i want to let viewers know, john zarrella, this guy has covered 75, 80 launches. >> that dates me. >>reporter: do you have a job? what are you going to do tomorrow, john? what's your backup plan? >> i've been telling people i'm glad the space shuttle is retiring before i'm retiring. i don't know what the plan is, but the shuttle's retiring before i zblam we'll get you another assignment. it's an amazing, amazing time, historic. you've done an incredible job. >> tonight at 8:00 and 10:00, beyond "atlantis," i'm putting in a shameless plug for the special that we did, one-hour special on the end of the space shuttle program, 8:00 and 10:00. >> fred? >> well, john's backup plan, he's so versatile, he can do anything, and we've seen that over the years. john, suzanne, thanks so much. appreciate it. >>> meantime, the investigation intensifies, an arrest made in britain's phone hacking scandal that targeted murder victims, terrorism victims and the grieving families of troops killed at war. a live report from london. naturals from purina cat chow. delicious, real ingredients with no artific

and we are joined here by astronaut katy coleman, and john zarrella. katy spent six months on the international space station, and we will talk about that throughout the hour, and also over to chad myers at the weather complex, and chad, what is going on with the weather? the sun looks like it is starting to peek out? >> well, only one fly in the ointment, and there is a thick cumulus cloud there above the palm trees, and if that cumulus deck is more than 4500-feet thick, that means there might be rain drops in the deck. the shuttle cannot fly through rain, and why? because if it is wet and then two seconds later it is high in the sky at below zero, clearly the water will freeze on the shuttle and freeze underneath the ceramic tiles. and over to the left, you will get rid of the cumulus deck and have weather like this, and it could not be better, and that is spectacular weather. if the weather is moving in like

as we end an era, john zarrella did time traveling with a cnn exclusive.two astronauts that were there when it began and actually manned the first shuttle mission in 1981. >> reporter: did it perform differently than you thought it would? had you guys, was it -- >> well, it worked. it worked like we did in the simulators. it worked great. >> the story was, your heart rate, when you guys -- everybody said, every article i read talked about how, john, your heart rate was like, hardly went up at all. bob's went up to about 130, on a -- >> i was excited. >> the crew is now moving across -- >> going through the countdown like john and i had done many times before and only when we got inside a minute, i looked at john and said, we're really going to do it. that's when my heart rate went up as we talked about. but we both assumed, hey, don't let me screw up. our main concern. >> america's first space shuttle. >> the first 8 1/2 minutes, while you're under thrust goes back so fast, and on my first flight, my eyes were like saucers. so that seemed like about 15 sec

our john zarrella is live at the kennedy space center which is where it is expected to touch down. ow. it's going to be a nighttime landing. john, how's it looking on your side? >> it's great, ali, as far as the weather goes. absolutely couldn't ask for better conditions as you mentioned. "atlantis" now on the last leg, coming home. the last time a space shuttle will come back and land. this is it. the last flight in the 30-year history of the shuttle program. it's going to come over the yucatan, as you mentioned. it will cross the united states at naples, florida, before landing here at the kennedy space center. you know, a couple of months ago i had an opportunity to sit down with commander chris ferguson, who is, of course, at the controls of "atlantis" right now. and ferguson talked about what he thought it would be like when he made this historic landing. >> we want to make sure we get the job done. and when the job is done, we can look back and reflect and think about where the place in history lied for this final shuttle flight. >> you know, ferguson added that he was bound a

john zarrella at the kennedy space center in florida. >> john zarrella, thanks. >>> i often wondered would affect the launch or not or delay it at all. i was asking reynolds earlier. you would think with maybe a drizzle or rain it wouldn't is affect it considering how powerful it is. >> absolutely. i think the number one reason why because of lightning. tremendous concern. another thing is just for on the ground you have great observation, the craft as it takes off. watch every single bit of it. if there is a situation they have to abort, ground observers will see some kind of a problem you have to have good visibility. but again, what an amazing thing to see. i lived in orlando three years and i'm embarrassed to admit this, it's one of those things when you live there and you see those, you begin to take them for granted. you really do. you don't realize each and every one is a technological miracle. it's an amazing thing. a crew of amazing people, so amazing engineers, great pilots, great scientists, that put all this together, team effort and to see that thing rocket into the sky

