[upbeat music]
- "OUR WORLD."
- WELCOME TO "OUR WORLD."
I'M ORBY THE ORBITER,
AND THIS IS MY FRIEND AMBER.
FOLLOW US, AND YOU'LL HAVE A CHANCE
TO LEARN ABOUT NASA'S ORBITERS
AND SEE WHAT AMAZING THINGS THE SHUTTLE FLEET ACCOMPLISHED,
JUST BECAUSE IT FLEW.
FOR THREE DECADES, NASA SPACE SHUTTLES
HAVE ROCKETED TO LOW-EARTH ORBIT.
THE SHUTTLE WAS DIFFERENT
THAN ANY OTHER VEHICLE EVER BUILT.
WHEN THE ENGINEERS WERE FIRST PLANNING THE SPACECRAFT,
THEY WERE TOLD THEY NEEDED TO BUILD A TRUCK THAT COULD FLY.
THE RESULT WAS AN AMAZING SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
THAT WOULD CHANGE THE HISTORY OF SPACE EXPLORATION FOREVER.
THE NAMES OF THE SHUTTLES EVEN HAD SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE.
EACH OF THE SPACECRAFT WAS NAMED AFTER A SAILING SHIP
THAT HAD PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN HISTORY:
COLUMBIA, CHALLENGER, DISCOVERY, ATLANTIS,
AND ENDEAVOUR, THE ONLY SHUTTLE TO BE NAMED BY STUDENTS.
SPEAKING OF STUDENTS,
HEY, AMBER, I'LL BET YOU HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE SHUTTLE.
- YOU BET I DO, ORBY.
JUST HOW MANY TIMES HAVE THE SHUTTLES ACTUALLY LAUNCHED?
- ALTOGETHER MY SISTER SHUTTLES
HAVE FLOWN 135 AMAZING MISSIONS
AND HAVE TRAVELED OVER 826 MILLION KILOMETERS
WHILE ORBITING EARTH.
IF THOSE KILOMETERS
WERE STRETCHED OUT IN A STRAIGHT LINE,
THE SHUTTLES WOULD HAVE TRAVELED FARTHER THAN THE PLANET JUPITER.
- WOW, THAT'S A LONG WAY.
WHY WAS THE SHUTTLE BUILT, ANYWAY?
- NASA NEEDED A LARGE SPACECRAFT
THAT COULD CARRY HUGE SATELLITES,
LIKE THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE, TO SPACE.
THEY ALSO HAD PLANS TO BUILD A NEW SPACE STATION.
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION WOULD BE SO BIG,
IT WOULD HAVE TO BE BUILT IN SPACE.
BUT EACH SHUTTLE ALSO CARRIED
ANOTHER IMPORTANT CARGO: THE CREW.
355 DIFFERENT ASTRONAUTS HAVE FLOWN ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE,
AND SOME OF THOSE ASTRONAUTS
FLEW ON SEVERAL DIFFERENT MISSIONS.
- WOW, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A BIG JOB.
HOW BIG WAS THE SHUTTLE TO BE ABLE TO DO ALL THAT?
- TO DO ITS JOB, THE SHUTTLE HAD TO BE PRETTY BIG.
EACH ORBITER WAS ABOUT 37 METERS IN LENGTH.
THAT'S JUST OVER THREE SCHOOL BUSES LONG.
AND THE ORBITER ISN'T EVEN THE TALLEST PART
OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE SYSTEM.
A SPACE SHUTTLE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
IS ACTUALLY MADE UP OF THREE SEPARATE PIECES:
THE ORBITER, THE LARGE WHITE SECTION
THAT LOOKS LIKE A PLANE AND HOLDS THE CREW AND CARGO;
THE EXTERNAL FUEL TANKS, BIG TANKS THAT HOLD
THE LIQUID OXYGEN AND LIQUID NITROGEN FUEL
FOR THE SHUTTLE MAIN ENGINES;
AND THE SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS,
REUSABLE ROCKETS THAT PROVIDED THE MAIN THRUST
NEEDED TO GET THE SHUTTLE OFF THE LAUNCHPAD.
IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN THE STATUE OF LIBERTY,
YOU KNOW JUST HOW TALL THE SHUTTLES ARE.
- ONCE THE SHUTTLES WERE BUILT,
DID THEY MAKE ANY CHANGES TO THEM?
