Episode 435: A Final Farewell to the Space Shuttle

On this episode of Talking Space, we return after recovering from Hurricane Sandy. However, a piece of space history was impacted by the storm as the dome which houses the space shuttle Enterprise at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum collapsed. Listen to find out why it came down. Next, we discuss SpaceX's successful test flight of Dragon's "grasshopper" and get into a discussion about why they are having an entirely reusable booster for future Falcon rockets. Lastly and most importantly, we discuss the official end of the space shuttle program and experience the excitement and emotion of the ceremonies through the recordings and stories of our own Mark Ratterman. Hear from former astronauts who flew Atlantis, including NASA administrator Charlie Bolden. To help with Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, you can text REDCROSS to 90999 to automatically donate $10 or you can go to http://redcross.org to donate any amount. [An image was inserted here. To view it, visit http://talkingspaceonline.com] Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka and Mark Ratterman Show Recorded - 11/6/2012