Space Shuttle – Page 4

New Vision Ignited Commercial Revolution at Florida’s Spaceport

By Bob Granath | November 17, 2021

Well before the final Space Shuttle touched down in 2011, the burgeoning commercial space industry was expressing interest in expanding business pursuits in space. At the same time, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center found itself in a unique position. For over 30 years most of the center’s resources were dedicated for the expressed purpose of supporting the Space Shuttle Program. Now Kennedy was left with excess facilities and capacity with no program requirements or funding.

Crew-3 Mission Continues NASA, SpaceX Rotation to Space Station

By Bob Granath | November 10, 2021

Another diverse crew of astronauts has launched from NASA‘s Kennedy Space Center for an extended stay aboard the International Space Station. A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft streaked into the night sky atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the Florida Spaceport.

The Wrong Stuff – Again!

By Bob Granath | October 13, 2021

A year ago on Oct. 9, 2020, Disney+ launched a TV series re-boot of the motion picture The Right Stuff. In the revised version, the historic facts were, by in large, presented accurately. However, the personal lives of the Original 7 Mercury astronauts were depicted like the fictitious characters of a soap opera. After eight episodes, the streaming network mercifully pushed the “abort button” and cancelled the series.

Space Shuttle Superlatives Create Bigger-Than-Life ‘Gee Whiz’ Facts

By Bob Granath | September 17, 2021

The Space Shuttle era was one of superlatives. Everything was bigger than life. The factoids associated with the program are examples of the historic size, capabilities and achievements of the shuttle and the team that made their achievements possible.

NASA Continues Commercial Crew Rotation with Liftoff of Crew-2

By Bob Granath | April 23, 2021

A SpaceX Falcon 9 streaked into the early morning sky from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center launching four astronauts to the International Space Station. The Crew-2 mission is the first to fly two astronauts from other nations as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket took place at 5:49 a.m. EDT April 23, 2021.

Elite Team Managed Shuttle’s Controls During Ground Ops

By Bob Granath | March 30, 2021

From the Space Shuttle’s first flight in 1981 to its final mission in 2011, thousands of professionals made the program a technical marvel. On the front line were highly skilled mechanics, technicians and engineers whose innovative work launched landmark missions such as deployment of the Space Telescope and assembly of the Space Station. For one elite group of spacecraft operators, their workstation was the space program’s “inner sanctum” — the shuttle’s crew modules.

Heroes and Legends Attraction Honors Pioneers of Spaceflight

By Bob Granath | March 2, 2021

“Liftoff of Discovery with a crew of six astronaut heroes and one American legend,” said launch commentator Lisa Malone of NASA Public Affairs as the Space Shuttle mission STS-95 flew into orbit on Oct. 29, 1998. While it was a flight in the late 1990s, it was reminiscent of NASA’s storied past. An international crew lifted off with John Glenn, a member of the Mercury program’s Original Seven astronauts.

Hollinshead Helped Shape Media Services at Florida Spaceport

By Bob Granath | January 31, 2021

Chuck Hollinshead, former director of Public Affairs at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, died Jan. 25, 2021 in Asheville, North Carolina. He was 89. Hollinshead helped shape the course of media services at the Florida spaceport and throughout the agency over 28 years, 17 as director of Public Affairs.

The Wrong Stuff

By Bob Granath | October 23, 2020

In 1983, The Right Stuff movie premiered claiming to tell the story of test pilots and those who became America’s first astronauts. The film received acclaim from the majority of the critics who wrote reviews. But, as an accurate chronicle of efforts to pave the road to space, it failed. Astronaut Wally Schirra summed it up best: “The movie was fun. It was well-produced and the acting is great. But as history, it‘s merely ‘Animal House’ in space.’”

Reality Meets Science Fiction at First Space Shuttle Rollout

By Bob Granath | October 1, 2020

In 1976, America’s second-generation human space program came together with an iconic story line inspired by the nation’s first efforts to “boldly go where no one has gone before.” Key players in the popular televisions series, Star Trek, attended the rollout of NASA’s prototype Space Shuttle orbiter, Enterprise.

Tag: Space Shuttle