john zarrella is standing by to talk about a docking manure which is under waite. john? >> about sick feel separates it. this is the final time a space shuttle will ever dock with the international space station, less than five feet away. you can see in the live picture that you have a camera inside the docking ring on board the space shuttle "atlantis" action and looking at the docking ring on board the space station. the space shuttle ren day viewed with the international space station flying within tandem. >> docking is confirmed. capture confirmed, 10:07 central time. you heard from the voice of mission control. >> so the docking has now taken place. remarkable, howard. we've seen this so many time. pinches john zarrella, thanks so much. great to watch it. it's almost become routine. more ahead in this program. >>> let resume or conversation. emily bell, yes, we can come up with business reasons, but in some way, hadn't it become a toxic symbol of gymism? >> i think the public sent meant, and potentially readers i think meant when they did the mental calculation, thi

john zarrella asking the experts. was the program a success or a failure?he beginning, it was a marvelous machine releasing from it cargo bay deep space probes like ulysses that went to jupiter, astronauts ventured out untethered. >> the trip to take ten minutes. >> reporter: to capture and retrieve failed satellites dead in space. dangerous feats unheard of before shuttle. the great observatory hubble dazzles with breath taking images of the universe and its ability to see galaxies born nearly at the dawn of time. >> shulgtz has arrived on board "atlantis." >> reporter: hubble was launched to repair and service from shuttle. every major building block of the football field long space station was carried up and assembled from shuttle. before becoming that ises a's head man, charlie bolden was an astronaut. he flew four shuttle 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

cnn's john zarrella and chad myers are there. john, let's start with you. nasa say they are a go for the launch right now, right? >> reporter: yeah. for now. you know, what would a shuttle launch be, kyra, if it wasn't for a weather issue, right? i recall back in 1988 on the first flight after the "challenger" accident, the flight of "discovery," we were here. it looked like this. no way they were going to go. right before launch, the skies parted. it was clear blue. and "discovery" took off and then 30 minutes later, it was all cloudy again. i think nasa is saying, look. we are going to count this down. we think we've got an opportunity to get off the ground. that's what they are saying. and that is what they are going to go ahead and do. the crew is on board. all four astronauts are seated on the shuttle. they are ready to go. the vehicle is ready to go. there are no issues, at least not with the vehicle. the only thing they are watching right now, kyra, the weather. >> yeah. what are the costs of scrubbing this thing, john? >> reporter: well, you know, a

job well done, america. >> let's bring in john zarrella who watched it live from kennedy space center good morning. you know, right now there is a live picture from the johnson space center that we are looking at. where tony ceccacci congratulated the team there for a job well done. there were hugs all around. there were flowers sitting on tables there. certainly a moment both here and in houston where, you know, the realization is now finally setting in for all of these people that the 30 year program, the shuttle program, is at an end. it is over. the orbiter "atlantis" still sitting out there on the runway here. it will be towed over to the -- orbiter processing facility called the opf a little while from now. the astronauts have already gotten off. we are still waiting for commander ferguson and the other members of the crew, hurley, the pilot, doug hurley, also to come out and say a few words and then later this morning the vehicle again being towed over to the orbiter processing facility where thousands of the workers who spent so many hours on the vehicle, there you can see it

our john zarrella has more on the crew's big welcome aboard. >> sunday was another historic day in space "atlantis" docking with the international space station early sunday afternoon. and the astronauts were so far ahead of the time line in this docking maneuver that they were actually able to open the hatch about 30 minutes ahead of schedule. of course, another historic moment there. the last time that the space shuttle visiting the space station, the hatch opening, the six members of the international space station greeting the four astronauts as they got on board the space station. so ten in all now on board the space station. and for the next several days, a lot of work to do. they will be transferring more than 7,000 pounds of equipment and supplies to stock up literally the pantry and refrigerator on the space station so there will be enough supplies to last the crews up there for a good year. now, what also happened earlier on sunday as the space shuttle "atlantis" was approaching and rendezvouses with the international space station, commander ferguson pitched over, literally pi

john zarrella is at the kennedy space center with more. john? >> reporter: hey, fredricka, the "atlantis" crew and the shuttle "atlantis" are speeding towards their docking tomorrow with the international space station. and today they did spend some time examining the shuttle's leading edges of the wings for any impacts that might have been caused by debris during the ascent to orbit. so far looks like pretty good news on that inspection. about a month ago, fredricka, i had an opportunity to sit down and spend some time with each of the four crew members. >> beautiful shuttle, beautiful day. >> reporter: you guys are going to be the last shuttle flight. what's going through your mind? are you go, oh, man, why me? >> like being at disney land late at night and thinking am i going to get to the front of the line before the ride closes. you squeaked by. then to realize this, you know, this probably will be the last space shuttle mission ever, it really felt like an honor to be part of it. >> reporter: we want to make sure we get the job done. and w

