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 commander, chris ferguson. there's our center director once again, bob cabana, director of kennedy space center. bob cabana is talking with our commander, chris ferguson. bob cabana also has served as an astronaut on the space shuttles. [no sounds] [no sounds] [no sounds] [no sounds] >> rex walheim, and we see in the background, providing all the cooling right now. the onboard cooling systems are off. astronaut john casper who serve as our weather officer here in the fire room during lunch and has been responsible for

this is what the two pilots on board, commander chris ferguson and also pilot doug hurley, this is whatthey see as they come in for the landing. they will be landing to the southeast, moving at 205 knots and it's on the runway 15 here, 150, that is what it is on the compass, 150 degrees. straight ahead, you can see the runway. we're 20 seconds out from the landing. you see an outline of the shuttle itself making its approach. this is what the pilots see. straight ahead, the final landing of a space shuttle, this is "atlantis" on its final approach. everything is right on course. it is a perfect approach, as you can see here by "atlantis." you see the shuttle here now. here it comes in, the touchdown, it's on the ground. "atlantis" is home. this is a final space shuttle landing. here comes the drag chute. here comes the nose gear to touchdown. "atlantis" is rolling out. >> a ship like no other, its place in history secured, the space shuttle pulls into port for the last time. its voyage at an end. >> reporter: thank you, rob, from mission control, houston. she's back, peter. >> having in

he's our commander on this flight, and going over to pilate doug hurley. this is his second trip into space. he completed his first spaceflight -- he has logged more than 736 hours in space. and here is mission specialist number one, sandy magnus. this is her third spaceflight. she has spent more than four months in space aboard the international space station. she flew on sts 112 and in four and a half months after being on board the space station as a member of the 18 crew. this is rex walheim, our mission specialist number two. he is making his third spaceflight. is spent more than 24 days in space on sts 110 and sts-132 wanted to end his had five spacewalks total more than 36 hours. and he is her very effectively as -- he has served very effectively. so the crew now is finishing pursuit of activities, and they are scheduled to leave for the launch pad and just about 25 minutes. shuttle countdown is continuing to go very well. there's nothing amiss there at all. and the weather is the only concern. maintaining will be, continue to be the low cloudiness,

rex walheim, sandy magnus, chris ferguson and doug hurley, thanks to all of you.ward to watching this. cnn will cover it live tomorrow morning. >>> coming up on "american morning" at 8:10 eastern, the head of nasa, dr. charles boulden will be live to talk about the next big pron fear. as rex talked about, whether it's an astroid or mars and how commercial space travel plays into the equation. that's nasa's charles boulden, 8:10 a.m. eastern time. it's 19 minutes after the hour. back to the quote of the day from one of america's distinguished congressmen. he said you are the most viable, unprofessional and despicable member of the u.s. house of representatives. if you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face. otherwise, shut the heck up. that was freshman republican congressman alan west of florida ripping into fellow congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz via e-mail, wasserman disparaged his bill which passed the house last night. here is watt wasserman said that provoked west's response. >> the gentleman from florida who represent th

what are the nicknames for the "atlantis's commander chris ferguson and pilot doug hurley? i love this answer, and we will give it to you after the break. s use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. good morning, students. today we're gonna continue... we know right from wrong. and we know the ads blaming president obama for the economy are politics at its worst. the republicans have opposed economic reforms at every turn. and now they have a plan that would essentially end medicare for future retirees... slash education... while giving huge tax breaks to big oil and the wealthy. we can't rebuild america if they tear down the middle class. priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. a living, breathing intelligence that's helping drive the future of business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ machines have a voice. ♪ medical history follows you. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities... committed to deliver

is a good readback, "atlantis." >> because of the slightly launch time, they are reading up to doug hurley, the pilot, the boundaries of "atlantis" which is flying on the singular power of the three main engines from the shuttle's main fuel tank. 3:30 into the flight, atlanta is is traveling 4500 miles an hour, and already 120 miles down range from the kennedy space center and 57 miles altitude. three good auxiliary fuels and three good main engines for "atlantis." >> "atlantis," negative return. >> negative return. >> that call from captain barry willheim saying that we are too far down range to return to launch site in event of engine failure, but however, the engines are performing perfectly. 4:20 into the flight. >> astronaut katy coleman is with us, and in termses of what is happening now, what is going on? >> well, they have gotten rid of the solid rocket boosters and we use them up and toss them down and they fall down 150,000 feet, because they are on the way. and those things will land in the ocean, vertically, and get picked up and cleaned out and could be used again, but in this

doug hurley is the pilot. he's 44. marine corps colonel. mission specialist, sandra magnus is 46. and rex walheim is a retired air force colonel. looking well as they came out into the vehicle to go out to the pad this morning. just four of them because there's no shuttle rescue mission, should something happen to go get them. they would have to come back on a russian craft from the international space station. our launch is coming up in 2 1/2 minutes. you see the top of the apparatus come off. the solid rocket booster, there have been some questions for days now about the dicey weather conditions in south florida today. we have a special event here, and that is our own space veteran, jay barberie, 53 years covering all of man's space flight for this country, this will be his 166th mission. and jay, take us down to 30 second, especially for what this day means to you. >> reporter: well, brian, it means the end of an era, as you said, but again, it's about the same as always. it's always the same excitement, you got souls on board, you want to make sure they get into orbit safely.

