon as it's over I restart it and watch it again. I really miss the Space Shuttle. I have commented to much on this video so I will stop now. But I'm falling asleep to it regardless.

[@JonnyMainframe]

This one was special. Having skipped school as a kid to watch the early STS missions, I had never seen a launch in person. STS-135 was the first time I got to see one in person up close. Thank you for yet another incredible documentary.

[@ianmangham4570]

Cool, must have been amazing watching the shuttle 🚀 blast off

[@youdoyouplayer8529]

It’s life changing

[@slippymitc]

I remember the launch day so well. This was the summer following my high school graduation. Growing up east of Orlando, I watched Shuttle launches from my front yard and listened for it's sonic booms throughout my entire childhood.. Watching the Space Shuttle countdowns was so formative that as a toddler I even learned to count backwards from 10 before I could count forwards. For night launches my dad would scoop my brother and I out of bed, still asleep, and lay us in the back of the van and drive us to the Cape. Shuttle was the coolest thing in the world to a young me. It was the spaceship I could see from my house! It rattled the picture frames on the walls, and it lit up the whole night sky. The final launch coincided with the end of my adolescence. I cried like a baby watching it climb away for the last time. And I cried like a baby again watching this documentary. Jackson, thank you for making this. It brought me back to a very complicated time in my own life (2011) and brought me back to my childhood watching the Space Shuttle. I have children of my own now, and I take them to the Cape to watch the spaceships fly, just like my dad took me. Someday, I hope they get to watch Jackson Tyler documentaries about those spaceships too.

[@travishildebrandt2907]

This needs to be seen by everyone, great job

[@cliffb1]

Just wanted to add my thanks for this and all the other videos you have made. Having grown up listening to the Mercury and Gemini missions on the radio with my dad in the early sixties, and then following the Apollo missions on TV in the seventies, your documentaries have filled in a lot of 'blank spaces'. The photos and other videos/films you have found and incorporated, places your work above anything that the Nat Geo or Discovery cable channels have put together in the past. I look forward to your making documentaries on missions such as New Horizons, Voyagers 1 and 2 as well as the Mars rover missions. Who knows what nuggets of information you will pick up as well as other unseen pieces of video. Well done and keep it up!

[@bmxerqf882]

It's criminal that you only have 22.5k subs. This is the highest quality footage I've ever seen

[@rosita4109]

That was really a great documentary! Thank you

[@stevegibb6421]

Home made? Better than any others. Magnificent job👍

[@traveler.west1]

You & all your documentaries, my friend, are an undiscovered national treasure. Thank you so much for making a difference. Please continue…😊🙏 Much love and respect.

[@6AWoolen]

STS 135 was my first and obviously the last shuttle launch I got to witness it in person. It was a very emotional experience for me, and this documentary definitely just got me emotional all over again.

[@andysedgley]

Hazard

[@jpsned]

This was the only launch I ever saw in person. I flew down from MA to FL and remember watching the TV in my motel room the night before and the news commentators saying that a launch the next morning was very unlikely because of the weather. Anyway, I made my way to a point near Titusville, and parked near the bridge you can see briefly at 14:23. And... you can see me off in the distance at 14:31. I'm just to the right of the top of the upper strut of the large Meade camera. Short brown hair, and I'm looking down at my video camera, getting it ready to record After the launch everyone on the bridge began chanting, "USA! USA! USA!" 🙂

[@JacksonTyler]

That’s amazing!!

[@jpsned]

@@JacksonTyler You're tellin' me!! 😀

[@connoreddings1314]

Would love to see a documentary on STS-1 keep up the good work!

[@writer8706]

Man I still miss the shuttle. i know she was old and needed to be replaced but she will always have a specials place in my heart.

[@djbeezy]

Man!! The commentators comments on liftoff of STS 135 bring tears to my eyes every single time. "America will continue the dream". So powerful!

[@Ahiseven]

17:21 is where the epic moment begins.

[@Erasmuspipebagger1]

Simply superb. These documentaries should be available on Blu Ray / mainstream channels and the maker paid very well.

[@emilmlodnicki3835]

49:40 Mike Fossum was the one that took that last photo of the Space Shuttle. He was class of 1981 Texas A&M University, Corps of Cadets Squadron 3. I got to meet him several times because I was also in SQ3 only 20 years later. He even took one of our physical training T-shirts up into space and took a great picture of it, floating in zero-G in front of a window. Now he's the President of Galveston A&M.

[@mutmut02_]

Awesome job on your documentaries. Thank you man !

