sorry for the shitty video but this was pretty cool to see:

4/17/2012 12:12:13 PM

Looks like a plane to me.

4/17/2012 12:14:07 PM

it was a plane that was carrying a shuttle on top of it.

4/17/2012 12:15:24 PM

flying low

4/17/2012 12:16:15 PM

is this how they brought back tupac?

[Edited on April 17, 2012 at 12:20 PM. Reason : g]

4/17/2012 12:17:16 PM

Ok, figures, since the shuttle can't actually fly.

4/17/2012 12:19:04 PM

it was really low

they had at least 5 helicopters forming a perimeter around Dulles

after it landed ... the fighter escort did some top gun, hot dog shit as he left the area.

flew that fucker straight up and then a hard bank....that was cool too

4/17/2012 12:19:12 PM

I went to Herndon High my freshman year of High School. Odd place.

4/17/2012 12:24:24 PM

awesome. i knew they were flying it today... i tried to find a flight path online but didn't have enough time to find anything.

4/17/2012 12:32:27 PM

THIS HAS BEEN ALL OVER MY FACEBOOK THIS MORNING.

4/17/2012 12:34:49 PM

^same here

I forget how many franns I have in DC

4/17/2012 12:36:25 PM

it feels like watching a funeral procession

4/17/2012 12:53:19 PM

it basically is

4/17/2012 12:53:51 PM

yeah i know. i'm surprised at how sad this making me. wasn't expecting such an emotional reaction.

i can't wait to see it in person though.

4/17/2012 12:56:02 PM

im pretty sure that most of DC and NOVA were not working this morning. All of Strayer U Corp was on top of parking deck.

4/17/2012 7:13:47 PM

we stood on top of one of the parking decks at work in Alexandria ... it was cool to see, I guess

got some blurry pics

here's the best one

4/17/2012 7:18:27 PM

I FUCKING HATE ALL YOU PEOPLE......

4/17/2012 7:22:04 PM

I wonder how many people "miss" seeing things in real life because they are watching it through a little 3 inch screen on their phone.

Not that I wouldn't have been doing the same thing, but still, it makes me think.

4/17/2012 7:31:25 PM

Quote :

"WHATS THAT ABOVE IT?!?!"

4/17/2012 7:32:46 PM

OH THE HUMANITY IT FELL OFF

4/17/2012 7:33:54 PM

Quote :

"I wonder how many people "miss" seeing things in real life because they are watching it through a little 3 inch screen on their phone. Not that I wouldn't have been doing the same thing, but still, it makes me think."

good point ... but a good photographer can pan without looking at/through a view finder. thats what i did. i couldnt even see what was on my phone at the time was hoping i got something.

4/17/2012 7:43:42 PM

I saw this awesome picture pop up on twitter today



http://instagr.am/p/JhjkbYiUjA/

[Edited on April 17, 2012 at 8:19 PM. Reason : in case the link breaks]

4/17/2012 8:19:03 PM

That's pretty baller.

4/17/2012 9:47:03 PM

you know how that picture could be even better? no instagram

4/17/2012 9:49:04 PM

So let me get this straight, today people clamored to get a view of the space shuttle riding piggy pack on a 747 on its way to rest in a museum. I bet most idiots didn't even realize that they were celebrating the end of American innovation and dominance in space. Ironically, on the day that NASA brought Apollo 13 safely home, people were celebrating the end of the space shuttle with NOTHING to take its place. They were celebrating our surrender to the Russians and Chinese in space. What a great day.

4/17/2012 10:46:18 PM

^Exactly.

4/17/2012 10:48:14 PM

4/17/2012 10:51:59 PM

Quote :

"So let me get this straight, today people clamored to get a view of the space shuttle riding piggy pack on a 747 on its way to rest in a museum. I bet most idiots didn't even realize that they were celebrating the end of American innovation and dominance in space. Ironically, on the day that NASA brought Apollo 13 safely home, people were celebrating the end of the space shuttle with NOTHING to take its place. They were celebrating our surrender to the Russians and Chinese in space. What a great day."

you act as if this means the end of our space exploration which is a far from the truth as one could imagine.

the X37-B i believe is already operational / granted its a drone but its still used for space flight
NASA has already developed a new space launch system: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_System

plus, iirc, they will be replacing the shuttle at some point with a new design. could be wrong and and maybe Wraith could shed some light on this.

us idiots were out celebrating a piece of history and something we 30 year olds relished as a child. It was very cool to see

4/18/2012 9:55:04 AM

Quote :

"you act as if this means the end of our space exploration which is a far from the truth as one could imagine. the X37-B i believe is already operational / granted its a drone but its still used for space flight NASA has already developed a new space launch system: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_System plus, iirc, they will be replacing the shuttle at some point with a new design. could be wrong and and maybe Wraith could shed some light on this. us idiots were out celebrating a piece of history and something we 30 year olds relished as a child. It was very cool to see"

It's good that you have an optimistic view...

the x-37b is about the size of a pick-up truck and is strictly unmanned.

the SLS is FAR from being completed and is in real danger of being canceled at the whim of the congress, which funded it mainly because it was a jobs program in the states it's supporters represent. It won't fly until late this decade, and then will only fly once every two years as currently funded.

there are no plans for any sort of updated shuttle. there is the Orion capsule under development which will fly on the SLS heavy lift rocket, but we will be lucky if the first manned flight of Orion happens this decade.

then we have a host of commercial companies working on capsules (and one space plane) to taxi astronauts to low earth orbit, but again their main customer will be nasa in order to reach the ISS, which is only currently funded to operate until 2020. (I would assume we would try to get more life out of our 100 billion dollar lab in space and extend that somewhat, but we will just have to see) None of the commercial space "taxi's" are scheduled to have any manned flights before 2017.

I hate to sound pessimistic, but I think americans are so accustomed to the US being the leaders in space, we just assume we have something to replace the shuttles. we don't. I wish we did, and I will continue to be optimistic about the things we DO have in the pipeline, but there is such a political push to abandon things like education, science, space programs, etc, that I'm frustrated beyond belief and fully expect china and/or other nations to surpass us in technological and space capabilities.



http://www.brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=611768 This thread has a lot more information (and of course some trolling)

[Edited on April 18, 2012 at 10:21 AM. Reason : ]

4/18/2012 10:20:00 AM

^Well not to make too optimistic a counter, because I agree NASA should have been working on something to replace the Shuttle, or had the funding allocated to allow them to do so, but end of this month SpaceX is supposed to launch Dragon to the ISS. Assuming all goes according to plan there, then we will have a US based way to resupply the ISS, with a contract for multiple launches a year. If that proves itself out then by 2015 a crewed Dragon should be launched, which would pave the way for us to get back to the ISS on American hardware within a couple of years. Not the best situation but at least somebody is working on it.

[Edited on April 18, 2012 at 10:47 AM. Reason : ]

4/18/2012 10:46:05 AM

I didn't mean to sound too much of a pessimist, as I too am excited about the upcoming SpaceX (space sex) launch. I think the most updated timeline for all of the private space companies though show manned flights closer to 2017. (I can't find a reference to confirm that at the moment.)

4/18/2012 11:53:30 AM

SLS is currently in the works but it does in fact have a long way before it is ready for flight. We'll have at least one change in president and change in congress before the first scheduled flight so there could be any type of change between now and then.

One thing to consider though: the primary mission of SLS isn't to go to the ISS. The current administrator of NASA has told us that the ISS and near earth orbit is more of a focus for private industry now while deeper exploration of our neighboring bodies and solar system is what NASA is focusing on.

4/18/2012 2:52:59 PM