and nasa under statement they're called critical items. we've marvels at nasa's pictures in orbit. it seems downright roomy inside. >> it does look big on tv. that's a deception that's created by the cameras. actually they have a very limited amount of room. >> reporter: inside atlantis reporter dressed in a clean room suit barely has time to stand up straight. everywhere inside you see patches of velcro to keep things put. astronauts are often reminded about leaving things behind. some engineers say a staple left floating was inhaled by an astronaut almost forcing an emergency landing, nasa denies that story. >> it's a very unique toilet. it has started out some manholes and that kind of thing to keep you into place so you don't go floating about. there's a vacuum, when you go it's a vacuum. it's sucked right down there through a one way valve. >> reporter: overflow dumps into space through this port. once a chunk of well yellow ice broke off and actually damaged the shuttle exterior. in this hall, those fragile heat shield tiles made of puffed glass up to 5 inches thick are simpl

for us at nasa, failure is not an option. we have the opportunity to raise the bar and demonstrate what humans can do if we are challenged and inspired to reach out for something just out of our grasp but not out of our sight. host: to you. guest: i think he's been given a difk that is very, very difk that is very, very what we have heard from many of our international partners is that the mud while very very difficult is within reachac whereas when we talk w about gog to mars or many of our national partner say well we can't do that or that is beyond us. and i don't believe there is going to be a major space exploration activity cost is too high, thiss too difficult. the reasons for doing it are interer national. bringing the russians into the space station program is the way they symbolized the relationship with russia. we know john kennedy went to the moon in part. how do we integrate and engage. not on the space station but on the next journey. this viewer who tweets to us, mission to march will reveal -- indicate future

nasa administrator charles boldin. [applause] >> for looking out at this audience and recognizing those of you here, it is a very humbling feeling to have this opportunity to represent what i think are one of the two most incredible organizations on the face of the earth. that is being nasa. the other is the united states marine corps. i am especially proud to represent the nasa team, to be joined by my deputy, who is a long time space enthusiast. she ran the national space society for a while. she is a space buff like i am. she has a son and 16-year old, a good football player. i was a lousy football player, blessed to have my starting quarterback go down, so i could get in the game. but not throw or run. when my starting quarterback was injured, five father saw me. i could see his heart start to pound. he called me up and told me to go in. his only words to me were, do not throw a football. it was on the evening that the day that president kennedy was assassinated. it is a day i shall long remember as a dark evening,

what's next for nasa? >> you know, mars has been 20 years in the future for the last 30 years. >> reporter: and could commercial space travel be on the horizon? >>> hello. i'm john zarrella, and this is the space shuttle "atlantis." on the 17th of may, it rolled from the orbiter processing facility to the vehicle assembly building a quarter-mile away. the last time a shuttle would make the journey. bringing a glorious, sometimes tragic, era one step closer to the end. but was it worth it? three decades in low earth orbit not venturing outward. if you ask the man commanding the last shuttle flight -- >> it was a successful program. we essentially have command of low earth orbit. >> reporter: if you ask the men who walked on the moon -- >> once you've been to the moon, staying home is not good enough. i'm an exploration guy. i want to go where man has never gone before. before gene, the last man to make his walk on the moon a journey, man had a reusable spacecraft. >> i have a model of the shuttle. >> from t

great day for nasa. much more from kennedy space nation coming up on "newsnation." >>> former senator and astronaut bill nelson will join me live next, and he calls it quote, a human tragedy, that thousands of americans will lose their jobs with the end of the program, but what is ahead? and i will talk to winston scott who became the second african-american to walk into space from america. and also, virgin galactic wants to make sure that space tourism is a reality. are you willing to go up? and how much would it cost you? virgin's ceo will join me live. first, some shuttle triviaer for you. what are the nicknames for the "atlantis's commander chris ferguson and pilot doug hurley? i love this answer, and we will give it to you after the break. s use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. good morning, students. today we're gonna continue... we know right from wrong. and we know the ads blam

what's next for nasa? >> mars isn't 20 years in the future for the last 30 years. >> and could commercial space travel be on the horizon? >> hello. i'm john zarrella. and this is the space shuttle atlantis. on the 17th of may it rolled from the orbiter processing facility to the vehicle assembly building a quarter mile away. the last time a shuttle would make the journey. a glorious, sometimes tragic era one step closer to the end. but was it worth it? three decades in low et orbit not venturing outward. >> folks, how are you doing? >> if you asked the man commanding the last shuttle flight, it was a successful program. we essentially have command of lower earth orbit. >> the challenger has landed. >> if you ask the men who walked on the moon. >> once you've been to the moon, staying home is not good enough. i'm an exploration guy. i want to go where man has never gone before. >> i was strolling on the moon one day in the merry merry -- >> before gene cernan, the last man to walk on the moon had made his j