[@sephjfox]

This one gave me chills. The end of an era, it is emotional to say the least

[@jamessimon3433]

So grateful for this channel

[@john-pauljones878]

Your documentaries are simply the best

[@georfemeyer5664]

Criminally under watched channel Thank you for top notch history docs

[@emoney5367]

I love your documentaries! Please keep it up.

[@michaelhenry1423]

Always look forward to your videos. Chock full of incredible information. Outstanding job sir.

[@JacksonTyler]

I always look forward to being able to hit that "publish" button. It's a labor of love

[@QatarVegan]

@@JacksonTyler Thank you!

[@EstorilEm]

Yikes, someone has watched “The Dream is Alive” in IMAX! I had all but forgotten that documentary till I began watching this - now that it’s over, I can practically hear Walter Croncite’s voice... I watched that as a kid at the NASM in DC, I think it may have been my first IMAX film. This documentary of yours is THE perfect reflection and homage to that early shuttle documentary; when the entire program remained almost magical, and held a seemingly limitless future. I ended up going to space camp a few years later - further stoking my fascination and awe of the shuttle program. It’s a shame politics and budgets are a (THE) factor in space travel, as America has consistently shown what is possible when such obstacles are set aside. Thanks again for another amazing documentary, this one really hit home.

[@JacksonTyler]

Wow! What a great comment. Thank you. I know the shuttle is controversial in hindsight, but it is definitely fun to see the, as you said - seemingly limitless future. Those early years of the shuttle were heady days, indeed.

[@EstorilEm]

@@JacksonTyler Hah I just watched the start of “The Dream is Alive” (1985... damn I’m getting old) and sure enough, the sonic booms at the beginning! I’m assuming this was inspiration, if not a crazy coincidence lol. Alas, the politics will only be getting worse. I’m not against the privatization of space exploration, but I will certainly miss the near-mythical feats that NASA was able to accomplish “back in the day”. 😕

[@JacksonTyler]

Absolutely inspired. I loved the old IMAX docs..and I just drool over that 70mm footage!

[@EstorilEm]

@@JacksonTyler Hah perfect just checking! Keep up the good work, hopefully you’re still producing stuff.

[@Jake-rc4xi]

"The Space Shuttle changed the way we viewed the world. It's changed the way we view our universe. There's a lot of emotion today, but one thing is indisputable: America's not gonna stop exploring. Thank you, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavour, and our ship Atlantis. Thank you for protecting us and bringing this program to such a fitting end. God bless The United States of America."

[@Greendot319]

Fantastic work and woefully under viewed, excellent composition and narration. Congratulations on such a great bit of work, like all of your documentaries!

[@bustedpresents]

Your documentaries bring me right back to scI fi in middle school only it’s real.

[@JackThelRipper]

Ty again for another great docu video, for your age after hearing a intro you did on a previous video is shocking that you make such great docu series! I love these and they have been some of the very best I’ve watched in some time! You have a gift and I hope you continue to make more docu series in the future!! I’m a space nut and was going to apply for the Astronaut program when I was younger but that dream was squashed when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease back in the early 90’s So any new space videos that come out is always a pleasure to watch and learn more, ty again!!

[@armaanr8169]

The space shuttle has its anomalies (inherent to its complex design). Furthermore, the shuttle will be synonymous with the STS-51L & STS-107 tragedies. However, its allure and versatility cannot be understated. Truly a remarkable vehicle :-)

[@JacksonTyler]

You live up to your name

[@nuvostef]

So much nostalgia! Thank you, Jackson, for another fine video. 🖖🏼 Well done yet again. 🌹

[@Peacewind152]

17:55 Rex's FACE in this moment kills me every time. The dude is just LOVING it!

[@Beargizmo3]

Spectacular documentary. Your documentaries are the absolute best. Thank you so much.

[@gumwap1]

As a kid who grew up in the late 80’s and 90’s, I can’t express how much a part of my childhood the shuttle program was. I miss it so much and consider myself extraordinarily lucky to have been a part of it, even if only as a wide eyed child.

[@Fatspurios]

You sir are a true craftsmen. Thank you once again for an amazing job. Be well and stay safe.

[@danfoulds]

Your work is wonderful. Thank you. There are moments here and in others where my chest feels a fullness, as if my heart is swelling with joy. (But of course that can't happen, right?😎). Home made is just fine.

[@Mach7RadioIntercepts]

You did excellent work on this. I'm really enjoying the high quality video, sound, and your telling us about this last STS mission.

[@JacksonTyler]

Haha thank you! This poor video struggles compared to its Apollo sisters but we love her all the same. Go Shuttle!