so there. >> yes, indeed. >> john zarrella, thanks so much. "atlantis'" mission is expected to end around july 20th or it could be extended by an extra day after that. what's next for nasa? josh levs has all the answers per usual. look into your craze tystal bal what do you see? >> we keep talking about last, last, last. nasa says it will stay at the forefront of space exploration. and this, the other day, the nasa chief was talking about the future, this is an actual video of the asteroid vesta. in a matter of days, a u.s. spacecraft called the dawn is expected to arrive at its orbit around this asteroid. now what is so cool about this is you can see this in the night sky. it looks like a star to you. unless you're -- have a lot of expertise in it, it will. that's the only asteroid visible to the naked eye. that's going on right now and through next month and also next month, this will be happening, the juneau spacecraft launches a five-year cruise up to jupiter. this is animation here. both the efforts will help scientists better understand

. >> let's bring in cnn's veteran of covering shuttle launches, john zarrella join us us in florida.t just never fails to kind of be so cool watching that, whether you're watching it live on tv, or taped on tv, but better yet, where you are. so the launch kind of carries itself. i kind of feel like you don't need any follow-on around the launch. tell us what's plan for with when the shuttle returns. >> welsh it's funny that briefly, i talked to one of the shuttle astronauts a while ago. down the road there's going to be nostalgia for these vehicles. people are going to look back and they're going to say were we ever so audacious to build a spacecraft like this that could fly into orbit like a rocket. you and i will never in our lifetime see a vehicle like this. when it comes back on the 20th or possibly on the 21st in a month when it lands back to earth, the commander will call wheels stopped. and nasa is hoping after they safe the vehicle, they will allow all of the veet rans -- all of the worker, the shuttle workers to actually go out to the launch pad and get one final look, touch

let's go now to the kennedy space center, our guy, john zarrella and meteorologist chad myers there as well. clad to keep an eye on the sky. we'll check in with chad here in a second. john to you, you have been to a number of these launches, you've seen these up close and personal. how did this feel different? >> first, i think i've traveled 5 billion million miles up and back from south florida to the kennedy space center over the last 25 years or so. it was certainly different. there's no question about it, t.j. when you've seen, you know, as many as i have they're all unique, all special, but then when you realize that in all of those other times that i've seen them, i've known there's another one coming down the road, and now you know that's it. there will not be any more launches of space shuttles from the kennedy space center and that, you know, is one of those things that sit there's and kind of, you know, sits in pit of your stomach. you were mentioning, 31 seconds, they actually stopped the countdown because there was a concern, a sensor failed, they weren't sure that a vent a

kyra. >> all right, john zarrella.e watching it all, thanks. >>> it's now top of the hour, 10:00 a.m. on the east coast and 7:00 a.m. out west. in afghanistan assassins kill a second senior official in less than a week. he was a member of parliament and a key adviser to karzai. >>> minutes ago space shuttle atlantis closed its hatch. it's scheduled to land thursday sxend the final flight of the shuttle program. nelson mandela turns 93. south africans pay tribute to him by forming at least 67 minutes of volunteering, one minute for each mandela spent fighting for freedom in south africa. >>> a new casualty in the roux per murdoch's media scandal. one of scotland yard's top officers resigned. two years ago john yates ruled there was no re-open the investigation, and it was that botched decision that cost the job of britain's top cop. the head of the scotland yard stepped down amid public outrage yesterday. >> as commissioner i carry ultimate responsibility for the position we find ourselves in. with hindsight i wish we h

join brooke, anderson, and john zarrella for our special coverage of the final space shuttle launch..m. eastern, right hear on cnn. now, news just into cnn, federal appeals court has just issued a launch right here on cnn. cnn supreme court producer is bill maher -- mears joins us now. >> the administration argued that it's in the process of dismantling don't ask don't tell but it needs more time to implement this major personnel program, so they had argued for more time and essentially these appeals going on in the courts be suspended while it continues too dismantle it. but the ninth circuit court of appeals issued an order saying the government cannot enforce don't ask don't tell until these appeals are fully implemented or until the policy is completely dismantled. >> all right, bill mears, thank you very much. so what's your facebook status today? if you're mark zuckerberg, it is awesome. next up, the big announce. that will change how you use facebook. >> facebook founder mark zuckerberg teased something new coming to facebook. that announced their latest app. skype, that's rig

