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I'm bill hubscher and I'm Lori Meggs and

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welcome to focus on Marshall we're here

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at the Kennedy Space Center Florida for

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a very special episode the final launch

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of space shuttle Endeavour right there

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on that pad we're going to be talking to

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a lot of the familiar faces from

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Marshall who have been working on this

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program some from the very beginning

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that's right we'll hear their special

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stories from working all across the

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shuttle era and some personal highlights

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and of course the Space Center has been

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a part of the shuttle program from the

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start it'll be really interesting to

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hear some of those folks thoughts and

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impressions so let's get out of this

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wind and get right to it I'm here now in

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the orbiter processing facility and

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behind me is space shuttle Atlantis

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getting ready for its final voyage

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specifically there are the Space Shuttle

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main engines and joining me now is Jerry

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cook he is the project manager for those

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main engines at marshall and jerry first

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of all what do you think of when you see

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that back there it's just a sense of

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pride it's been a great opportunity to

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be the manager the Space Shuttle main

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engine project they're truly a work of

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art and probably the most magnificent

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machines I've ever been around what's it

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been like over the years what are the

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accomplishments that that I mean that is

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a tried and true piece of hardware right

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that's correct it's over 30 years of

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history into space shuttle main engines

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and it's hard to really mention one or

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two defining moments it's grounded in a

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very active test program we have over a

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million seconds of hot fire data on

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those engines each evolution have

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improved the safety and reliability of

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the engines it's just been a great

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accomplishment it's probably the best

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rocket engine ever built tell me what

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it's going to be like when you see those

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engines fire up for the final time it's

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going to be a bittersweet moment it'll

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be any like any other mission it's going

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to be a sense of tension as we go uphill

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all the way through main engine cutoff

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and it'll be a sense of pride and

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accomplishment of being part of

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something like the human spaceflight

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program here with the nation and then

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it'll be bittersweet because we notice

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the last time we'll see those engines

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fly on an orbiter in today's

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configuration but you hope for the

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future right absolutely we hope to see

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them fly again in the future on some

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future launch vehicle well tell us about

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when we'll stop finally what's it going

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to be like personally for you will stop

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personally for me at first will be a

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little bit of relief because we know we

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have accomplished the mission and we

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brought the crew back home safely which

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is our utmost priority after that it

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will be just savor the moment and take

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it all in

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and look back on what I we've

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accomplished and again it'll be sad

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because we notice the orbiters last

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flight and atlantis will be going on to

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its final destination here to Kennedy

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Space Center really how cool is it for

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us to be right here beside it for a geek

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engineer this is great it doesn't get

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any better than this and it's the best

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part of the whole vehicle in my opinion

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of course I'm a little biased well I

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like it too I like being here thank you

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jerry we're here now with dr. Helen

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McConaughey she is the manager of

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shuttle propulsion systems at the

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Marshall Space Flight Center and dr.

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McConaughey you're a relative rookie to

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the shuttle program it being around for

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more than 30 years but you only been

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here for about eight right that's right

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i've been at marshall for over 25 but

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i've only been working in the shuttle

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project office for eight years looking

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back though at the entire program

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including the portion that you've been a

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part of what do you think are some of

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the highlights wow you know the shuttle

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with 30 years of flying has accomplished

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her and enabled many things when I do

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think back on all the different missions

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we've had though I would say the obvious

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ones would be the Hubble Space Telescope

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getting it up there and then the repair

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mission and the servicing mission that

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we did is really one of the biggies and

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then the other would of course would be

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all that we did to put the space station

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in place imagery analysis is one of the

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things that Marshall in particular has

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excelled at over or the years there's a

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group in engineering that's been doing

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this for years and years but they now

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can analyze imagery to great detail and

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give you sizes and location and help us

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to understand what what's actually going

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on out there let me ask you that when

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you finally see the endeavour take off

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from that pad out there here in just

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just a couple more days what's gonna

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feel you what's that feeling gonna be

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like for you Wow well my first one I'm

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going to be folk totally focusing until

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until it leaves the launch pad because

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then I can relax but I'd say once the

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main engines cut off and that really

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reflects our

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our job is finished and i think when i

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take my headset off and i realize it's

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the last time that i will wear it where

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they had said and be sitting there on

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console it's going to be i'm going to

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feel very sad but i'm also going to feel

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a real sense of gratitude for having mid

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part of the program even though it's

