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CNN Live Saturday

Shuttle Endeavour Lands at Kennedy Space Center

Aired December 07, 2002 - 14:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures of Shuttle Endeavour, finally on the fourth day, it's headed home. The shuttle landing is also one for the record books. We're told that it's bringing a crew of seven people home after striking out on the three preceding days because of some bad weather and tight budgets, we're told. But now it's scheduled to touchdown at 2:37 p.m. Eastern time. Our Miles O'Brien has been following this, with all the complications and all good news too. I guess, Miles, this is definitely good news seeing it coming home?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Kyra. This is the Shuttle Endeavour as it approaches Kennedy Space Center, and that's exactly where NASA likes to send its shuttles at the end of missions. If they have to go to the backup landing spot, Edwards Air Force Base, the high desert of California, that's about $1 million bill for the taxpayers. What they have to do is hoist up the shuttle, put it on a 747 and ferry it back to the Kennedy Space Center where, in fact, they are launched. So they do everything they can to go for good weather.

As the shuttle drifts into the clouds, let me show you some animation quickly to give you an idea of where the shuttle begins its journey and where it ends. It starts on the Indian Ocean, when they fire the thrusters on the shuttle to knock it off of its orbit. It starts dropping like a rock on its way to the Kennedy Space Center, where it began its mission two weeks ago.

Take a look at this picture, upper left of your screen is the three-mile long runway, the shuttle landing facility. Dead smack in the middle, the vehicle assembly building. Big large building there. And up in the right hand corner of your screen, the launch pad, 39-A, where Endeavour began her mission two weeks ago now.

Now they tried to land on three preceding days, were unable to do so because of bad weather here at the Kennedy Space Center.

Take a look at what it's like. Continue that shot for one more second, if you could. If you go back to the animation for just a moment, Liz (ph), this is what it looks like when you are a pilot coming in for landing on the long runway there, runway 33 there at the Kennedy Space Center.

Back now to live pictures. Let's take a look at what it looks like from the view of the pilot, Paul Lockhart. This is the head-up display camera. Looking down on that same runway I just showed you in the animation. Seems a little cloudy from the vantage point here on top of the vehicle assembly building where they are tracking the shuttle as she comes in. Coming down at 15-degree bank, that's about three to four times steeper than a commercial airliner. Precipitous fall indeed. They say the shuttles fly like pianos. Let's Listen in to Rob Davies (ph) at Houston mission control, if he's there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Landing gear down and locked. Main gear touchdown.

O'BRIEN: The commander, Jim Weatherbee, becoming the first person ever to land a space shuttle five times. The veteran has six missions to his credit. The first mission he flew as a pilot. This time, he is a commander yet again. The most veteran of space shuttle commanders. Once again showing why these guys wear white scarves -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Fourteen days, 14 days of travel this mission. Right? Tell me what happened.

O'BRIEN: Well, 14 days for them. Of course, on board are three people who spent more than 180 days in space onboard the International Space Station. They're back home. They -- right now, Kyra, are in the space equivalent of barko-loungers onboard the Endeavour, reclining. I don't think they have a remote in their hand, watching CNN. But they are reclining because after six months in space, well, let's just say the gravity at that moment is such that you have to ease the transition back to the planet. So doctors will come aboard, stethoscopes in hand, and will give them a nice, easy adaptation -- give them the option of carrying them off the space shuttle.

A lot of the International Space Station crews once again going back to that white scarf thing would prefer to get up and walk off under their own power. That remains to be seen.

The process right now, takes a long time to shut down all of the switches, get the suits off. Get the crew transport vehicle up to the shuttle. They have to safe it. There is all kinds of hazardous gasses around it. It's still as hot as a frying pan in many places right now. There is a crew of 100 plus people who will descend upon the shuttle, some of them wearing gas masks at the outset, to make sure they don't get zapped by things like hydrozene, which is one of the nastier chemicals known to man, which can linger around a space shuttle orbiter. There you see the beginning of that, as the truck heads towards the space shuttle.