commander ferguson and doug hurley, the pilot. sandy magnus, rex walheim.e they are. they are walking around like it is no big deal. you know. hour and a half after the vehicle landed they got off and were, of course, met by charlie bald kin, nasa administrator. mike linebach, launch director was out there. they walked underneath the vehicle and inspected the vehicle. shack a lot of hands. got a lot of hugs. getting a lot of pictures taken right now as we can see and there's that wide shot of the vehicle against the blue sky here in the early morning blue sky in florida. but it is a tremendous moment and as you heard, chris ferguson talking about how, you know, here you had dash he said at the beginning of his remarks that, you know, his dream was flying in space. that he hoped that all of the thousands of other people as you see him walking away there, that were part of the great tradition and as part of the shuttle program that he was honored to be a part of and took them when he flew into space. a tremendous moment for the crew. you know, you wonder, ali

that is doug hurley.n the right of your screen is the commander chris ferguson. they are the commander and the pilot. really between you and me, it's really the pilot and the co-pilot but these guys are so experienced and good at what they do, that nobody wants to be called the co-pilot so it's the commander and the pilot. >> that is what they are doing. take one picture outside. still one astronaut outside the spacecraft who is about to get in. i don't know if we are able to watch her getting in. she is going to get on that platform behind her and lie down and get? >> first you have to show your boarding pass! but no. there is sandy magnus. you have to put your parachute harness on. >> she is checking to see that everything is working and moving? >> the fit is right and harness is not too tight or too loose. she is basically waiting for the other two guys to get situated. once they are set, then she will come on in and get into her seat which is behind them. if you see in your camera view now the two guy

i want to tick off the names, we all need to know them by friday morning, commander ferguson, doug hurleyre all on twit ir, you can follow them. liftoff is scheduled for this friday morning. >>> you know i get a little geeked out talking about space. i will be in florida this week covering the liftoff with the rest of the cnn crew. i got to go back to space camp 20 years ago with dreams of going to space myself. the place is still packed with space-inspired youngsters. with this final launch, what happens to them and their astronaut dreams? >> what does that simulate? >> zero gravity. >> they're at the top of their class. >> who really is good at science and math? >> even though the space shuttle program is coming to an end, the desire of these space campers to be astronauts is as strong as ever. >> what do you want to do when you grow up? >> i hope to become an astronaut. >> it's that heroic quality so appealing to children in all eras that pushes these youngsters toward space. >> what do you guys think of astronauts? >> brave, talented. >> reporter: about 30,000 elementary through high

. >> reporter: now 30 years later, the commander chris ferguson and pilot doug hurley and specialist the last shuttle crew. an emotional task for the history books. a little bit sad. >> it's like saying good-bye to an old friend. we want to focus on what the shuttle has done for the country. >> liftoff. >> reporter: for more than three decades over the course of 134 missions the shuttle program allowed nasa to accomplish incredible feats. >> i think we got a satellite. >> able to launch satellites. >> gnome did the shuttle launch the hubble telescope but fixed it when it was a problem. >> in 37 shuttle missions one third of its life been building so that will be exciting. >> reporter: as the launches became more routine, the public's fascination slowlily turned. >> i don't think the americans can know this is really it and another five years may be whether at the send another rocket up on a shuttle mission. >> reporter: this sts-135 was different from the start. the four astronauts were called up as a rescue crew on stand-di for "endeavour" after "columbia" exploded on re-entry. the

commander chris ferguson, pilot doug hurley, sandy magnus and rex walheim awoke to the tune "godlesse at abc along with all of you watching at home have watched their safe return and so the end to 30 years of the space shuttle program, a historic moment to be sure. we'll return you now to regular programming in somearts o of the country, that's "world news now" or "america this morning." more on the shuttle landing here later on "good morning america." i'm josh elliott in new york. have a good day.t. it's thursday, july 21st. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >> good morning, i'm peggy bunker. >> and i'm rob nelson. despite all the warning signs at yosemite, witnesses say a couple got a little toooolose to the rushing water and then got into trouble. another tourist then tried to help and he was also swept away. park rangers and visitors at ththis busy destination simply can't believe what happened. >> yeah, it's really amazing. of course the water levels are so high because we have this incredible winter and so therefore really, really strong rushing waters. jus

commander chris ferguson and pilot doug hurley will be checking out the shuttle's robotic arm unfurling it from the port's seal of the shuttles' payload bay at about the six and a half hour mark of the mission, performing a check out of its systems before it's used tomorrow to grapple the orbital boom sensor system for the initial inspection of atlantis' thermal protection system. [no audio] >> houston, consider complete with the checklist. if you agree, we can compose insertion. >> we do agree with that atlantis, and while i got you, fergie, if you want to set a timer for your config it's at 3: 19. >> three hours and 39 minutes, we appreciate that. >> you bet. [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] >> here in the control room, the team looking over the shoulders of atlantis' team as they set up orbit operations. the exact liftoff time for atlantis on the final mission was 10:29 and 3.9 seconds central time, 10: 29 central time today, about two minutes and change behind schedule while the kennedy space center held the clock at t-minus 31 second clock before the sequencer does the h