JUST LIKE YOU MIGHT UPGRADE YOUR COMPUTER OR CELL PHONE,
THE SHUTTLES GOT UPGRADES AND REPAIRS OVER THE YEARS.
YOU MAY KNOW THAT TWO OF NASA'S SHUTTLES,
CHALLENGER AND COLUMBIA, AND THEIR CREWS
WERE LOST IN TRAGIC ACCIDENTS.
BUT THE COURAGE OF THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN ABOARD THOSE CREWS
SERVED AS AN INSPIRATION TO CONTINUE THE PROGRAM,
BUILDING ON THE LESSONS LEARNED
FROM EACH AND EVERY SHUTTLE FLIGHT
TO MAKE SURE THE ASTRONAUTS WERE AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE
AS THEY CARRIED OUT THEIR MISSIONS.
ONE UPGRADE WE SAW WAS A DRAG CHUTE ADDED
WHEN THE YOUNGEST ORBITER, ENDEAVOUR,
WAS BUILT TO TAKE THE PLACE OF CHALLENGER.
LET'S TALK TO RICHARD JONES,
A SHUTTLE FLIGHT DIRECTOR AT NASA,
WHO CAN TELL US ABOUT THESE PARACHUTES.
- WHEN THE PILOTS WERE APPLYING BRAKE PRESSURE
TO STOP THE ORBITER,
IT WAS HEATING UP THOSE BRAKES A LOT.
AND SO ENGINEERS DECIDED, "YOU KNOW, THERE'S A BETTER WAY
"TO KIND OF MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE SIMPLE
FOR THE CREW TO STOP,"
SO THEY PUT A PARACHUTE ON THE BACK OF THE SHUTTLE.
INITIALLY THERE'S A DROGUE CHUTE,
OR A PILOT CHUTE, THAT COMES OUT,
AND THEN IT YANKS A BIGGER PARACHUTE OUT OF IT,
AND THAT PARACHUTE REALLY TOOK SOME OF THE STRESS
THAT THE CREW WAS PUTTING ON THE BRAKES,
AND THAT ALLOWED THE SHUTTLE TO STOP
IN THE SAME AMOUNT OF DISTANCE BUT WITH LESS BRAKE PRESSURE.
NOW, THAT'S A SAFETY IMPROVEMENT.
YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, RELY HEAVILY
ON ONE SINGLE SYSTEM TO DO SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT
AS STOP ON THE RUNWAY.
I MEAN, STOPPING ON THE RUNWAY IS IMPORTANT.
YOU DON'T WANT TO STOP SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU DON'T WANT TO BE.
- THE SHUTTLES HAVE FINISHED THEIR LAST FLIGHTS?
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO THEM NOW?
- GREAT QUESTION, AMBER.
NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLES ARE GOING TO HAVE NEW HOMES
ALL OVER THE COUNTRY SO THEY CAN CONTINUE TO INSPIRE
THE NEXT GENERATION OF EXPLORERS AND ENGINEERS.
THE SHUTTLE ENTERPRISE, THE FIRST ORBITER BUILT
BUT NEVER ACTUALLY FLOWN IN SPACE, WILL BE MOVING
FROM THE SMITHSONIAN'S AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM
TO A NEW HOME AT THE INTREPID SEA, AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM
IN NEW YORK CITY.
SHUTTLE DISCOVERY WILL BE GOING
TO THE SMITHSONIAN'S UDVAR-HAZY CENTER IN VIRGINIA.
ENDEAVOUR IS GOING
TO THE CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER IN LOS ANGELES.
AND ATLANTIS WILL BE DISPLAYED
AT THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER VISITOR COMPLEX IN FLORIDA.
THE SHUTTLE PROGRAM HAS BEEN RETIRED,
BUT NASA WILL CONTINUE
TO BUILD ON THE SUCCESS OF THOSE FLIGHTS
AND HAS ALREADY BEGUN PLANNING WHAT'S NEXT.
SO, AMBER, WE STILL HAVE A WHOLE UNIVERSE TO EXPLORE,
AND THE SHUTTLES HAVE LOTS MORE THEY CAN TEACH US.
I HOPE YOU GET A CHANCE TO GO VISIT
ONE OF THE ORBITERS AT ITS NEW HOME.
- THANKS, ORBY.
AND WHEN I DO, YOU CAN BET
I'LL THINK ABOUT ALL THE TIMES THE SHUTTLES FLEW,
BOTH IN AND OUT OF OUR WORLD.
- "OUR WORLD."