the lives of nasa employees forever. i want to bring in my colleague john zarrella, and cati eshe an also senator bill nelson with us. what did it mean to you? >> well, it was the end of two horrific tragedies. our flight was "challenger" 1986, and human mistakes of communication is what caused both space shuttles to be destr destroyed, but they have all of that worked out. it is an incredible flying machine, but it is being shutdown because after "columbia's" destruction the investigation board said to build a safer rocket that can replace the space shuttle, fly the space shuttle as long as you have to build the space station, and that's what this mission today carrying up cargo will complete that process. >> it seems like when you talk about the future of the space program, we are looking at a bunch of different things, and in terms of manned space flights, there's a lot in doubt about what the future really holds that talked about going for orbiting an asteroid or talked about perhaps going to mars some day, but the t

i was a nasa astronaut and i left nasa four months ago and came over to space x. i was happy seeing what is happening and seeing it being unleashed in the private industry and opportunities for happy rosy future for human space flight. my job is convert this capsule, dragon spacecraft which carries cargo to the space station and convert it to carry people. >> by the way, how does it work? does nasa by seats or is it like a rents carental car? >> we have to work it out with nasa. from our view, either way is fine. we are providing the rocket and spacecraft and who sits behind the controls, that is something that we will talk -- >> are you going back in space with space x? >> it's not why i came to space x. i wouldn't rule it out as a possibility. i felt it was time to move on and give others a chance. >> what are your hopes for what nasa ends up doing beyond this? >> my hopes are, one, that nasa and commercial industry learn how to work together and that relationship goes well. and that we continue and that we continue to be support not only by nasa but also by gon

and nasa says it's not doable. so you are at a point right now where the fundamental entities and government that pay attention in space don't agree on either the mission, how to get there, just don't know where you are going, and how much it's going to cost and when time frame you can do it in? >> suarez: do you have to move quickly to solve that tension? >> i think you do. i think the likelihood of that happening is very low. space politics are such that it only comes up every few years that congress and the executive branch have the willpower to make big decisions. we tend to find that in an authorization bill where we try to lay out a certain framework for the agency in the future. having done that once and spilled a lot of political blood in the small arena of space politics, i don't detect a lot of eagerness to to do it again. >> suarez: implicit in many of the public statements as to what happens with nasa now is this idea that if you aren't moving forward, are's moving backward that in space there is no suc

what's next for nasa? >> mars isn't 20 years in the future for the last 30 years. >> and could commercial space travel be on the horizon? >> hello. i'm john zarrella. and this is the space shuttle atlantis. on the 17th of may it rolled from the orbiter processing facility to the vehicle assembly building a quarter mile away. the last time a shuttle would make the journey. a glorious, sometimes tragic era one step closer to the end. but was it worth it? three decades in low earth orbit not venturing outward. >> folks, how are you doing? >> if you asked the man commanding the last shuttle flight, it was a successful program. we essentially have command of lower earth orbit. >> the challenger has landed. >> if you ask the men who walked on the moon. >> once you've been to the moon, staying home is not good enough. i'm an exploration guy. i want to go where man has never gone before. >> i was strolling on the moon one day in the merry merry -- >> before gene cernan, the last man to walk on the moon had made hi

what's next for nasa? >> mars isn't 20 years in the future for the last 30 years. >> and could commercial space travel be on the horizon? >> hello. i'm john zarrella. and this is the space shuttle atlantis. on the 17th of may it rolled from the orbiter processing facility to the vehicle assembly building a quarter mile away. the last time a shuttle would make the journey. a glorious, sometimes tragic era one step closer to the end. but was it worth it? three decades in low earth orbit not venturing outward. >> folks, how are you doing? >> if you asked the man commanding the last shuttle flight, it was a successful program. we essentially have command of lower earth orbit. >> the challenger has landed. >> if you ask the men who walked on the moon. >> once you've been to the moon, staying home is not good enough. i'm an exploration guy. i want to go where man has never gone before. >> i was strolling on the moon one day in the merry merry -- >> before gene cernan, the last man to walk on the moon had made hi

we'll get a glimpse of nasa's future. it's pretty amazing. that's coming up in 20 minutes. >>> a chance for strong storms in the upper midwest, central plains today. we check in with meteorologist reynolds wolf at the weather center, see how it looks. pretty bad out there in some areas. >> it is certainly possible. looks like that will start developing later on in the day. today, we've had rumbles in parts of south georgia. we zoom in with our radar, voila, there it is. easy to see. you see the reds, oranges popping up on the screen. just some thunderstorms developing south of vidalia, just due west to the waycross at this point. but later on today, looks like the key place where we might see some development will be across parts of the midwest, perhaps even more of that thunderstorm activity in minneapolis. we've already had a few thunderstorms there this morning. in fact, we also have a live image in minneapolis. there you go, right there in the foreground, you see the mississippi river, you see the i-35 bridge, and the beautiful city right

