A Tribute from Starbase 24
to the Space Programme
Contents:
- Tribute to Neil Armstrong
- Space shuttle Endeavour
- Missions of the Endeavour
- The Last Mission
- Hall of Heroes
- Apollo 1
- Challenger
- Columbia
- Star Trek and the Shuttle Programme
A Tribute from Starbase 24 to Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon
The Missions of the Endeavour
The Space Shuttle Endeavour (OV-105), was commissioned to replace the Space Shuttle Challenger, which was lost in 1986.
The ship was named in honour of Captain James Cook’s HMS Endeavour, which travelled to Tahiti to observe the transition of Venus in 1768.
Endeavour launched on 7th May 1992 and during its maiden voyage in 1992, STS-49 accomplished many firsts - the first three person spacewalk, the first eight hour spacewalk and it was also the first Space shuttle to use a drag chute during its landing.
Starbase 24 salutes the crews of the Endeavour and her missions, and name our flagship in honour in their explorer spirit.
Missions of the Endeavour (source Wikipedia)
The Last Mission
Endeavour's last mission (STS-134) was to deliver parts to the International Space Station. This included an alpha magnetic spectrometer designed to scan for antimatter and the origins of dark matter. There were also parts needed for the station's functioning as well as components for experiments, from freezers to lego bricks.
STS 134 was one of three missions in which the general public were able to participate by sending their photos to NASA for the Face In Space campaign. At the end of the mission, participants were able to download a certificate thanking them for being part of the mission.
Originally planned to be the final mission of the space shuttles, STS-134 launched on 16th May 2011
The last flight of the Endeavour Space Shuttle:
On 21st September 2012, the Endeavour space shuttle took its final flight, piggybacked on the back of a specially adapted Boeing 747 as she was moved from Edwards Air Force Base to Los Angeles.
12 October 2012 - The Endeavour is carried through the streets of Los Angeles on its way to its final resting place at the California Science Center. The 75 tonne shuttle rested on a 160 wheeled carrier guided by remote control.
To make way for the mammoth orbiter along its 12-mile (19-km) route, crews cut down nearly 400 trees, raised overhead utility wires and temporarily removed hundreds of utility poles, street lights and traffic signals. The center has agreed to plant 1,000 new trees to replace those scheduled for removal.
A welcome home sign is displayed on the turn as space shuttle Endeavour leaves Los Angeles International Airport hangar
Pictures courtesy of various news agencies
Hall of Heroes
These crews gave their lives in the pursuit of knowledge from the stars:
Apollo 1 - 27th January 1967
Command Pilot: Virgil I 'Gus' Grissom
Senior Pilot: Edward H White II
Pilot: Roger B Chaffee
Challenger STS-51-L - 28th January 1986
Commander: Francis R Scobee
Pilot: Michael J Smith
Mission Specialist 1: Ellison Onizuka
Mission Specialist 2: Judith A Resnik
Mission Specialist 3: Ronald E McNair
Payload Specialist 1: Sharon Christa MaCauliffe
Payload Secialist 2: Gregory B Jarvis
Columbia STS-107 - 1st February 2003
Commander: Rick D Husband
Pilot: William C McCool
Mission Specialist 1: David M Brown
Mission Specialist 2: Kalpana Chawla
Mission Specialist 3: Laurel P Clark
Payload Commander: Michael P Anderson
Payload Specialist: Ilan Ramon
Star Trek and the Shuttle Programme
Dr Mae Jemison, who went into space as part of Endeavour's second mission, STS-47, which launched on 12th September 1992, had a cameo in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She played Lt Palmer in the episode 'Second Chances"
Michael Okuda, designed logos and graphics for every Star Trek production between 1986 and 2005. He now designs mission patches for NASA missions including one to repair the Hubble Space telescope in 2006
The ashes of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and James Doohan (Star Trek’s Original Scotty) were launched into space
NASA spent five hours reformatting the latest Star Trek film to be broadcast to the crew of the international space station
Star Trek has inspired the naming of several asteroids:
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“4569 Roddenberry” Named after Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek’s Creator
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"7307 Takei” Named after George Takei, Who played the original Hikaru Sulu.
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“68410 Nichols” Named after Nichelle Nichols, who played the original Uhura
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“2309 MrSpock” Named after the Vulcan Character
WORF is the acronym for the Window Observational Research Facility, a new science imaging platform on the ISS. It is named after the popular Klingon character from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The surface panel on WORF sports a beautiful patch with a Klingon language inscription – spelling out the name WORF in Klingon script.
On the morning of 7th MArch 2011, during the final flight of Discovery, STS-133, the crew were awakened by Alexander Courage's theme music to Star Trek. The music accompanied a message from William Shatner who paraphrased the famous introduction to Star Trek...
"These have been the voyages of the Space shuttle Discovery.... Her 30-year mission: to seek out new science, to build new outposts, to bring nations together in the final frontier, to boldly go and do what no spacecraft has done before."