Sweet! Well done.

I never get tired of watching NASA do what they do for all of us. I'm sad to think that we're seeing the end of an era.

I have no words, because Im so amazed! This is a great piece of Art. Thanks for sharing! Thanks for the magic!

Simply fantastic! An amazing video to watch. Thank you so much to those who put this together.

Excellent, a joy to watch.

This is one of the most amazing time lapse projects I have seen on the Space Shuttle process. I have always wanted to see exactly how all this wonderful technology came together. Sad to see the end of an era. This time lapse will be an inspiration to future engineers who plan and create the next generations of space craft. Thanks to the dedicated team who worked so hard to put this together!!

Fabulous!!

This is really cool! You can't get a more close-up look than this!

You rock Stan!

WOW! You guys have done an awesome job of honoring what we do at KSC. This is a truly stunning video. I've worked out there for 25 years and have never seen a flow put together like this in a video. Thank you, it was amazing.

That is incredible! Makes me wish I would have followed my childhood dream of becoming part of the space program in whatever way I could.

Wow! What a cool perspective. (I keep trying to see if my husband is in any of the frames....) Many thanks for assembling such great footage.

Yeah !!!!! That's what I'm talking about !!!
Great job

Brilliant! I'm awe struck.

Amazing coordination and execution. Kudos to many dedicated, creative people. Sure has raised my appreciation of what it takes to launch these vehicles.

Very sad to see this program come to an end prematurely. NASA/US is making a mistake.

That was a awesome video... Great job to NASA and to those that put this video together!!

Beautiful!. Great job guys.

Awesome work! What frame rate did you chose for the time lapse?

Amazing piece of work. No problem with having to wait thru an advert at the front, but it is such a shame that you chose to use the ooyala video streamer to make it virtually impossible to archive a copy. I would have loved to have this in my collection of coolest clips that I'll be able to play long after it dissapears off the site. Sharing is nice so please play nice!

Excellent movie, and very educational.
I am amazed how far the orbiter can move, entirely within the building, while being moved from the truck onto the side of the external tank.
After it was transported to the launch pad, I did not see the mobile platform moved out from under the launch stack before launch. Surely the mobile platform is not exposed to the flames?

this looks awesome

Great video Scott, from your old friend from JLA

You have to see it to believe it, Great job everyone. It is hard to believe this is coming to an end.

Remember this and all the people who earn their livings making it possible when you vote in Novemeber of 2010 and 2012. 'Ask NOT what your country can do for YOU...'

One word: COOL!!!

But there is just no way to reproduce the experience of hearing a shuttle launch.

Very well done.

That is soooo cooooool!!!! Kudos to the photographers and the whole NASA team.

Thank you Scott, Stan and Philip. Your work is worth more than you received, whatever it was. Yes, it's sad to see the program end. But the desire won't go away and, given time, another program will be initiated. Keep lookin' up!

I have had the privilege of working several Hubble Servicing Missions, and I have always wanted to take my wife and kids to the OPF, VAB, the pad, etc. This does that, and more. It is a great lasting tribute to the team that flies the Shuttle.

A true miracle of technology God has given man...thank you!

Watching the preparation itself was amazing, but even moreso, watching the time lapsed video was fantasic! Makes me proud to work at NASA! Thank you so much for sharing it!!

Beautiful and funny. Wonderful work.

Just one advice, play with the song "such great heights - The postal Service" delayed 15 seconds, one amazing video with the perfect song.

Great Work.

This is an amazing video, but the more I see about the shuttle, the angrier I get that NASA and Obama are throwing this all away. Yes, the three shuttles are dangerously obsolete, but the concept is sound. NASA has had thirty years to come up with things they could have done better, and should not retire these shuttles until they have a fleet of replacement shuttles built and ready to go.

This is the most AWESOME compilation and presentation of photos!!! Growing up as a Central Florida native, our family and neighbors gathered in the middle of the street at launch time to witness all of NASA's great work. Courtside beats streetside...hands down! Great job!!