. >> ps our commander on this flight, and going over to pilot doug hurley. this is his second trip into space. he completed his first flight on sts 127 and has more than 176 hours in space. >> and here is mission specialist number one, sandy magness. this is her third space flight. she spent more than four months in space aboard the international space station. she flew on sts 11211 days in space and then four and a half months after being on board the space station as the expedition of the 18 crew. this is marquez walheim, mission specialist number two. he's making his third spaceflight and spent more than 24 days in space on sts 110 and won a 22, and he has had five space walks totaling more than 36 hours, and he served effectively as the branch and here they come [inaudible conversations] amol goebel conversations [inaudible conversations] the crew going down the elevator where they will be greeted by the kennedy space center and members of the news media. this is the same elevator that's been used by the astronauts ever since apollo [applause] [cheering]

. >> we just heard from the pilot, doug hurley, talk about how america will continue to explore but how and where because while george w. bush had envisioned us going back to the moon and mars and beyond, this administration has decided to end manned space flight. going forward from now on if we want to ride up to the international space station, we're going to have to write a $65 million to the country of russia. >> and have 55 astronauts learn to speak russian. rejoining us tom jones and phil keating and welcome everybody else who just got up. we just witnessed the end of the space shuttle program and of course, on our couch, wide to the right, dr. manning. >> yeah,>> tom, let's start with you. you've been on the space shuttle. it sounded to me like the voice of nasa himself, his voice actually cracked a little bit when he said the mission at its end. this is a tough day. >> it is. and i don't think i've still gotten my head around the fact that we're not going to see these wonderful ships fly again. in order to free up funds for what comes next at nasa, they've decided to retire the

once the station has the odd to the proper orientation, doug hurley will begin a 600-foot radio fly aroundd the complex by magnus and rex walheim gives digital cameras with high-powered lenses to snap away, collecting imagery of the launch of the station, its modules and its components. >> -- and atlantis you a happy to know you it just as good from the site as you do from the from. >> thank you. not sure how to answer that one, but thanks spent almost directly above the international space station, you can see the varying views of the solar rays that are angled through the assemblies optimize solar array absorption of sunlight to be converted into electricity on the far right of the access of the space station. that is the harmony module in the horizontal position, basically as you look at this view. that's where atlantis was docked to. on either side of those two large modules, the european space stations columbus laboratory, and on the topic comment as you look at this you from directly above the space station is the large japanese segment of the complex, and its external experiment pla

we see the the hurly -- doug hurley, john shannon from houston, angie brewer. john has served as our manager out in houston for the shuttle program. our launch director mike lineback. -- leinbach. the scene of happiness and mixed emotions. the patch of atlantis when it was closed. he is with rex walheim, getting his picture taken. bart with united space alliance. >> you probably cannot hear me now. i will talk into the microphone. it is a great day to be here. i personally want to sell the them and everyone can has been involved. the dick salutes -- and sal ute them and everyone that has been involved. they have come to be known as the final four. they did an incredible job. they were like race horses. they made us proud. what they did this time was close of this era of our exploration. i wonder if anyone he was rigid i want anyone to be involved to feel proud of what you did. they got in opportunity to do the flying. we owe a debt of gratitude to those around the country. you have done. i want to welcome them home and let them know how proud we are of them. i

doug hurley is the pilot.x wealheim is a retired air force colonel. looking well as they came out of the vehicle going the pad. just four because there's no mission rescue mission. they would have to come back on a russian craft. our launch is coming up in 2 1/2 minutes. you see the top of the apparatus come off the solid rocket booster. there had been some question for days now about the dicey weather conditions in florida day. we have a special event here and that is our own space veteran jay barbee, 53 years covering all manned space flight for this country. this is his 166th mission and jay, take us down to 30 seconds, especially for what this day means to you? >> reporter: well, brian, it means the end of an era as you said but, again, about the same as always. always the same excitement. you got souls on board. you want to make sure they get into orbit safely. the launch team here has been performing as it's always performed. however there are 6,700 people on this launch team and that was this mission th

. >> we understand that shot was over the shoulder of the pilot, doug hurley.> that little dot in the center of the screen is the shuttle atlantis coming home for the final time. history, folks, so let's go live now to mission control and listen to the end of an era. coming straight on right now. >> commander chris ferguson now flying atlantis 3 1/2 minutes until touchdown. piercing the predawn skies, the space shuttle announces its approach of the landing site with the twin sonic booms for the last time. >> atlantis on at the 180. >> at the 180. >> pilot doug hurley now taking a few seconds of stick time on atlantis. with a fitting elegance for its final flight atlantis takes one last lap around the kennedy space center. >> atlantis on at the 90. >> on at the 90. >> commander chris ferguson now back on the stick. atlantis descending at an angle seven times steeper than that of a commercial jetliner. >> happy atlantis, in sight. >> as it approaches the runway, commander chris ferguson will flare up atlantis' nose to burn off excess speed prior to the landing ge