"The legacy of the Space Shuttle: a vehicle that for over three decades came to define human space flight."
"It was so cold that day... literally icicles forming on the launch pad."
"At T plus one, Captain Michael Smith says, 'Here we go,' and NASA commentator announces the Challenger has achieved liftoff and cleared the tower."
"The shuttle makes its way to the sky: at liftoff, 6.6 million pounds of thrust begin hurtling the vehicle and crew at speeds that will reach 17,500 miles per hour."
"The Space Shuttle will go down in history as one of the great flying machines that America has produced."
"Engines throttling up, Challenger go at throttle up."
"Look at how quickly the space shuttle lifts off its launch pad, and that's a 1.5 to 1 thrust to weight ratio."
"The space shuttle spreads its wings one final time for the start of a sentimental journey into history."
"For the last time, the space shuttle's main engines have fallen silent as the shuttle slips into the final chapter of a storied 30 year adventure."
"The space shuttle program ended for a lot of reasons but its core idea of reusability is more popular than ever."
"Best update probably goes to the Kylo Ren shuttle."
"It's sad to think that this science experiment's failure and the devastating loss of seven people was all caused by two o-ring seals."
"The space shuttle represents the combined investments of three decades in space."
"Challenger was a terrible accident that could have been prevented."
"Starship is what shuttle always hoped it would be, a rapidly reusable heavy lift launch system."
"This must be what those NASA scientists feel like right before the space shuttle launches."
"NASA's dream of a reusable affordable spacecraft was over by 2010 the shuttle program had cost the American taxpayer a staggering 209 billion dollars."
"In total the spacecraft has flown 135 times an average of just five missions a year its final mission to fortify the International Space Station the space shuttles last flight ushers in a period of uncertainty in America's space program."
"It really is amazing to see space shuttle Atlantis in person."
"Absolutely huge and amazing to think this spacecraft has been to space 33 times."
"The investigation into the accident discovered the damage to the shuttle's heat shield had occurred during launch. A piece of foam, the size of a briefcase, had broken loose from the external fuel tank and blown a hole in the left wing."
"the orbiter the final part of the shuttle is safely here back on over three decades NASA's shuttle fleet has traveled over five hundred million miles"
"The 25th space shuttle mission has apparently ended in tragedy."
"It was about one minute into flight when the explosion took place but for 55 minutes, downrange about nine miles from the Kennedy Space Center, the debris continued to fall."
"I wanted to be an astronaut for as long as I can remember. I think I was inspired by the very first space shuttle launch in April of 1981."
"In so many ways, the Space Shuttle program was a massive success."
"The explosion of the Challenger didn't kill the astronauts, it was the fall back to Earth."
"It was so much fun today learning about space shuttles and space rockets, especially the space shuttle Atlantis."
"The space shuttle was the largest and most capable vehicle to visit the space station over its life."
"By having the nose down you actually have an aerodynamic force pushing the Orbiter down on the runway which increases your stability."
"The shuttle was an amazingly ambitious concept."
"Remember, recontacting the tank meant tiles hitting the tank. Those tiles are really fragile."
"The rules for Shuttle were that after any subsystem failure you have the capability to remain operational. No critical functions were lost."
"The concept of the Shuttle was extremely aggressive and the technology was being stretched and it was just barely possible. And, yet, we did it."
"The shuttle still fills me with a sense of awe."
"Endeavor OTC, it's your final voyage. This is both a sad and proud moment for your launch team and for America, but your legacy will live on."
"It is climbing like a homesick angel."
"It's also rocket fuel -- hydrogen and oxygen -- the same rocket fuel that powered the space shuttle."
"If the Space Shuttle were used as a global transport, safety and comfort standards could be comparable to those of a large transport jet."
"The shuttle becomes our number one priority, not the station, and the shuttle has to be designed to launch space station modules."
"The shuttle cannot be justified on a purely economic basis for the unmanned portion of the program."
"The legacy of Atlantis now in the history books."
"Discovery Houston, you are go at throttle up."
"We are in the 'Moving Beyond Earth' exhibition gallery, which is where we tell some of the stories of the space shuttle era."
"Landing day of a space shuttle mission was always a day of celebration at the Kennedy Space Center."
"The space shuttles were reusable vehicles that launched like a rocket, landed like a glider, deployed satellites, and helped build the International Space Station."
"Guidance now converging, Atlantis steering into the center lane of Highway 129 en route to the International Space Station."
"From a safety certification point of view on the Shuttle, we had to make sure that in no case could the payloads pose any hazard to the crew under any circumstances."
"We pledged to the families of the Columbia 7 that we would find the problem, fix it, and return to exploration objectives that their loved ones dedicated their lives to."
"The organizational causes of the accident are rooted in the space shuttle program's history and culture."
"Atlantis, departing the International Space Station for the last time."
"As the ISS now enters an era of utilization, we'll never forget the role the Space Shuttle played in its creation."
"So while we have the communication link up for the last time, we wanted to say thank you and farewell to the magnificent machines that delivered, assembled, and staffed our world-class laboratory in space."
"They said this particular space shuttle has had the most female astronauts in outer space."
"We've always been told that the shuttle was confined by consumables to seven-day missions, but now it's clear it can go a lot longer than that."
"There is nothing like actually crawling inside the shuttle that you're going to fly in."