That was just Marvelous, funny in parts, I mean that well tho. Loved it. God bless ya NASA. All the best from Ireland. Dan.

Just to say thank you for this video. It was truly fascinating to watch.

Cool video. I'm not anti-NASA or anti-space-exploration or anything, but one thing that stood out in this clip was the large number of people standing around and watching for long periods of time. Certainly there's reason for people to be supervising this process, but it doesn't seem particularly cost effective to have a five people standing together in one spot for an hour, while a crane operator moves the shuttle 100 feet.

Fantastic. Thank you NASA for inspiring those of us who love and teach science. This video will be added to my classroom collection!

I will always be a fan of space travel.....I know there will be a day when we once again travel from our earth to the skys in another generation of space craft..

Space,the final frontier. Great job everybody.

awesome. Thanks for sharing.

THAT WAS SO BAD ARSED!!!!!

In-credible!!
I wish you guys hadn't waited this late in the program to do this, but it a great piece of film.
Hats off to everyone at KSC who work so had to make dreams take flight.

I've worked at KSC since 1980 and have to say this video was very, very impressive, especially the stacking sequence. PHENOMENAL job! I sent this link to people everywhere so they could see what I've seen for 3 decades. Sure appreciate the time and effort the filmmakers put into this!!

Exquisite! What an elaborately made video. Too sad it's the end of an era.

Wow, that was an amazing look into all that goes on behind the scenes prepping for a shuttle launch, thank you.

That was an incredible look into the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes preparing for a space shuttle launch. Thank you, I've always wondered how a lot of it was done. My friend suggested playing some Benny Hill music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK6TXMsvgQg)playing in the background while watching this video and it does make it a richer experience. Thanks again.

Beautiful. Thankyou.

Amazing! I never thought about how they attached the shuttle to the rest of it. It was a little unclear if the giant cart used to move the whole assembled unit to the launch pad was left there, or if that last hinged assembly freed the cart so it would not be damaged at liftoff. I assume the latter.

FANTASTIC!!! So sorry to see the program end.

EXCELLENT JUST EXCELLENT!

A wonderful video, thank you.

I counsel the Space Exploration Merit Badge for our troop and over the weekend we camped at Greenbelt National Park. Our host was a retired NASA engineer that worked on the construction of the fuel storage tank and he described this exact process to our boys. The next day we toured the facilities at GSFC and we got to see a lot of the things that make NASA so great. Thank you for this and I can't wait to share it with our boys!

This brought tears to my eyes. How beautiful. Thank you so much.

I always wondered how the shuttle went from horizontal at landing, to vertical and ready for take-off again. Now I know. Thank you for that too!

Since my tax dollars helped pay for this I would at least like to have a copy for my hard drive. And I would like to add music to it .

Watched the first launch into space listening to Walter Cronkite so long ago and it gave me chills then as it did just now viewing "Go For Launch". Wonderful job, incredible effort on all involved. To all of you I say, "Let Your Spirit Soar".

Thank you for the beautiful film - I love the shuttle program!

Simply amazing stuff. I was there 2 years ago.

Very nice. My son is nine. He wants to work for NASA so bad. I told him, the world is at the palm of his hands. He can do whatever he want's. Just stay focused on your dreams and believe in yourself. Thank. :)

This is the most awesome thing I have ever seen in my life!

Nice video work! I didn't see the Payload Canister transfer of the payload to the Orbiter while at the pad. That is ulimately why orbiters are launched.

Thank you NASA for all you've done for our country and our earth over the last 50 years. You are my hero!

Thank you NASA for all you have done for our country and our earth over the last 50 years. I have such happy memories of Alan Shepherd and John Glenn making me aware of the Space Program. Then Gemini, Appolo, Sky Lab and Challenger are all great accomplishments to be thanked and remembered All the astronauts who accomplished these missions, I thank you. I hope to see Kennedy Space Center before I die.

