A tour of Atlantis and the launch pad - SpacePod 2011.06.07

Jason Rhian: Alright, Jason Rhian, Spacevidcast sleepy roving KSC reporter. Ben, you're going to have to forgive me on this one. They wouldn't allow tripods in. So, it is what it is. I'll try to get you the best shot I can. Take a look at what I'm seeing. Alright space fans, I'd love to put this over the side to show you Atlantis hanging. However that's a big no-no. Because I don't have any kind of straps or attachments, so I'm going to have to kind of just show you what we're seeing right now as Atlantis is being hoisted on this huge crane to get mounted with that. What I've done, is I've tried to go down to one side so I can give you a shot of Atlantis being lifted up to be mated with the ET but not violate the rule of leaning over so there's no risk of anything falling on the orbiter itself. I'm here with Jon McBride. Jon you flew on ... Jon: Challenger! The thirteenth flight of the shuttle series. Jason: That was when? What year? Jon: 1984 Jason: So you've followed the program along all this time? Jon: I came to NASA three years before the first flight back in 1981 so I guess you could call me a dinosaur of the space shuttle program. Jason: Let me ask you a question. You're watching the last orbiter get ready to leave to the launch pad. I hate to put you on the spot, but what are you thinking, what are you feeling right now? Jon: It's kind of ... very mixed emotions today. You know, you're very excited to finally see it roll out here. We always like to see roll-outs, we like to see launches. But when you're here for the very last one, it's a little bit different, this kind of nostalgia you get. Thinking that in thirty years now, space shuttle flying is coming to an end. This is it. This will be the last one no matter what. So it's kind of a mixed-emotions day. Jason: Even though you're not going to get a chance to go behind the stick, you're still planning to put her up and make sure she looks beautiful right? You guys have got big plans for Atlantis. Bill Moore: Yeah, we have a great display planned, we have to work through the engineering side of it. And get all the sign-offs from Boeing and all the different folks that support and know the shuttle better than we do. But, assuming that all that goes well, which I'm sure it will, we'll put her in flight and show her in a way that none of us has ever seen it. Jason: Last time I was here I made sure to hit both decks. This time I decided to stay on the lower level. It was well worth it. You get more of the total effect, as it were. An amazing experience. Lot of people coming out to see this. Buses are packed, it's an incredible experience. It's really awe-inspiring. It's really, as Lloyd said, it's history! Alright Spacevidcast fans, welcome to launch complex 39A. Down below you see Space Shuttle Atlantis being prepared for the final flight of the shuttle program. It's insane. I finally get the opportunity to come out here and check this out and well look, we've got weather coming in and we're in a Stage 1 weather warning. So, I don't know folks how much I'm going to be able to get for you, but I'm going to try to get as much as I can while I'm here, so that I can show you some of the goodness of this final flight of Atlantis. "There's the Yellow Brick Road." Jason: Look, there it is. The yellow brick road where the astronauts go onto ... Someone: Only to the doorline right? Guide: Correct. Jason: Okay, we're going to hold here just a second but then we're going to try to take the camcorder up. And this is basically where the astronauts go in. I'm going to go in with the camcorder. So if you look down that way, that is the white room leading to the orbiter. So, we can't go there. We're not qualified yet, so there's that. No Spacevidcast fans, that is not the sound of the water suppression system. That is mother nature crying for the end of the shuttle program. It is coming down in buckets, Our tour is officially over! Hey! We're back in the van. Here's Robert, he's had better days. Robert: Hi guys! Jason: Chris is up front. We're all in the van, we're all drenched. Soaked. "Hasn't rained in six years and the day we come out here it's a hurricane!" Jason: Yup. Jenny's up there sporting the wet look. We're all doused. It was ... It was amazing. It was intense, and it was brief. And now we're gone. Robert: You look perfect, all the water droplets are beading up on the top of your head ... Jason: It's the baldness brother, it's the baldness.