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only been eight years and just a sense

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of accomplishment and real joy and

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satisfaction over having been part of it

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dr. McConaughey I know you were very

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hard on this program for the short time

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you've been on it and we all definitely

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appreciate that and thanks very much for

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taking time today welcome wow what of

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you i'm here with David demon he is the

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reusable solid rocket booster project

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manager at Marshall and David tell us

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what we see behind us here well you'll

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see the external tank in the two solid

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rocket boosters it's the first stage

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propulsion for the space shuttle program

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let's talk about the major

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accomplishments for your project

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anything stick out to you well obviously

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coming out of the Challenger incident

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many years ago the redesign of the

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motors we've constantly driven toward

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perfection on the motors we've

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redesigned many things to add additional

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safety for the astronauts and you know

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it's just been an amazing right what's

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it going to be like for you and those

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motors fire up for the last time I guess

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when they first fire I'll be excited

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like always you know watching the first

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age and I guess after they separate and

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we know that the orbiter is safely in

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orbit it's going to be emotional you

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know coming to the end of a program with

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all the accomplishments knowing that's

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going to be the last one it's going to

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be it's going to be somewhat emotional

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what do you credit the success to the

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people there's no question that the

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people the reason we're successful not

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only the ones today but the amazing

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design engineers and program managers

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that started this program the guidance

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they provided us the hardware they

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provided us to maintain so it's the

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people all right David we look forward

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to that last launch thanks a lot I'm

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here now with John Honeycutt and he is

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the external tank project manager at

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Marshall and John first of all tell us

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how long you've worked with the shuttle

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program 22 years better part 22 years

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had a few stents away from the program

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six months to a year but and now you're

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the manager of the backbone to the space

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shuttle tell us what that means to you

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now you know it's not only just the

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hardware aspect of it the thing that has

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enabled us to get that backbone to where

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it is today is the people and when I

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talk about the people I'm talking about

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folks at Marshall Space Flight Center

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civil servants as well as our support

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contractors and our prime contractor at

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miss you and Lockheed Martin we got a

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great group of people in the

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organization that we have is enabled us

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to do what we've done over the years

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they've been lots of modifications and

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adjustments to the tank we think its

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greatest our was there's no doubt when

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the agency decided to build a space

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station and looked at ways to increase

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the payload for the vehicle or for the

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system ET stepped up to the plate went

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to aluminum lithium friction stir

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welding reduced the weight of the tank

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and enabled the agency to go and build

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the space station so when you see that

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final tank go up lets going to go

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through your mind then I'll be extremely

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proud of all the work that we've done

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it's it'll be a culmination of redesigns

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that have occurred throughout the years

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I alluded to the one on the

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super-lightweight tank but there's been

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several several redesigns more than a

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couple of dozen after Columbia and you

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know our goal was to make the last tank

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the best tank and we've done that it is

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the best tank all right tell me what

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what's going to go through your mind

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when when we see we'll stop on that

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final shuttle though I'll be extremely

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proud of what the team's accomplished

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the thing that jumps into my mind though

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is the the work that was done generation

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before us

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by the folks that got shuttled off the

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ground got it going where it is today

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now it's our job since shuttles going to

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be retired to pick up with the new Space

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Launch System and do what those guys did

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for shuttle we need we need to we need

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to get that space launch system it to a

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point to where we're looking back on it

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30 years from now and saying what a

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great program it's been the legacy

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continues thanks so much John we're with

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Jody singer she is the deputy manager of

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the shuttle propulsion elements and

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Jodie you've been with the program now

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in some way or another for more than 20

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years what are some of the highlights

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that you've seen on the shuttle program

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well there's a lot of highlights when I

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think about our ability to support the

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International Space Station I think

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about the changes that we've gone

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through as far as being able to launch

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super lightweight tanks and the main

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engines and the solid rocket boosters

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there's just a lot of technology that we

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brought into the space program and it's

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just wonderful to see it come to

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fruition and see it launch so what about

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some of the personal and professional

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highlights you've experienced while you

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were on shuttle well definitely in

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shuttle it's the people it's the

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commitment to the success of the shuttle

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the day-in day-out contributions that

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are folks have made their families

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across the entire Marshall Space Flight

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Center from the engineering Directorate

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to safety and mission assurance the

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project offices all the elements and our

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prime contractors they all make the

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shuttle successful it's their commitment

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their teamwork and day and day out the

