Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
NARRATOR: Technicians bid good night to space shuttle Endeavour as it was turned
off for the last time May 11 inside one of the hangars that had prepped the spacecraft
for missions into orbit.
Walter "Buddy" Mckenzie, United Space Alliance: I'd like to dedicate this power down to
those who are not so fortunate to be here today,
to those who gave their blood,
sweat and heart to the program.
NARRATOR: Endeavour launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center,
where the power down took place, 25 times.
The first came 20 years ago nearly to the day when Endeavour took off on its maiden
flight to capture a stranded satellite.
Sitting inside the flight deck and at control consoles outside the spacecraft,
workers ran through a power-down checklist with the same precision they applied to
launch preparations.
A simple command and switch flip darkened the displays on
Endeavour's "glass cockpit," though the emotions of the moment were acknowledged.
Endeavour, the youngest of the five shuttles built for NASA, was also the last to be
closed out for a new career on public display. Discovery and Atlantis were powered
down already.
The work on Endeavour is far from complete.
NASA plans to ship Endeavour to Los Angeles at the end of the summer so it can go on
public display at the California Science Center.
Technicians still have a number of cables and other wiring to disconnect before
outfitting Endeavour with an aerodynamic tail cone for its flight to the West Coast
aboard NASA's shuttle carrier aircraft.
CONTROLLER: AST 107 signing off.