[@chk859]

Loved your space mission coverage and detailed info. I was brought up on the Apollo series. What a wonderful and informative channel. You deserve to go very far. Well well done and congratulations.

[@AirborneAnt]

Another Superb Documentary!!!!!! Excellent Production JT!!!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@JacksonTyler]

You guys are fast! Glad you enjoyed it. Sorry some of the footage had soft detail. I did the best I could with what I had!

[@garypart393]

Another fantastic upload, ive watched all your video's great job.

[@JacksonTyler]

That's a lot of videos! Thank you very much

[@AluminumOxide]

Awesome documentary! It feels so emotional watching highlights of the last ever shuttle flight. Maybe next, do a documentary about the manufacturing of the ISS! feel free to email for any information, I have lots of contacts with engineers who worked in the SSPF

[@JacksonTyler]

Definitely will, appreciate it. I am planning to re-do all of my older videos that covered Shuttle flights spanning the year 1984, from STS-41C to STS-51A. Great missions.

[@skipjacksailing8986]

I think you do a GREAT job with these documentaries. Love 'em!

[@andyfim]

Can not thank you enough! Amazing documentary!

[@robminford5421]

The shuttle may not be the most efficient or safe orbital space craft...but it's by sure the best looking.

[@djbeezy]

FACTS!! Plus it was just exciting to watch. The space x launches are just incredibly boring to me. There is just nothing exciting about them. Everything from the the people clapping like crazy during the launch, the exact same shots for every launch, it's just boring.

[@chrissartain4430]

Great graphics, another perfect film.

[@evmcg]

Incredible work, JT!

[@SuperScottCrawford]

Love the footage. Love the knowledge. Love the entertaining, informative, accurate animation. LOVE the captioning - I always turn on subtitles. Quality, unlike the flashy, fear mongering History Channel crap. The cherry on top? NO ADS! Love it. But... didn't care much for the song near the end. Detracts.

[@seanbaskett5506]

Even if I was a famous, accomplished astronaut I would have been absolutely *floored* to have Michael Stipe live singing one of his all-time best songs to wake me up in the morning 250 miles in the sky. Good God, that would have been humbling.

[@Jimmysage3273]

You’re the greatest to ever do it. An artist. I’ve watched every video a minimum of 25 times. No joke. Thank you for these. Will you please consider some more stuff ? Iss. Falcon. More shuttle. (I wish more Apollo( damn funding though)) Artemis. You know all those creators getting to go on dear moon it should be you landing on the moon. You and your work is a gift and I feel guilty not paying for it. Great job friend!

[@JacksonTyler]

Thank you very much. More is coming, slowly but surely

[@jakes1677]

You’re the ken burns of KZbin. Nice work! I’ve watched like 10 of your docs. From project mercury through this. You should eventually do one on the Crew 1 SpaceX mission.

[@literallyshaking8019]

That interlude of REM’s “Man on the Moon” with mission pictures is so perfect.

[@mr88cet]

Excellent video, like all of your work! Thank you! Time 6:20 - It’s easy to lose sight of just how huge the Space-Shuttle orbiter was! This image from your video drills that home.

[@ScottRichardson_PPC]

I was there for the last launch, I was a stringer for a county newspaper in central Indiana and managed to score a credential for the launch. It was just incredible, including having the opportunity to take two trips out to the launch pad the day before the launch.

[@ianmangham4570]

The shuttle is just beautiful

[@talkingmudcrab718]

43:18 Fun fact: During my time working in the IT department for an Amazon Fulfillment Facility in Indiana (2008'ish) we had a significant section of our troubleshooting documentation devoted to tracing and determining errors in our main server room related to "space weather" and high energy particles coming from the Sun or other objects beyond Earth.

[@TerryClarkAccordioncrazy]

You cover this subject with perfect balance in my view. The shuttle was a great achievement but also a product of its time, perhaps over confidence, when the technology wasn't ready to make a reusable launcher cost effective, with very limited abort options and hugely over optimistic failure rate estimates.

[@andrewcharlton4053]

One of the issues though was that a lot of the FMEA was completed but ignored/downplayed due to culture, external pressure and budget constraints. At the end of the day it wasn't the most efficient vehicle, but it could've been a lot safer and had a longer life if the budget and FMEA process was followed through from the start. Either way, a fantastic video to honour the final mission of an amazing but flawed vehicle.

[@OVRxNxOUT]

Beautiful.