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sacrifices they've made all right so

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Jody were we're not too far away from

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watching in Denver make its final trip

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into the into orbit how are you going to

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feel when you when you feel that

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rumbling sense see that plume of smoke

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is it as it launches for the final time

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I'm sure I'll have some tears but

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there'll be a lot of personal

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satisfaction knowing that you know a lot

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of us played a big part in making it

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successful but I will be sad it's been

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part of my life it's a commitment and a

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sense of pride and it's just amazing

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when you think about all the effort in

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the team work that went into making the

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shuttle successful but I will be sad I'm

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sure I'll shed some tears but then

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there'll be a lot of pride

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to that we've done a job well Joe do you

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think a lot of us are going to be right

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there with you thanks very much thank

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you i'm here with steve cash the manager

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of the shuttle propulsion office at the

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marshall center and Steve as you turn

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around and you look at endeavor on that

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pad tell me what goes through your mind

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a lot of pride it took a lot to get to

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this at this point is endeavors last

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flight last mission I think all the

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accomplishments that that have come and

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the technologies had be developed and

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the teamwork that that was required to

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to get to the pad just lots of pride in

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this thing for folks who may not know

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tell us about the shuttle propulsion

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systems that thing wouldn't get off the

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ground without that right they put about

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7 million pounds together combined

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between the solid rocket motors and the

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engines to get off this to get off this

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planet in your mind what is the shuttles

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greatest achievement greater success

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well you know when I sit back and think

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about all the successes that have come

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from the show and there's a lot of them

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you got to really concentrate on the

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station it took multiple missions took a

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lot of new technologies that that are

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now Apple here on earth but assembler

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that station has got to be the that

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crowning jewel of the shuttle program

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what about when we'll stop for the final

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time the final shuttle what's going to

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get through your mind then it's going to

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be a little sad I'm not going to catch

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you I'm probably still in denial I

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walked bad last week wouldn't anybody

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else out there except just a few people

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that were watching the taking care of

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the vehicle and and just slowly go from

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one top from the top to the bottom

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that's just probably a little bit of

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denial we've been doing this a long time

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and and so it'll be a little bit of

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sadness probably a lot of joy to I've

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talked a lot about about pride because

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there will be a lot of pride in the

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conference in our mission but there'll

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be a little sadness alright Steve thank

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you so much thank you i'm here with

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marshall center director Robert

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Lightfoot in Robert he worked on the

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shuttle program for how long

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well on and off since since i started in

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86 and talking about all the work over

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the years i don't know if you can narrow

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it down but maybe one or two highlights

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accomplishments personal highlights for

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you during this program oh man i think

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that that's a tough one but I I really

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believe in 10 or 15 years when people

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look back on the shuttle program the

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enabling and the building of the

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International Space Station is going to

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be one of the one of the the big

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memories about what shuttle has done for

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us clearly the Hubble will be there I

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mean Hubble is always going to be there

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Shandra that we did it huntsville is

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going to be there the big observatories

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I guess in general but I think the big

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highlight for me is is watching the team

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right i mean we this shuttle team is is

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so diverse and it's just an innocent ree

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that make that make that shuttle fly fly

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safely and watching that teamwork is

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pretty amazing what's it going to be

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like for you when well first of all when

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it lights up for the last time when

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those boosters light up and the engine

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slide up and it takes off and then and

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then when wheels finally stopped for the

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last one yeah i think you know when the

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Boosters and the engines light up I

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don't think it will be any different I

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really don't because that's kind of when

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you're you're so focused on making on

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watching and making sure everything's

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going the way it's supposed to go I

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think the harder part for me personally

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will be will stop when you realize that

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that that is it and we've got an

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Atlantis home safely and that the

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program is over that'll be that'll be

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tough but I think we'll try very hard to

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focus on just celebrate the successes

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like you said earlier try to try to

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celebrate what we accomplished with

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shuttle and the memories we have of each

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other as team members and and how we got

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there I think that'll be our big our big

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thing to deal with will stop is but it's

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gonna be hard on the first to say it's

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going to be tough all right thanks for

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offering thank you Bill has been such an

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honor to talk to folks who

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some of their whole lives their whole

404
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NASA careers on the space shuttle

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program to make it a success so you know

406
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it's great to be able to see this nasty

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part of work done here at Kennedy and

408
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also get to talk about this historic

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launch you're absolutely right about