Space Shuttle Endeavour To Fly One Last Time

by Chris Owen on

Space shuttle Endeavour will be departing Kennedy Space Center for the last time next month and the public is invited to a series of events happening in September.

First, the public has the opportunity to see Endeavour as it is being prepared for its journey atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) September 14 and 15. Scheduled exclusive Endeavour bus tours will let guests view the orbiter as it is lifted by the mate-demate device (MDD) and placed atop a specially designed Boeing 747 aircraft. Viewing and photo opportunities will be available from the bus. The tour price is $20 per adult/$14 per child in addition to regular admission

Then, on Monday, September 17, at about 7:30 a.m. EDT, a limited number of Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex guests will have a front-row seat to witness the departure of Endeavour from the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF). Another fly-out viewing option is from the Visitor Complex as the history-setting mission covers the sky above the attraction’s Rocket Garden. The tour price for this up-close opportunity is $40 per person plus admission.
Also, live NASA TV video coverage of Endeavour’s fly-out and commentary will be broadcast in the IMAX Theater. Doors will open at 6 a.m. EDT. Coverage begins at 6:30 a.m. EDT.

In 19 years of service, Endeavour went on 25 missions, carried 133 astronauts, spent 299 days in space and traveled 122,883,151 miles. As a collectible, complimentary gift during the festivities, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex guests will receive a lithograph of Endeavour as a keepsake.

For more information and to purchase tickets, call 877-313-2610 or visit www.KennedySpaceCenter.com.



[Flickr photo by AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker]

Gadlinks for Friday 9.25.09

by Brenda Yun on


Talk about good luck! I arrived home on Wednesday and promptly hit the water for a surf with my buddies. Then yesterday a decent southern swell came through and, more importantly, the first significant swell of the season also made its way to the North Shore. My excitement alone has me thinking and dreaming of waves. In honor of the great sport of surfing, here are some pretty sweet surf travel reads for you this Friday.

‘Til Monday, have a great weekend!

More Gadlinks HERE.

IMAX on Mars

by Erik Olsen on

Last night I watched for the second time
the film Contact, with Jodie Foster. This is a superb film…well, at least the first hour and a half is excellent. The
last bit about her meeting her dad in the worm-hole netherworld leaves me cold. What a dumb way to end it (I haven’t
read Sgan’s book, so I don’t know if this is how he ended it…but still, dumb).

But the point, I suppose,
is that interstellar travel is something that, lets face it, every sentient being with a gram of adventure in your
bones wants to travel into space. I mean, tell me that wouldn’t be cool. But for now, such trips are available only to
Shuttle astronauts and the perversely wealthy.

So we here on earth have to content ourselves with watching
films like the new IMAX documentary Roving Mars, which
takes a closer look at the Red Planet, as viewed on the journeys of Spirit and Opportunity. I don’t recall news of the
rovers have those massive IMAX cameras on them, so we’ll have to see where the footage actually comes from, but
this is a film I’ll likely be seeing.