Space Shuttle Endeavour

[Disneyfalcon]

That is awesome, Kelly! I took ds out of school one day to see a shuttle fly piggy back into DC. It was awesome and totally worth it.

I love your pictures! And how neat that you met that couple!!

 

[Tom]

Here's the video of the first fly-over. We sound like complete idiots starting with Chandler all excited saying "Double Rainbow all the WAY!" Love it! LOL! Also, pardon my crappy video to start out. It's a new camera and I'm still figuring it out. It starts out very blurry because I was zoomed in but hang in there because I zoom it out. The best part is in great form!




It was so interesting to see a shuttle from this perspective. I've seen so many launch...never seen one going for the piggy-back ride.

We asked Mr. Rogers what the REAL reason for Houston/Johnson Space Center not getting one of the retired orbiters. His answer: politics. It was 100% politics. Nice, huh?

Thank you for the awesome photos, video and story! Awesome sight - can't imagine being there in person.

 

[Timekeeper]

If the flyover was prior to MK park opening, then why are all those "guests" in the MK hub (in the video linked to on this site)?

 

[HouCuseChickie]

The flyover at WDW looked soooo cool!!! Gave me chills- and exciting to know that it was at WDW not too long before it was flying overhead.
Of course the flyover in Houston midtown didn't occur while I was up on our parking garage roof (although I met a lot of great random people who also decided to sneak away and try and catch a glimpse) , and I didn't have time to grab my camera when the flyby went right past my office window (too cool!!! )- still shocked -amazed- and happy to have seen it and had it so close (even though I'm still very bitter that it's not making its home here). Seriously- it's just not something you expect to see when looking out of your office window...especially when all reports we had heard said it was only downtown getting the flyover and not the Galleria area too.

BUT I got out of work early- grabbed DH and the girls and we fought the traffic to get to Ellington so we could see it one more time before it leaves Houston. It took us over an hour to get from the belt to Ellington, but I'm thankful I have an SUV with decent clearance b/c I was all over it when the police started telling me to jump the curbs and park wherever I could in the grass.

It was really late, so we didn't wait in the next line to be 100' way, but we still got close. You can see the crowd that waited on "the next line" to get in once I'm up near the fence. The girls were fading fast and it just didn't seem worth it to push farther. I at least have seen one other shuttle close up like this (Challenger in 1985)- so, I was content. Also major kudos to the leer jet pilots who let us into their building so the girls could use the bathroom. The bathrooms in their high end facility were a lot better than porta potties. Here are a few of our pics...

 

[olinecoach61]

Okay. We got out to Ellington Field in Houston at about 9:45-9:50 or so. Something like that. Called the hubby & he said he was outside watching the low fly-overs as we were speaking. We knew we'd gotten there just in time. There was a LOT of people out at the airport with cameras & binoculars. This is a very big deal to Houston!

The first low-n-slow pass over the air field I video'd but it's still uploading to YouTube right now. The 747 shuttle carrier+Endeavor circled low over the area for quite some time. Here's some pics from our vantage point.

The second low-n-slow pass over the field I took pics. Here she is on approach:

I'm telling you, I had goosebumps!

Not done cruising the area yet:

She cruised around for a good 20-30 more minutes. Everyone waited anxiously. It was so exciting! As she made her final approach we knew this was it when we spotted the gear down.

So beautiful!

Awesome shots! You guys sure were lucky to get to experience this!

 

[Admiral01]

I was only able to ever touch one Space Shuttle, and it was Endeavour. I was fortunate enough to sit inside the hatch during an inspection of the shuttle stack and Pad 39B back in 2008, and then I got to gently touch her nose on 39A prior to STS-130. She is the baby, and her floor isn't straight. I know her now-retired operations manager, who had a great fondness for Endeavour. Endeavour is how he met his wife.

Take a look ladies and gentlemen, these shuttles represent the most amazing machines that we will likely see in our lifetimes. That sounds preachy, and I apologize. I just hope we all recognize what incredible things our fleet did from the time Enterprise lifted off the back of N905NA back in 1977 through Atlantis landing in July 2011, through the final "flight" of Endeavour on the back of 905 in September 2012.