Runway 33, the Kennedy Space Center, the 111th successful landing of a space shuttle, the end of the 112th shuttle mission -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Last shuttle picture of the year. Awesome pictures. Thanks, Miles.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired December 7, 2002 - 14:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures of Shuttle Endeavour, finally on the fourth day, it's headed home. The shuttle landing is also one for the record books. We're told that it's bringing a crew of seven people home after striking out on the three preceding days because of some bad weather and tight budgets, we're told. But now it's scheduled to touchdown at 2:37 p.m. Eastern time. Our Miles O'Brien has been following this, with all the complications and all good news too. I guess, Miles, this is definitely good news seeing it coming home?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Kyra. This is the Shuttle Endeavour as it approaches Kennedy Space Center, and that's exactly where NASA likes to send its shuttles at the end of missions. If they have to go to the backup landing spot, Edwards Air Force Base, the high desert of California, that's about $1 million bill for the taxpayers. What they have to do is hoist up the shuttle, put it on a 747 and ferry it back to the Kennedy Space Center where, in fact, they are launched. So they do everything they can to go for good weather.

As the shuttle drifts into the clouds, let me show you some animation quickly to give you an idea of where the shuttle begins its journey and where it ends. It starts on the Indian Ocean, when they fire the thrusters on the shuttle to knock it off of its orbit. It starts dropping like a rock on its way to the Kennedy Space Center, where it began its mission two weeks ago.

Take a look at this picture, upper left of your screen is the three-mile long runway, the shuttle landing facility. Dead smack in the middle, the vehicle assembly building. Big large building there. And up in the right hand corner of your screen, the launch pad, 39-A, where Endeavour began her mission two weeks ago now.

Now they tried to land on three preceding days, were unable to do so because of bad weather here at the Kennedy Space Center.

Take a look at what it's like. Continue that shot for one more second, if you could. If you go back to the animation for just a moment, Liz (ph), this is what it looks like when you are a pilot coming in for landing on the long runway there, runway 33 there at the Kennedy Space Center.

Back now to live pictures. Let's take a look at what it looks like from the view of the pilot, Paul Lockhart. This is the head-up display camera. Looking down on that same runway I just showed you in the animation. Seems a little cloudy from the vantage point here on top of the vehicle assembly building where they are tracking the shuttle as she comes in. Coming down at 15-degree bank, that's about three to four times steeper than a commercial airliner. Precipitous fall indeed. They say the shuttles fly like pianos. Let's Listen in to Rob Davies (ph) at Houston mission control, if he's there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Landing gear down and locked. Main gear touchdown.

O'BRIEN: The commander, Jim Weatherbee, becoming the first person ever to land a space shuttle five times. The veteran has six missions to his credit. The first mission he flew as a pilot. This time, he is a commander yet again. The most veteran of space shuttle commanders. Once again showing why these guys wear white scarves -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Fourteen days, 14 days of travel this mission. Right? Tell me what happened.

O'BRIEN: Well, 14 days for them. Of course, on board are three people who spent more than 180 days in space onboard the International Space Station. They're back home. They -- right now, Kyra, are in the space equivalent of barko-loungers onboard the Endeavour, reclining. I don't think they have a remote in their hand, watching CNN. But they are reclining because after six months in space, well, let's just say the gravity at that moment is such that you have to ease the transition back to the planet. So doctors will come aboard, stethoscopes in hand, and will give them a nice, easy adaptation -- give them the option of carrying them off the space shuttle.

A lot of the International Space Station crews once again going back to that white scarf thing would prefer to get up and walk off under their own power. That remains to be seen.

The process right now, takes a long time to shut down all of the switches, get the suits off. Get the crew transport vehicle up to the shuttle. They have to safe it. There is all kinds of hazardous gasses around it. It's still as hot as a frying pan in many places right now. There is a crew of 100 plus people who will descend upon the shuttle, some of them wearing gas masks at the outset, to make sure they don't get zapped by things like hydrozene, which is one of the nastier chemicals known to man, which can linger around a space shuttle orbiter. There you see the beginning of that, as the truck heads towards the space shuttle.

Runway 33, the Kennedy Space Center, the 111th successful landing of a space shuttle, the end of the 112th shuttle mission -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Last shuttle picture of the year. Awesome pictures. Thanks, Miles.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com