Space Shuttle Parking Lot Redux: Only Two Missions Left

The last two (or three) missions of the Space Shuttle Program are soaring towards us faster than we’d like to believe. All the memories.

It seems like just yesterday that the primary objective of STS-1 was to just prove we could ascend into space at all. Oh, and come back without burning to a crisp.

Now we’re shooting robots up there all blasé. Yep, we’ve come a long way with Discovery and the whole Space Shuttle Program. It’s been a hell of a ride and It will be a shame to see it all come to an end.

You may remember, Motherboard was on Cape Canaveral for the fifth-to-last shuttle launch, STS-130 Endeavor when we shot Space Shuttle Parking Lot.

We were watching The Right Stuff and Heavy Metal Parking Lot twice a week at that point. The good old days.

While we were at Cape Canaveral and nearby Titusville, we covered some of the preparations at NASA, but our main focus was on the excitement of the fans who had come from far and wide for a grueling space shuttle tailgate.

On November 1st, the final Discovery mission (tear) will carry the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PDF) to the International Space Station. Robonaut 2 is on board and will function as a humanoid helper once it reaches space and goes through testing.

On Feburary 27th, 2011 NASA will bid adieu to the Space Shuttle Program with Endeavor after it deliver an EXPRESS Logistics Carrier-3 (ELC-3) and an Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to the International Space Station.

Read more on Motherboard about the Space Shuttle Program and Robonaut 2.