My friend the space shuttle

I liked this nice video essay by science comedian Brian Malow, who reminisces about the life-long relationships that even those of use who've never gone to space have managed to form with the space shuttle. Bonus: You also get to watch him (successfully) propose to his girlfriend at the Discovery retirement launch back in February. It's touching, sweet, and (I think) speaks to the emotional resonance today's final flight has with a lot of average Americans.

Video Link

Maggie Koerth-Baker is the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of Before the Lights Go Out, a book about electricity, infrastructure, and the future of energy. You can find Maggie on Twitter and Facebook.

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Anonymous

Geez, I think of the space shuttle as my enemy. What at underspec’d, overwrought POS!

I favored the “fly to orbit” designs that were overruled due to excessive cost. Of course, the shuttle ended up costing vastly more than that type of design (where you could have carried 30 people into orbit while serving cocktails) because it was a fundamentally unworkable idea that had to be redesigned on the fly as it was being built… bazillions of uniquely shaped, hand-applied ceramic tiles that constantly have to be replaced – what a kludge!

I wasn’t the only one who was utterly shocked when NASA chose “The Yugo of Space Travel” (due to a ridiculously underpriced bid sheet). Let’s make something better, something that can literally fly into orbit from any international airport.
querent

i like the idea of a “video essay.”

i can haz the internet?
franko

aww – this made me teary for more than just a couple reasons. +1