

Remind HN: STS-134, Space Shuttle Endevour's last launch is at 8:56AM ET - jonknee
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

======
alcoholiday
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jb12mzrgEM>

We've been working on a project to capture the last flights of the Space
Shuttle Program. It's meant a lot of time out with the bugs, heat, sun, gators
and ever present pad security folks.

Once the sound hits, the maniacal laughter you hear is me!

Now we wait a couple of hours to see how our cameras faired. We're at the
media center 3.2 miles from the Orbiter, our cameras are at 500-600 feet... I
feel for them.

~~~
ramidarigaz
That must sound incredible in person. Even the youtube version is amazing.

~~~
WesleyJohnson
I'm about 45 miles south of the launch pad. We watched it go up this morning
and came in once it had disappeared into the sky (far higher than this video
as we had a clearer view). Once we came back in and I sat down at my desk, the
sound finally hit us, some 3.4 minutes after take off. It was still powerful
enough to feel. I couldn't imagine being that close to one.

------
rglover
First HN read of the day. Turned on Nasa TV in the background while I'm
working. Perfect. Thanks for the heads up.

~~~
munsito
Same - perfect way to start the day.

------
jonknee
I'm in Florida, but across the state in overcast conditions so I'm having to
stick to NASA TV. Ustream is carrying it in HD this morning:

<http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv>

~~~
noonespecial
I'm right across the river. I wanted to see one go in person before the end.

~~~
jonknee
You're in for a show. I've caught a bunch over the years and never been
disappointed (except for a scrub).

~~~
noonespecial
It was a pretty awesome 6 seconds before it reached the clouds. The sound is
something else though.

------
Luyt
_"Celebrate Space! A mix of ambient and experimental music mixed with the
historical sounds of the space program. And when a space shuttle mission is
happening, we mix it in live from launch to landing."_

<http://somafm.com/missioncontrol/>

------
JulianMorrison
Pretty vehicle. Impractical, but pretty.

~~~
robryan
Most practical thing we have currently to deliver large payloads and a decent
crew of astronauts.

~~~
JulianMorrison
Hopefully not for long. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX#Falcon_X>

------
Sodaware
I was fortunate enough to see a midnight shuttle launch from across the lake
at Titusville. It's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

------
darkmethod
Thanks for sharing.

It is fun to watch a piece of history in the making. Very interesting.

------
smackfu
I would love to see one in person, but it's really been difficult with the
delays. If the President can't manage to pull it off...

------
zwieback
I remember watching the very first space shuttle launch in England with our
group of exchange students. They were very upset that the "bloody yanks" were
going to pull a major space undertaking like this off.

At the time it was fun to see how worked up they were but I'm glad this big
waste of money is finally coming to an end. The cost of putting humans in
space (and where the shuttle goes isn't really what I consider "space") is
just too high.

~~~
amelim
The NASA budget is a mere drop in the bucket compared to the defense budget
and entitlement programs. In my opinion, I don't think it's getting enough
funding. The future of the human race is among the stars.

~~~
zwieback
Agree about the defense budget, makes me mad every time I think about it.
Entitlements is a management problem but the size of "defense" is just
insanity.

~~~
ohyes
As a percentage of GDP, it is only about 5%, granted everyone else is around
2.5%, but if you look at the numbers for example, in world war 2, we were
spending about 40% of the GDP.

In actuality we could spend like this perfectly easily and support
'entitlements', we just have to raise taxes...

------
Nrsolis
Watching it via Roku on NASA TV.