our john zarrella says the u.s.ce may not be through the government, but, rather, private industry. ilan musk runs space x and richard branson heads virgin galactic. both are using bold attempts to make space travel as routine as boarding an airplane. >> people used to say to me, look. it would be impossible to build your own spaceship and your own spaceship company and be able to take people into space. that's the kind of challenge that i love to sort of prove them wrong. >> i want to see a future where we are exploring the stars, where we are going to other planets and we are doing the great things we read about in science fiction and in the movies. >> reporter: there are several companies. some big, some small, who see as nasa moves on to distant planets, that weightless region just above the atmosphere. just out of reach right now, becoming quite possibly a good investment. >> nasa is still in there. still going to develop a heavy lift rocket but we also got this hopefully flowering space flight and get us the h

i'm john zarrella, and this is the space shuttle "atlantis." on the 17th of may, it rolled from the orbiter processing facility to the vehicle assembly building a quarter-mile away. the last time a shuttle would make the journey. bringing a glorious, sometimes tragic, era one step closer to the end. but was it worth it? three decades in low earth orbit not venturing outward. if you ask the man commanding the last shuttle flight -- >> it was a successful program. we essentially have command of low earth orbit. >> reporter: if you ask the men who walked on the moon -- >> once you've been to the moon, staying home is not good enough. i'm an exploration guy. i want to go where man has never gone before. before gene, the last man to make his walk on the moon a journey, man had a reusable spacecraft. >> i have a model of the shuttle. >> from the beginning, it was a marvelous machine releasing from its cargo bay deep space probes like ulysses that went to jupiter. astronauts went untethered to capture and retrieve failed satellites, dead in space, dan

john zarrella, appreciate that from the kennedy space center. as john mentioned, now that the shuttle program is finally over, thousands of nasa employees will lose their jobs. we'll talk to some of them about their future plans. that's coming up in the next hour of the newsroom. >>> you have also been sounding off on our talkback question. should republicans participate in religious events? ca carol costello is back with your responses. >> not just republicans. all politicians, should they participate in religious events? adam says the leaders of our country literally turn to god to solve our problems, it is a sad day for all of us. maybe i'll ask sant claus to help me bay off my student loans. wake up, people. diane says if they are religious, then why not? there is freedom of religion in this country and that should extend to every person. ash says, no. americans need to stop pretending christianity is the religion of this nation. it's unconstitutional. christian says, absolutely. this whole church versus state thing has gotten so far out of c

john zarrella, at the kennedy space center, florida. >>> we're about ten seconds into the deorbit burn. >> tend of the journey that started with the testing of a craft called "enterprise," in 1977. "columbia" in 1981. culminating this morning with a night flight to the kennedy space center. >> it's been 14 days since "atlantis" lifted off for the final mission of the space shuttle program. this morning what we're witnessing this at the moment is the end of the mission and the end of nasa's 30-year program. you're watching live pictures of the kennedy space center where we're 12 to 13 seconds into that deorbit burn. "atlantis" is in the middle of what's called the deorbit burn. this is occurring about 60 minutes from touchdown. about 23 0 kilometers from the runway. it's firing at the spacecraft's engine against the direction of its motion. and that cuts the shuttle speed, allowing its to orbit back into the earth's atmosphere so it can actually land. we'll be continuing to bring you live pictures of the shuttle "atlantis" as its lands in a little over an hour from now. >>> going to be

john, i look forward to talking to you. >> a weekend with john zarrella in florida is not a bad thing11:26 eastern time on friday morning. john, look forward to seeing you. we want know what you think. should the federal government get out of the business of space exploration? they are shifting into something else as john tells us. we will read through some of your responses later in the show. >> of course, don't miss cnn's live coverage of the final launch this friday, july 8th, at 11:26 a.m. eastern, the last shuttle mission ever. >>> new video into cnn. nine firefighters injured after their forest service bus kraccrd in palm dale, florida. >>> jury deliberations set to resume in the casey anthony trial. jurors failing to reach a verdict after nearly six hours yesterday. >>> sexual assault claim filed today against dominique strauss-kahn. tristane banon claims strauss-kahn tried to rape her eight years ago. >>> in new hampshire and iowa, independence day parades a popular campaign destination for several republican candidates for president. among them, former presidential candidate