I had the fortune of performing zero-g missions with NASA at Ellington Field at JSC onboard the plane we affectionately call the Vomit Comet (both N931NA and N932NA). Ellington Field is probably the best place in the country to get an up-close and personal view of any aircraft. We watched Air Force One land from hangar 990, and the view was incredible. We hung out in the Super Guppy while she was at Ellington.

So, go see Endeavour as she makes her new home in California. Go to Kennedy next year and see Atlantis. Head to New York City and see Enterprise. Come to Washington and see the celebrity Discovery. Head to Huntsville and see Pathfinder, the mock-up that was used to test clearances and lift capabilities. Heck, head to Johnson and take a look at Explorer, the full scale replica that used to sit at Kennedy and now rests at JSC. Enjoy them, and then ask the question of what is next. Keep asking the question, keep track of the plans, make sure you stay engaged in the space program. It gives us incredible things in life, and it needs the public interest.

Ok, off the soap box.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Man! We had to go to the father-in-law's birthday dinner tonight. At 8:45 we raced out to see if we could get close to Ellington because the Endeavor was supposed to be available for public viewing until 9:00. At 8:55 traffic was still backed up 2-lanes in either direction on Highway 3 for a good mile to two miles. Crazy! It's a shame she won't be here longer. We wanted to go out and see it up close.

 

[WDWNooby]

Awesome pictures. Thanks so much for sharing this.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Man! We had to go to the father-in-law's birthday dinner tonight. At 8:45 we raced out to see if we could get close to Ellington because the Endeavor was supposed to be available for public viewing until 9:00. At 8:55 traffic was still backed up 2-lanes in either direction on Highway 3 for a good mile to two miles. Crazy! It's a shame she won't be here longer. We wanted to go out and see it up close.

We got in that line on hwy 3 around 4:45p yesterday and it took well over an hour before we could park. It was pure insanity. At least you were there when it landed...quite cool and very jealous . My office is Greenway Plaza area so we managed to catch the flyover as it was going from the Galleria area to Downtown. Still would have been better to be where you guys were. Very cool! It at least made my morning commute today a little less evil since I was able to watch it take off from Ellington and fly by the city from that lovely parking lot known as 288

 

[janoimagine]

The first fly-over when I was video'ing I DID have tears in my eyes. It took my breath away.

Its even sadder to me that we really essentially have lost this part of our space program. I remember watching the shuttle launches religiously in school. I wish they would have developed a new shuttle ... but this appears to be no longer important to the guys in DC.

 

[Beholder]

Its even sadder to me that we really essentially have lost this part of our space program. I remember watching the shuttle launches religiously in school. I wish they would have developed a new shuttle ... but this appears to be no longer important to the guys in
DC.

You are right, the space program isn't a priority anymore. Wether in politics or the general public, people generally don't care about space or the implications that space travel/exploration have on us as a species. That may sound a bit hyperbolic, but it's a sad indictment on what we prioritize. If Big Brother or X Factor was on the moon (I wish), that would be the extent of American interest in space.

But wouldn't have been cool if EPCOT rebuilt Mission Space with a shuttle as it's center piece?

 

[englanddg]

You are right, the space program isn't a priority anymore. Wether in politics or the general public, people generally don't care about space or the implications that space travel/exploration have on us as a species. That may sound a bit hyperbolic, but it's a sad indictment on what we prioritize. If Big Brother or X Factor was on the moon (I wish), that would be the extent of American interest in space.

But wouldn't have been cool if EPCOT rebuilt Mission Space with a shuttle as it's center piece?

Bah, those shuttles were so old and reeked of the 70s. Space Flight isn't high tech at all. Facebook, now there's the future of mankind! Oh, and iDevices!

 

[PyroKinesis]

The cool thing is you can always see a fighter jet trailing behind it at all times, just in case.

 

[WDW Monorail]

The cool thing is you can always see a fighter jet trailing behind it at all times, just in case.

I'ts just an unarmed T-38.

 

[officeboy]

I was only able to ever touch one Space Shuttle, and it was Endeavour. I was fortunate enough to sit inside the hatch during an inspection of the shuttle stack and Pad 39B back in 2008, and then I got to gently touch her nose on 39A prior to STS-130. She is the baby, and her floor isn't straight. I know her now-retired operations manager, who had a great fondness for Endeavour. Endeavour is how he met his wife.

