there's our deputy administrator and our administrator, charlie bolden.the singing of happiness as was mixed emotions. here is the atlantis banner that was on atlantis when the hatch was closed. with rex walheim, his picture made with atlantis is banner. barred from the space alliance -- bart from the space alliance. sandy magnus. [no sounds] [no sounds] [no sounds] [no sounds] >> now we're underneath atlantis. the crew is going to be going over to the landing gear and looking at the tiles. there's our administrator charlie bolden again. the pilot doug hurley. doug hurley in the red hat. [no sounds] [no sounds] [no sounds] [no sounds] >> there is sandy magnus. [no sounds] [no sounds] >> and our pilot again and there in the red hat is doug hurley. >> the crew is going back to houston tomorrow afternoon, and as soon as they get back to the astronaut boards very shortly they will have a chance to have a reunion with their immediate family members. they will have a more thorough physical, and that will occur before they get something to e eat. and there's our

before becoming nasa's head man, charlie bolden was an astronaut. he flew four shuttle flights, including the hubble launch. >> the international space station is the crowning jewel of the shuttle program. it represents the culmination, it's the perfect ending for the shuttle program. >> and it did something else. before the shuttle, not a single woman or person of color had flown on a u.s. spacecraft. >> my going to space -- you know, if i want to get personal -- or women going to space would have never occurred without the space shuttle. >> the shuttle was proclaimed and sold as a vehicle that could fly 25 or 30 times a year. it never did. jeff greecen was on president obama's blue ribbon committee that laid out pathways for future u.s. space exploration. >> if you think the goal was develop low-cost reliable space transportation, in that it was not successful. >> and it never produced revolutionary, scientific or medical break-throughs. in the early years, nasa pushed to prove shuttles could fly often. the weather was often a problem. no more so

before becoming nasa's head man, charlie bolden was an astronaut.e flew four shuttle flights, including the hubble launch. >> the international space station is the crowning jewel of the shuttle program. it represents the culmination, it's the perfect ending for the shuttle program. >> and it did something else. before the shuttle, not a single woman or person of color had flown on a u.s. spacecraft. >> my going to space, you know, if i want to get personal, or women going to space would have never occurred without the space shuttle. >> reporter: shuttle was proclaimed and sold as a vehicle that could fly 25 or 30 times a year. it never did. jeff greecen was on president obama's blue ribbon committee that laid out pathways for future u.s. space exploration. >> if you think the goal was to develop low-cost, reliable space transportation, in that it was not successful. >> reporter: and it never produced revolutionary scientific or medical breakthroughs. in the early years, nasa pushed to prove shuttles could fly often. the weather was often a problem.

[applause] today is newsmaker attention is not just about charlie bolden but also the future of nasa. it is about the vision of president barack obama and some harsh budgetary realities. with more than 18,000 employees, nasa runs 10 field centers. because global leadership through strategic and international relationships. it has a rich history. hamas the most as a play has been the space shuttle liftings. the shuttle program now in thing and no immediate replacement in sight. some critics are skeptical about what nasa may become. there are building on the strength of nasa working with their partners. it is important to see what makes our speaker tick. in a couple of weeks, he will begin the third year as nasa's administrator. a retired major general. he was named administrator by the president in 2009. the pentagon insisted that he was to liable to them and would not allow him to receive and employment by president george bush. they say he has a passion for education and they try to inspire young people. his father taught history during the second world war. and he was naturally invo

before becoming that ises a's head man, charlie bolden was an astronaut.e flights including the hubble launch. >> i defy anybody, and i will argue with my apollo comrades, the accomplishments the achievements, the record of performance, the spinoffs, the capabilities that have been developed, what we did in shuttle over the years dwarf what we've done in the apollo era. >> we can build spacecraft, we can build booster, but there's no mission. we are wandering in the desert in space today. period. >> reporter: so why now? why call it quits now? from the time of its inception 40 years ago until the shuttles are retired, the program will have cost the american taxpayers just shy of $115 billion. that's less than $4 billion a year. a drop if that in the federal budget. still, the problem is money. >> there's just not enough money in nasa to continue the existing programs and start a new program at the same time. >> was it time? >> yes, it was time. and it has been time for some time to phase out of shuttle and go back to exploration. >> reporter: whether you h