john zarrella joins us live to talk more about that. tions that have happened up there in space. john, this is catching a lot of people's attention. >> reporter: really has. you know, the ability to do that being tested on the international space station, and it's because they have to find a way to recycle all of this stuff, literally "stuff." so that's one of -- not that anybody's too anxious to be the first to sample it, i don't think, but they are working on that, and on a bunch of other thing. something like 120 different spin-offs that have come out of the space shuttle program alone. another 80 that came out of the apollo program. you know, we were talking earlier. there's one that's a nutritional supplement in milk for babies that came out of it. there's all kinds of devices. what we're looking at right there is the space walk that's underway right now. 245 mi above the ocean, looking at the arm of the space station. on the end of that arm in foot restraints is astronaut ron garren who's actually holding on to an 800-pound ammonia

>> john zarrella already staking out his seat at the kennedy space center.you think this is considered risky to turn the space station over to commercial companies? what do they make of that? >> reporter: it really is, because what happens if something goes wrong to the developme phases with the commercial companies. nasa has no fallback position. they will rely on the russians for the next several years until the commercial companies are ready and the russians will take our astronauts up to the space station. a lot of people worry if there are setbacks or accidents that nasa should have at least kept one space shuttle in the back pocket, sitting over there in the vehicle assembly building ready, just in case. but that's not in the cards, because not enough money. >> right. john, friday's launch, going to join you and can't wait to see you there. is it all systems go? >> reporter: yeah. yeah. >> yeah? >> reporter: bring a rain coat, because right now the weather not looking good. a 40% chance of go on friday. saturday, sunday look a little better. monday loo

here's a special report from john zarrella "beyond "atlantis,"" the next frontier. >> we want the main entrance. >> shuttle has cleared the tower. >> a spacecraft that launches like a rocket and lands like a plane. the beginning of a remarkable era. >> what we did dwarfed what was done. >> when 135 missions later it is being eliminated. what's next? could commercial space travel be on the horizon. hello. i'm john skah real la. this is the space shuttle "atlantis." on the 17th of may it rolled from the orbiter processing vehicle to the center a quarter mile away. bringing a glorious, sometimes tragic era one step closer to the end. but was it worth it? three decades in low earth orbit not venturing outward. >> folks, how are you doing. >> hey. >> reporter: if you ask the man commanding the last shuttle flight -- >> it was a successful program. we essentially have command of low earth orbit. >> it has landed. >> reporter: if you ask the men who walked on the moon -- >> once you've been to the moon, staying home is not good enough. i'm an exploration guy. i want to go where man has never

. >> big payload, john zarrella. >>> even with the final shuttle mission underway, nasa says it willll take the lead in exploring space, but how? ♪ sing polly wolly doodle all the day ♪ ♪ hah >> stephanie: okay so the final shuttle mission is underway right now. it's the conclusion for 20 years of space flight. josh levs is here to look at the future. >> nasa doesn't think this is the end. they have a lot of plans, they're actually saying it's not tend of manned space flight either. take a look at these pictures. i'm going to give you nasa's words. they're calling this the flagship of their next generation space fleet pushing the envelope of space flight beyond the scope of the earth's orbit. i would could take four astronauts on 21-day missions. so they're saying they're still working on u.s. ways to put people in space. they're also working on new technology to get people out to mars. nasa says it's committed to staying in the lead of exploring space. take a look at this video. >> we're investing in a broad portfolio of technology. some of those technologies are risky, some of them

john zarrella has seen many of these. this one's different, john. >> it really is. welcome to my world. >> thank you, sir. good to be in your world. >> your first time? >> it is. >> you're right, it's the weather, it seems to be the weather most times here. >> right. >> no exception today. and, in fact, you know the astronauts themselves, they're up there having their breakfast, going through that right now, you can see we're looking at the souper structure around the shuttle "atlantis." the weather was wild around here yesterday. we had some lightning strikes within just a quarter of a mile, third of a mile of the launch pad. late yesterday afternoon and into the evening, before they started the tanking, they actually had to have the teams out there walking the pad, walking the area, to make sure -- >> you can see it on the video the lightning strikes. >> absolutely. >> there were no issues or problems. unfortunately there were not. >> people have asked me this. this is a robust, hearty vehicle that has traveled millions of miles in space, why does a little lightni