Sweet, Well done.
But, hey, Smithsonian, lose the spam video adverstisement at the beginning. It demeans the grandeur and beauty of the presentation, and, frankly, I think is pretty low for a Government institution to accept taxpayers to mindless commercialism.

Lose the ads.

James EDITORS' REPLY: The magazine is actually not a government organization, and not funded by taxpayer money. We are part of the institution's business enterprise division. This is why the magazines and the magazines' web sites take advertising.

Absolutely AMAZING video!! I was glued to the screen. Thank you for sharing and making me proud.

Wow! Brilliant! Thanks!
-Jz

Absolutely amazing.
Some suitable music wouldn't hurt this production one bit though. Still, r e s p e c t :-)

I thank God for NASA and their amazing employees who have backstopped me with personal time helping a rookie on the internet to get his act together with large scale data management.. way back in the day when "Ah there you are!" was launching and then when I retired and morphed into "Good morning eNews" You are the kindest, most humble people on Earth.. going where no man has gone before to touch the face of God!

Love always,
Dick Cook
Virginia Beach VA USA

How can we do this and NOT be able to stop the gulf oil leak?

Wow. It took me a while after the video finished to think of any comment beyond that. I've recovered enough now to say it was fascinating watching what went into the launch and I'm glad to have that background to it. But the moment of greatest impact was that amazing blast-off. Wow.

Simply amazing. I have seen a launch from the beach
in Titusville but this video makes you feel as you are
there. Bravo.

Spectacular, awe-inspiring...and very humbling!

Spectacular, awe-inspiring...and very humbling!

This is way cool. Watched this serveral times myself and then shared it with my co-workers and they very much enjoyed it,as well. Absolutely Amazing and Very Well Done.
Thank you for taking the time to produce the video.

Hurray for technology!

Thank you, That was simply AWESOME!

THIS IS SO VERY AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, AND AWESOME.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SHARING THIS WITH US.

Brilliant, bravo. I crave a high definition version. Please share!

Beyond cool! Artistically fantastic, and technically moving. I dont think I can best any of the other comments, in that it shows the excellence of Nasa, and the people who work there. We have to keep this going people. NASA and what it stands for is too important to lose not only for our country, but for the world as a whole.
WAY COOL!

wonderful to watch - i will miss the space shuttles and i truly hope that something can be done to change the minds of the folk in Washington DC. as a student of earth and planetary sciences i found this very interesting. why get rid of something that is working and has rare problems.

Especially nice as we just returned from seeing the STS-132 launch at KSC. Thanks for your excellent work. You should see if KSC is interested in showing this piece in their VAB/launch stop of the bus tour. It would be better than the video they show now - or perhaps they could complement one another.

As a "thank you" for your great work here, I joined the Smithsonian today. EDITORS' REPLY: We thank you back, and appreciate your generosity.

This is amazing,great photographers,awesome pictures. Keep up the good work, keep them coming.

One of the best videos I've ever seen. Very well done. Only missing was me in the space shuttle ;)

That was soooo amazing!! When they hoisted the big Bird up on the crane and turned her up on her butt, my jaw fell open! I never knew they did that!! (That's one impressive crane!!!) And I've always loved watching them ride along the road to the launch pad, but watching it in fast motion was totally cool! Thank you for putting this together!! I may watch it a few more times!

Adding my thanks to NASA, the people who work there and the dedicated photographers. Very interesting and well done.Viewed this on the start of Memorial Day weekend. How appropriate!

Thank you for making this vidio. I just retired from working 20 years at KSC. I already miss being part of the many men and womem who prepare the shuttles for launch. It will be hard to not seeing the launches, but everything has its time and it now time for the next adventure.God bless the people who worked to keep the shuttles launching.

Fantastic video. Thank you and I thank NASA. To go from this to an expendable capsule is such a step backwards.

A lovely piece of time lapse photography - I come from the era of the first Sputnik launch when space travel had only lived in the imagination, and then came true. I only wish the current Administration would accept what citizens of this country view as one of its most important contributions and accomplishments, then stand firm to continue it.