is evolving and to aed ministration has launched goals for space vehicles and objectives, and charlie boldening at the alternative methods than duplicating or replicating what we did in the "apollo" era which is the trip to the moon. and meantime, we will look at commercial opportunities to access the space station which is still the most remarkable laboratory ever built as an international space community and that is the next discovery away from the next wonder of the world. there is access to that which is commercially available as well as by our russian partners who have been part of the international space coalition for 20 years, so it is another phase of this. there was a period of lag between the end of the "apollo" era and the beginning of the shuttler e e er era. >> and is the next era the next big bet? >> well, there are commercial means to be encouraged as a way to resupply the international space station and replicate what the space shuttle did in termings of cargo, transportation, and all of the assets that you need to maintain a laboratory in space that is 350 million miles off

before becoming nasa's head man, charlie bolden was an astronaut.accomplishments and achievements. the abilities that have been developed. what we did in shuttle over 30 years dwarfed was was done in the apollo era. >> we can build boosters. there is no goal or mission. we are wandering in the desert in space today. period. >> reporter: so why now? why call it quits now? from a time of the inception 40 years ago until the shuttles are retired, the program will have cost the american taxpayers just shy of $115 billion. that is less than $4 billion a year. a drop, if that, in the federal budget. still the problem is money. >> there is not enough money in nasa to continue the existing programs and start a new program at the same time. >> reporter: was it time? >> yes, it was time. it has been time for some time to phase out of shuttle and go back to exploration. >> reporter: whether you hated it or hailed it. whether you felt it a waste or worth it, the shuttle was an iconic flying machine that symbolized america's inspiration and ingenuity. >> in adva

we've heard from charlie bolden in saying it's not an if, but when, we send people back up into space, to deep space, as they caught it. what is it, though, that the community here and across the country, what is it they're waiting on? what's the timeline? if we don't get that announcement, what's at stake? >> right. there's a few aspects here. one is, is space shuttle was designed to put up international space station. it took the people up to assemble them. that mission is complete. now the theory and the model is, now that that's complete, we should be able to take supplies and crew back and forth much more cost effectively with privately owned systems. so the idea behind that, then, is that will save nasa a lot of money. they can redirect their fences to exploring back beyond earth orbiting again around the moon, asteroids and mars. they're back on the plan, but we don't know what we're doing to explore beyond. it's not one or the other. they're linked intimately. >> so what's at stake, if the timeline is not set out expeditiously? >> well, what's going on is, we originally were o

. >> and the administrator charlie bolden was on your flight. >> yes, the pilot. d one of the best work i ever did was to convince the president to make charlie the head of nasa. >> when you went off, katy said it is unlike anything else. you really feel the power of that rocket. was it really -- >> well, when those solid rockets light off at t-0, and you have million pounds of thrust underneath you, you know you are going someplace, but you hope it is straight up. >> you say the elephant? >> but it is like the gorilla on the chest, and i don't know what that feels like, but it is smooshed in this area. >> i did have that happen and it was not pleasant, and this sounds more pleasant. as we continue to wait for the president to speak about jobs, we will go back to where it all began the first liftoff of the shuttle in 1981. do you remember where you were? >> july 4th, 1965, the mariner air force spacecraft flies past mars and the mission provides the first close-up view of the red planet and the 22 images back on earth are the first-ever returned from deep space mak

there's laurie, our deputy administrator, our administrator charlie bolden. >> scene of happiness as well as mixed emotions. there's the atlantis banner that was on the hatch of atlantis when the hatch was closed. with rex wallheim, getting his picture made with atlantis' banner. mark knappy from the united states alliance. >> you probably can't hear me out there but i'm going to talk to the mike anyway. it's a great day to be here and welcome the crew back home. i personally want to salute them an everybody who has been involved in this program. it's bn a 30-year journey that's been absolutely incredible. i want to say that all of us stand on the shoulders of some giants, none any better than these. they have come been known as the final four. they did an absolutely incredible job. if you have an opportunity to watch during the mission, they were like racehorses the whole time. they made us very proud. we've been exploring since early in our country's history. what the crew did this time was close out thisra of our exploration but i want everybody who was involved in this to feel in

[applause] today's newsmaker luncheon is not just about administrator charlie bolden, but also abouta which he leads. it's about his vision, president barack obama's vision, daunting budget realities and how he will deliver. headquartered in the nation's capital, nasa also runs 10 field centers, seven test and research facilities around the nation, boasts of global leadership through a variety of strategic, domestic and international relationships. as we all know, nasa has a rich history of unique scientific and technological achievement although its most visible projects of late have been the space shuttle missions that have done much of the heavy lifting of the program for the past three decades. the shuttle program now ending, critics have been skeptical of what nasa will or might become. although our speaker insists there is no retreat from leadership in human space flight, but a shift to doing even more, more affordably, building on nasa's strength, working with the private sector and partners. it is important to understand what makes our speaker tick, how he made it to the top