missions to go outward and that we will, ultimately, get left behind if we're not careful. >> john zarrella you. >> i'm going to be with john, you know that, right? >> you're heading down there, right? down to the launch. >> take lots of pictures. >> 30 years after the space shuttle program began, "atlantis's" flight to the space station -- i love that. see that rocket, what do you think of that? >> i wasn't looking for the rocket. >> do that one more time. >> i was listening to your words. >> look over here in a second and you'll see it. here it comes. look at that. watch. >> watch, kiran. >> oh, man. >> love that. >> this is going to be mission 135. nasa's final mission, special coverage begins friday morning right here on "american morning." >>> we have to show you something else really cool ahead on "american morning." this guy has the edge certainly a fan who was pulled on the stage to play with u2 and has an incredible back story as well. it's 50 minutes past the hour. >>> 51 minutes past the hour. here's a look at your headlines this morning. freedom could be just a day away for case

john zarrella, cnn, at the kennedy space center in florida. >> the end of the shuttle program is notmany americans. according to the latest cnn poll, half of all americans feel the end of the shuttle program is bad for the country. one-third say no effect. 16% believe the money can be used better elsewhere. >>> rupert murdoch's performance before that british parliamentary committee on tuesday was good enough to bump his company's stock up. but the british and international press, not quite as impressed as investors. the latest headlines as the scandal -- talk of the scandal lives on. >> yeah, kyra. it's not fwoing anywhere any time soon. it's still the front page of many newspapers around the world. i want to share with you some of the headlines and what they're saying about this whole affair. gulf news out of the uae has the headline shameful for murdoch to fein ignorance. more by his shameful ignorance of them. murdochgate is not about what murdoch did but more about what he did not do. then the guardian newspaper here in britain has the headline "this scandal has exposed the scal

i'm john zarrella. and this is the space shuttle atlantis. on the 17th of may it rolled from the orbiter processing facility to the vehicle assembly building a quarter mile away. the last time a shuttle would make the journey. a glorious, sometimes tragic era one step closer to the end. but was it worth it? three decades in low et orbit not venturing outward. >> folks, how are you doing? >> if you asked the man commanding the last shuttle flight, it was a successful program. we essentially have command of lower earth orbit. >> the challenger has landed. >> if you ask the men who walked on the moon. >> once you've been to the moon, staying home is not good enough. i'm an exploration guy. i want to go where man has never gone before. >> i was strolling on the moon one day in the merry merry -- >> before gene cernan, the last man to walk on the moon had made his journey, nasa had a new grand vision. a reusable spacecraft. >> i have a model here of the space shuttle. as you see it -- >> from the beginning it was a marvelous machine, releasing fro

our own john zarrella caught up with the final four to see if the astronauts are truly aware of theirplace in history. >> reporter: you guys will be the last shuttle flight. what's going through your minds? >> kind of like being at disneyland. am i going to get to the front of the right before the ride closes? or will i get cut off at the end? i thought, wow, i kind of squeaked by, and to realize this probably would be the last mission ever, it felt like an honor to be a part of it. >> we want to make sure we get the job done. when the job is done, we can look back and reflect, think about where the place in history lied for this final flight. >> the crew getting the last looks at the space station complex. >> we've got more transfer and logistics supply to send to the station more than we ever had on any other mission. we're very busy in training. it's very challenging mission. >> reporter: you represent thousands of workers for 30 years who have poured their heart and soul into these vehicles. >> that's right. >> reporter: you guys are representing them on the final flight. >> i thi

i'm john zarrella. and this is the space shuttle atlantis. on the 17th of may it rolled from the orbiter processing facility to the vehicle assembly building a quarter mile away. the last time a shuttle would make the journey. a glorious, sometimes tragic era one step closer to the end. but was it worth it? three decades in low earth orbit not venturing outward. >> folks, how are you doing? >> if you asked the man commanding the last shuttle flight, it was a successful program. we essentially have command of lower earth orbit. >> the challenger has landed. >> if you ask the men who walked on the moon. >> once you've been to the moon, staying home is not good enough. i'm an exploration guy. i want to go where man has never gone before. >> i was strolling on the moon one day in the merry merry -- >> before gene cernan, the last man to walk on the moon had made his journey, nasa had a new grand vision. a reusable spacecraft. >> i have a model here of the space shuttle. as you see it -- >> from the beginning it was a marvelous machine, releasing