An astonishing reminder that mind-bogglingly enormous challenges can be met when humans pool their talents and resources. Anything's possible.

This is awesome. I, too, am saddened to see the NASA program be stopped. Hopefully we will find a way to continue. God has given men and women such talent to achieve all of this. One of the years I lived in Orlando, my employer actually shut down the office so we could go out and watch a launch from the parking lot. Thank you for this incredible work. Make it something we can "save".

Wonderfull Job, great tribute to this bird and all the team.
Excellent.
Antoine

This is such a joy to watch. I still feel goose bumps every time I see the shuttle being launched. Thank you so much for making this video and making it something to remember. Too bad this is the end of an era. God has truly blessed me to live in this time to see so many awesome things.

Such an excellent video. Now if only I could capture this and burn it to a DVD.

If they can do this, they can do anything... I love NASA...

NASA needs to help BP plug the hole!

Awesome job capturing the launch sequence. I worked on the avionics back in the beginning -- hate to see it end but proud to have had a small part in the start up.

WOW this is amazing to see.
Great job to all the NASA people that worked on this.
God Bless You All

Awesome!
Thank you all for taking time to make this video :-)

The greatest video I have seen on the Space Shuttle.

Thank you to all who were a part of the process and thank you to all who have served in the space program over all these years.

Peter J. Rosa, SMSgt (E-8), USAF, Retired

maybe it's just me... but i didnt hear any music during the time lapse? only audio i heard was at the end when ignition starts up. EDITORS' REPLY: There is no music.

SIMPLY AMAZING SORRY TO SEE IT BEING SHUT DOWN USED TO WATCH I SITTING IN MY DRIVE WAY IN DAYTONA BEACH

OVER THE TOP IN ALL ASPECTS.
A PRESENT ACTUALLY...A GIFT...THANK YOU
Nancy Smyth-Myers Makaha

A wonderful piece of video. So much excellence has gone into the entire space program. I hope our nation can keep the initiative and the will to sustain and continue to build this program in the future.

What a waste of tax money. If space exploration is so great let private enterprise fund it!

Absolutely amazing!! And a special treat, after having toured the KSC many years ago, and actually seeing the size of the huge buildings the shuttles are built in! Sad to see the program come to such an abrupt end. Thanks for making this video...God bless you all!!

Great work again guys.

This was just great! Always a thrill to watch.

Thank you for making and sharing this compilation. Totally Awesome!!! I have always been a big fan of the space program and NASA, especially the Shuttle program. My wife and I were at the launch of STS131, thus checking off of my bucket list: To view a Shuttle launch in person. The Kennedy Space Center has put together a terrific tour and display of their facility and history of space exploration. It is very inexpensive for what you see and learn. I can't wait to go back. we did not have enough time to see it all.

I had NO idea that is how it's done. I was with GE Silicones working out of our City of Industry office back in 1980 when the tiles were an issue and my side kick Phil Lavan was the primary sales person from our office. Now to see this is absolutely INCREDIBLE!!!

Take away all the paperwork and tech & quality stamps and look what can happen! HA HA! Great Work...

Folks:
Very nice, showing of something that was never shown all these years.
Just what do we have to replace it, now that it will be retired?

How about round disk shaped and using "Anti-Gravity" system that we have done "NO" research into. We all have an idea of how it should work, but no money has been spent or allocated.

We need to get this done.
I'm working on some experiments, but nothing yet.
Also, not any funding, it all comes out of my own pocket.

BOB.

Great use of angles and technology Scott! The variety of your perspectives helps bring us that much closer to the action. Great time lapse. Bravo!!

Fantastic!!!
Well worth viewing. We need more space exploration to further our knowledge of the unknown.

Amazing! Beautiful! Can't say enough about this great film, and this wonderful Space program! Loved it and sending it to my Grandchildren!

This was, indeed, an amazing compilation of the "journey to the journey." One thing that struck me in the detailed photos was how battle-scarred the shuttle is up close. We usually only see it as a shiny silver bird from afar, rather ethereal. These photos add realism to the whole, mind-blowing concept of man-made vehicles in space. Bravo!