[@marylousherman5471]

I just visited the NASA Space Center a week or so ago....Atlantis is impressive and sure looks weathered from many missions...I watched most of the STS125 mission to repair Hubble one last time and was sad to watch the STS135 landing. I am still perplexed that NASA has just not come up with a replacement program/vehicle. Hopefully, Dragon or Bezos' vehicle can transport to the ISS through 2030. I question NASA's logic and choices..they have been adrift for too long. Thank you for your concise, comprehensive videos on the space program

[@charlessnider883]

Amazing documentary. She was a great ship, warts and all. God bless the men and women who made us all proud to be Americans.

[@NatesRandomVideo]

Outstanding work.

[@charlesachurch7265]

Another great presentation thanks xxx

[@topquark6242]

Superb.

[@speedball1919]

Awesome

[@redoberon]

I love those ACES suits. Great doc.

[@Angel.Diez.Ovelar]

Well done, very well done. Thanks

[@Jake-rc4xi]

"Having fired the imagination of a generation, a ship like no other, its place in history secured, the shuttle pulls into port for the last time. Its voyage, at an end."

[@Puuch44]

Brilliant.

[@satchpersaud8762]

I have no idea why there is a dislike, must be a flat earther

[@canadadelendaest8687]

Probably. The earth is clearly shaped like a donut.

[@satchpersaud8762]

@@canadadelendaest8687lmaooo, after a 12hr shift at work, this comment was really on time

[@MegaDicksplash]

Sorry to say today’s society regarding social media really does bring out the worst in some people.

[@MegaDicksplash]

This is such a fabulous vid 👍 had me hooked within 5 seconds...

[@djbeezy]

I like to think that people that down voted this video was because it was about the last Shuttle launch. Not the content but the subject.

[@SuperBoobaloo]

I'd forgotten how good that REM song is.

[@Jake-rc4xi]

"Mission complete, Houston, After serving the world for over 30 years, the shuttle has earned its place in history, and it has come to a final stop."

[@gordogmc13]

You sir have a subscriber.. 👍👍 Thank you

[@jariheikkila4782]

Job well done thank you 🇫🇮📡

[@carlosulloa5948]

Nice video, great job. Thanks.

[@leonardgleicher]

It is too sad to say goodbye. I am going to miss Space Shuttle forever!

[@Jake-rc4xi]

"We congratulate you, Atlantis, as well as the thousands of passionate individuals across this great space-faring nation who truly empowered this incredible spacecraft which for three decades has inspired millions around the globe. Job well done America!"

[@Aaron-kq5kk]

Longtime chronological listener. Stonehearth music killed me.

[@sigvejensen9280]

Awsome work! Thank you :)

[@tomkutscher1555]

This machine is so beautiful

[@golden1789]

Wondrous split screen take-off images. Wonderful R.E.M. injection. Wondering perhaps Russian space stories next...

[@orogenicman]

Beautifully done.

[@arnhemseptember2009]

You know, seeing the shuttle following the ISS here from the ground in Holland, that was really great.

[@myaberger7563]

RIP. Challenger and Columbia

[@Parabostrich]

Great job thank you!

[@ianfreitag1405]

You have a great narrating voice.

[@JacksonTyler]

Thank you !

[@ianmangham4570]

Awesomeness

[@superusseljames]

The seven dislikes are from flat earthers

[@EstorilEm]

And major production companies that have way crappier documentaries than this guy lol!

[@ludzkipan1650]

I shed a tear.

[@palanthis]

Another great video! Blue Origin can eat a bag of you know whats, by the way.

[@mathewferstl7042]

What's the music at 12:48?

[@tsardudebroii]

Haven’t heard the Stonehearth OST in a while. I should play it again.

[@matthewblack7206]

I was right by the Countdown Clock for that launch.

[@TX_BoomSlang]

Great stuff.

[@Thomas-wd1go]

Anyone know what the music around 17:00 was?

[@SomeGuyInSandy]

What a ride!

[@NateGoesOutside]

Do you have a way to financially support your efforts? I’ve been watching your documentaries and I was disappointed to see that I’ve almost watched all of them. This is the finest space content on the internet. Not to take away from anyone else’s content but, yours has outclassed them all. I’d like to support you making more if I can.

[@mysickfix]

my wife laughs at me( not in a mean way) cause i tear up at that launch, and when michael stipe wakes them up. great docs man. i truly treasure them.

[@aiden22theastronaut72]

Happy Ten Years Atlantis!

[@ryanschweikhardt]

I have 0% nostalgia for the shuttle but you make great documentaries

[@gives_bad_advice]

judging from the radio conversations with the ground, it sound to me like there were still a significant role for the astronauts to play... not yet fully automated. thoughts?