Take a look ladies and gentlemen, these shuttles represent the most amazing machines that we will likely see in our lifetimes. That sounds preachy, and I apologize. I just hope we all recognize what incredible things our fleet did from the time Enterprise lifted off the back of N905NA back in 1977 through Atlantis landing in July 2011, through the final "flight" of Endeavour on the back of 905 in September 2012.

I had the fortune of performing zero-g missions with NASA at Ellington Field at JSC onboard the plane we affectionately call the Vomit Comet (both N931NA and N932NA). Ellington Field is probably the best place in the country to get an up-close and personal view of any aircraft. We watched Air Force One land from hangar 990, and the view was incredible. We hung out in the Super Guppy while she was at Ellington.

So, go see Endeavour as she makes her new home in California. Go to Kennedy next year and see Atlantis. Head to New York City and see Enterprise. Come to Washington and see the celebrity Discovery. Heck, head to Johnson and take a look at Pathfinder, the mock-up that was used to test clearances and lift capabilities. Enjoy them, and then ask the question of what is next. Keep asking the question, keep track of the plans, make sure you stay engaged in the space program. It gives us incredible things in life, and it needs the public interest.

Ok, off the soap box.

Don't apologize. Never on this subject.

Admiral, Thanks for sharing. I got to see the bottom side of the SCA as it made a hard left turn over Cocoa Beach yesterday morning to get us our 15 seconds of shuttle butt looking for a break in the clouds. I forgot to look to see if they were dirty as I was in awe of the few seconds I got. Pretty sure they were clean... Too bad they didn't come back up the beach from PAFB!

I am very proud of what NASA was able to do in spite of the politicians. I did what little I could in south Fl by retransmitting the shuttle missions on ATV and FM though I doubt there were many paying attention at the time.

As many times as I got to tour Pathfinder I didn't realize its role. Thanks for that!

Your description of the STS program and its effect on mankind are, in my humble opinion, spot on. It is unfortunate the mass populous does not understand this. Granted the feeble attempt to extol 'pretty' upon the masses missed the mark as it really didn't come into its own until very recently. I think people would have been much more attracted to the program had it made as much imagery and information available of the orbiters all along as it has of late. (Never mind ISS) In short NASA PAO in general, mass media be dammed, missed the mark, or were never allowed until recently to tell and show the story they could have. Its a darn shame.

I am hoping you can answer some questions about OV-99. If you are willing to discuss please let me know. I promise I will never ask you about manslaughter in public.

Some of the biggest influences in my life were NASA and Disney, specifically WDW. I would have radically changed my vacation plans had I know NASA had contacted TWDC and advised them of a low pass over the property. Obviously they had a clue it was going to happen. Perhaps they have a few videgraphers stationed throughout the parks 24/7? Hmmmmm. /end sarcasm.

 

[Glasgow]

Thanks for the pics and video! Wow, just goosebumps seeing the flyover vids. Having grown up in Florida (Tampa/St Pete) I got to see quite a few flyovers coming back to Cape Canaveral, as well as a lot of launches (the night ones were the best). I'm still flabbergasted at the sight

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Its even sadder to me that we really essentially have lost this part of our space program. I remember watching the shuttle launches religiously in school. I wish they would have developed a new shuttle ... but this appears to be no longer important to the guys in DC.

i too grew up watching them in school - it was just soooo special. I was actually crying in traffic this morning as I watched it fly west. A person on the radio put it well- it's kind of like a funeral. We have nothing on the horizon with manned space flight and we're watching the baby of the shuttle fleet fly away to retirement. It's just really unfortunate that Washington fails to see any real benefit/value in the space program these days.

 

[raven]

flew by magic kingdom at about 7:55 this morning.... then immediately over my house (yeah,I'm that close to MK)

Here's a pic near my house

Looking at that lightpost, you might be in my neighborhood

 

[wdw71fan]

Looking at that lightpost, you might be in my neighborhood

Scary thought isn't it? ........ My house location is very 'Independent'...

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

Here's one taken in Austin by the hubby's coworker.