I was one of the fortunate ones to work on the Space Shuttle Main Engines while in Canoga Park, California. It has been an honor to be associated with this wonderful program. I am saddened to see it coming to an end. Let us not forget those things that have led this Country to greatness! Well done gentlemen!

Thank you Scott, Stan and Phillip! I am amazed! This was absolutely marvelous. Thank you, thank you for sharing this incredible video. You have made my day.

COOL!

Amazing video. I was up close for STS-130's launch and would have been there for this one if the date hadn't been changed. Watching the launch is one thing...feeling it is a totally different experience! Lived on Merritt Island at age 10 when we toured KSC and was shown a table-top model of a shuttle being touted as 'the next upcoming space craft from NASA.' Was hooked then and there and now at 46 I still cannot get enough! Thank you for this video!

Life is sweet for the government's company.
Bunch of people standing around. only one or two actually working...

This video demonstrates that:

Bail-outs, Mideast warfare and manhunts from Iraq to Iran, BP
oil-spills, North Korea nasties, China rising and NASA "space
explorations; are all wastes of what were once good U.S. dollars.

Count the ways that these same hard-earned, tax-payer dollars
could be spent to bring the lives of humans, the environment
back from the catastrophic precipice that this country approaches.


What is our government attempting to prove by its arrogant, our way
or no way extravagance, empire building and bullying of the
rest of the Earth. We are in very, very deep trouble.

Is it too late to correct our course and join the rest of humanity
and all other living things? My 90 years of living says, "YES, it
it is long past salvage----this country is doomed."

NASA is awesome! Lets see any other country even come close!

I am a machinist at the NSLD for United Space Alliance and I have seen alot of videos but this one is the best! I hope every single American citizen get to view this piece of history! Keep up the great work.

This is totally out of this world. Hope NASA continues with its program.

It is a joy of seeing, indeed. The latest technology give everyone chance to see what had not been seen before by anyone, and it is so beautiful and splendid..... Thanks you guys (Phillip-san, especially).

Great job!!! Thanks for your diligence and hard work. Awesome!

I am always amazed at how proud it makes me feel every time there is a launch. I certainly hope this country does not stop space flights and the search for the unknown. What an amazing job everyone does at the Space Center. Thank you!

Obama is stupid for canceling the shuttle program before another one is in place to replace it. Like handing over the "High Ground" to the Russians and Europeans.

SPECTACULAR! GOD I miss being part of that program and now thanks to the likes of the current administation canceling such projects it may be decades before we get back to such a pinnacle of technology and exploration!

At least I know I contributed! NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), EAFB 1991-1994

This was amazing - and awe-inspiring. Still can't believe this STS era is coming to a close - too soo, way too soon...

I have seen the very first and I hope I will see many more. I will never be more amazed.

Thanks for sharing
this is so beautiful

THIS IS SO COOL!!!

It does not get any better than that.

So awesome, I want to cry. I also saw the beginning so many years ago, and now... One thing to remember though, pride goeth before a fall, so please, please, be careful.

Very cool! Let's keep this thing flying till we get another viable people/equipment mover up and running! Our astronauts could be stuck without a ride for awhile if we don't.

At my age of 64, I have always been impressed by our space program; this video stands for all of you not only with the on site work, flight crew, but also with the hidden workers behind the scenes and the manufacturers.
I am proud to be an American!

Having done some NASA work back in the days of real competence and been to a take-off later it is sad to see the demise of our NASA due to government dysfunctionality over time. Particularly when compared to world activity surpassing our USA on all fronts.

Incredible, Fantastic & Totally Amazing! It's really cool to see what actually goes on behind the scenes to ready the Shuttle for launch. The spectacular nighttime launch was the icing on the cake! Thanks to the filmmakers and to the men & women of NASA (and contractors) that allowed us to witness such a feat. I'm very sorry to see the program winding down, especially without a replacement program for the foreseeable future. Semper Exploro!

this video is 3min 52 seconds,how long is the video
in real time? it's still interesting to watch none
the less.

