Shuttle crew preps for launch and a shuttle-less future

Khou.com: Shuttle crew preps for launch and a shuttle-less future
HOUSTON -- The final four astronauts of the space shuttle program are 21 days and counting to what they say should be a celebration of a 30-year success story, not a funeral for an historic program coming to an end.

“I'm not quite sure how everybody's going to feel,” said STS-135 Commander and retired Navy Captain Chris Ferguson of his reaction when Shuttle Atlantis rolls to a stop at the end of its 12-day mission. “I think it will be an emotionally challenging time."

“You always hate to lose your first airplane. I can remember the first airplane I ever flew. I hated to stop flying it because I really like it and the space shuttle is no different,” he said.

Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to lift-off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 8th. The 135th and final mission of the shuttle program will deliver supplies to the International Space Station.

Ferguson’s crew includes Pilot and USMC Colonel Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus, PhD, and Colonel USAF Ret. Rex Walheim.

Thursday the STS-135 crew members completed one of their final launch and ascent simulations at Johnson Space Center, then spoke with reporters inside the Shuttle Flight Control Room at Mission Control.

"It hits home again what a spectacular work force we have,” said Magnus about the thousands of NASA employees and contractors who continue preparing Atlantis for the final flight, even though many of those employees know it could also be the end of their NASA careers. “And it’s just unfortunate that our transition is taking place in such a way that we're going to lose such good people."

Possibly people like flight controller Holly Griffith, who doesn't know where her NASA career will lead next.

"It’s going to be sad,” said Shuttle Flight Control team member Holly Griffith, who has worked on the shuttle program for the last seven years. “It’s going to be hard to hand the vehicle over to KSC (Kennedy Space Center) at the end of the day and realize we're not going to come back and do it again."

But as the crew members prepare for the final shuttle resupply mission to the International Space Station, they are trying to focus on what, they say, should be a celebration, not a funeral. The 30-year shuttle program has logged more than 537 million miles, conducted more than 2,000 experiments, launched and repaired the Hubble Space Telescope, served as the primary lift vehicle for the International Space Station, and inspired a generation of science and engineering students.

"When a person retires after 30 years of a magnificent career you have a big celebration. You talk about what they did,” said Walheim.

"In this community we're all family,” said STS-135 Flight Director Richard Jones when asked about how NASA employees are dealing with the loss of the shuttle program and thousands of jobs.

He said he continues to be impressed by the professionalism of employees committed to one final successful flight.

“And we're all going through the same thing. And again it's just neat to see,” he said.