Sad to think that after the final launch later this year, all those 'little ants' running around the STS as it moves over to the assembly building will be retiring or job-searching. Life's tough, but what a great job they and their predecessors did for their country's engineering reputation and for those of us who admire human achievement on the grand scale.
Alan Lyne
Carlisle
Cumbria, UK

UNBLIEVABLE THANKS

What a totally awesome video!
While, at times, parts of it reminded me of my son, Matt, playing with his legos years ago, the final scenes were a testament to America's continuing strength in science and technology. WHAT POWER!
Very nicely done. Thanks.

WOW! You guys are amazing, if you've never seen a launch up close you don't know what you're missing. I think it's a big mistake to be sutting down this program; you guys do a great job!

I hate to be the one, but where's the "glimpse of Discovery and the STS-131 astronauts coming in for a landing 15 days later"?

Thanks.

Absolutely brilliant!

Congratulations to all people and workers that make possible the project and the reality of the Space Shuttle. Nice video. Barcelona (Catalunya).

Why in the world are we (USA) wanting to retire our most successful manned space vehicle - are we (NASA and White House) totally nuts?

That is too cool for school. I'm dumbfounded by our ingenuity.

Fascinating!! We flew to Florida to watch this launch - so interesting to see everything that went into the preparation! Gives me chills every time I watch this.

This is like the coming true of a dream I had when I was in the Dutch Air Force taking care of old Spitfires and other WW2 planes. Then later the first manned space vehicle spun up from Cape Canaveral; my wife and I watched , threw our hats in the air. ! And now this Space Shuttle's tour and blasting off into space- just incredible, but true! If you must give the skies and planets rest for a while,don't make it long please.

Great photography and composition, however,
still think attempting to launch four...count 'em...four vehicles at once with thirteen hundred mission critical components is a dicey concept at best. fourteen people have perished so far in that configuration

I apologize if sentences are strange because I'm not good at english.
It's very very cool!!
It seemed to see the one scene of the drama.
The sound,the flash・・・・・

It's very nice video!! Thanks(*^ｰﾟ)v

Fantastic video, great job. I was fortunate to see this launch from afar.

Magnificent! It's like a cross between an ant colony and a beautiful ballet. Proud to be an American.

This is a beautiful production of a beautiful and amazing process. I remember when my daughter was young and overused the term "awesome". I explained to her then that the space shuttle is awesome and she never overused that word again. I have seen every liftoff and will miss this. Thanks for capturing it so well.

Wow! As a child I was raised as a Space Center Brat. I'm very sad to see the missions to space end here on the Florida space coast. I guess will pay for other countries to keep us in space...

This is so AWESOME!

Thrilling. I thought all those words of Magnificent, Awesome, and include Wow, too. These images, especially seeing the shuttle tilting to its vertical position, are Amazing. I am most proud of my tax dollars having gone to this endeavor, and, I am thankful I am alive at the point in history we have gone into space. Thanks so very much.

Really really amazing video art. Beautiful. Can't begin to imagine what it takes to get people into space.

http://darinselby.1hwy.com/floattospace.html tells how BUOYANCY could really accomplish just about everything that we're trying to do in an environmentally benign way.
Who among us carries enough weight with their words, willing to step forward and passionately say, "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" & really start humanity thinking and moving in the direction of floating to space, and all of its many merits over solid fuel rocketing?

Michael Molen, Sanswire's chief executive says, "Floating in the stratosphere at an altitude of about 20km (13 miles), the airship will behave just like a geostationary satellite, hovering over a particular spot and relaying radio signals to and from the ground. Such airships will, however, be much cheaper to launch and maintain than satellites—and can do things that satellites cannot. A single airship could potentially provide coverage over an area of nearly 800,000 square kilometres, or about the size of Texas.after hovering for 18 months they are recovered for servicing and then relaunched."