what's next for nasa? >> you know, mars has been 20 years in the future for the last 30 years. >> reporter: and could commercial space travel be on the horizon? >>> hello. i'm john zarrella, and this is the space shuttle "atlantis." on the 17th of may, it rolled from the orbiter processing facility to the vehicle assembly building a quarter-mile away. the last time a shuttle would make the journey. bringing a glorious, sometimes tragic, era one step closer to the end. but was it worth it? three decades in low earth orbit not venturing outward. if you ask the man commanding the last shuttle flight -- >> it was a successful program. we essentially have command of low earth orbit. >> reporter: if you ask the men who walked on the moon -- >> once you've been to the moon, staying home is not good enough. i'm an exploration guy. i want to go where man has never gone before. before gene, the last man to make his walk on the moon a journey, man had a reusable spacecraft. >> i have a model of the shuttle. >> report

this is nasa's final shuttle mission and lightning strike near the launch pad yesterday worried nasa engineers before they determined it didn't cause any damage. if nasa has to scrub the launch, engineers will try it again over the weekend. but if they can't launch before monday, they'll have to put it off until next weekend. >>> a look at the morning's other top stories now. maryland voters will get to decide the fate of a controversial law in may governor martin o'malley signed a measure allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state college tuition. it was supposed to take effect july 1st, but it was not because opponents were working to collect enough signatures to take the issue to a public vote. the drive worked and the referendum will be held late next year likely. >>> prince george's county public schools will have to pay millions of dollars to the labor department as part of a settlement involving teachers from other countries. the labor department will use the money to reimburse teachers who were forced to pay fees the school system was supposed to cover. also prince george's

she is a nasa astronaut, former nasa astronaut from elmira, new york. and eileen, i've got to get your thoughts as we tick down the clock here and wait five minutes away as we watch the end of this space program. >> well, good morning. it's great to be with you today. i am very, very excited, like i always am when a shuttle launch countdown's taking place. today especially i'm sad, sad to see the shuttle program go. i'm sad for the people at kennedy and houston who will be losing their jobs, very talented people, with technical engineering skills, and hopefully the country can follow on the shuttle with something new and exciting to take us to new destinations. that's my hope today. >> but that's a part of -- yeah. and that is the hope of so many. there's a big controversy, as you mentioned. i wanted to point out you that were part of the first flight of "discovery," the new joint russia-america space program. and tom and i have been talking about this new relationship, if you will, that we will have, that our astronauts will be shuttled by the russians

so where is nasa going next? well, while the destination may still be unclear, the training has already begun right here in the waters of the florida keys. here at quicken loans, we take special pride in servicing clients that serve our country. my name is marjorie reyes. i'm a chief warrant officer. i am very grateful and appreciative that quicken loans can offer service members va loans. it was very important for me to be able to close and refinance my home quickly. i wanted to lower my mortgage payment. quicken loans guided me through every step of the process. the whole experience was amazing! [ tony ] serving those who serve us all... one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. [ pneumatic wrench buzzing ] [ slap! slap! slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums >>> surrounded by the blackness of deep space 117 million miles from earth is the asteroid vesta. images cap

nasa administrator charles bolden. [applause] >> thank you for that introduction, mark, and to the members of the press club for inviting me to speak this afternoon. i also want to thank my nasa team, who supports me every day, especially my deputy, lori garver, who is here with us today. also with us is one of the amazing astronauts who made the space shuttle program what it is. i am especially proud to be here representing the nasa team, to be joined by my deputy, who is a long time space enthusiast, as a matter of fact. many in the know her because she ran the national space society for a while and is probably, if not as much, maybe even more of a space buff and i am. be sure something else in common. she has a son who is 16 who is a football player. he is a good football player. i was lousy. he was blessed to have my starting quarterback, down till i get in the game. i could not throw. i could not run. when my starting quarterback was injured, my father looked down the bench and saw me. i could see his heart start

i want to show you pictures from nasa. later on we will spend the rest of the program talking about the final space shuttle mission -- looking back at the goals of the past 30 years, how much cost us to do it. what the investment was and what kind of return. you see the lineup of astronauts as they make their way to the shuttle. the weather has been dicey. there has been some talk about whether it will be able to go off. corpus christi, texas. arthur is a republican. caller: thank you. i always get nervous when i call you guys. so, please, bear with me. host: you do not sound a bit nervous. caller: back in the 1990's when i was in my 40's i figured out my retirement plan, which i was going to work until i drop. and i became disabled, and i have been disabled for 11 years. this talk about cutting social security and medicare -- you know, it is ridiculous. why big money always have to throw the burden on the backs of the poor. and i know people who will end up out on the streets if they go through with any major cuts in thes

an exciting morning over at nasa in mountain view. that's as the tip of the day is this, look at the colors of the spring mix, this is a whole bunch of baby lettuce. take a look at this, all together, at one time it was expensive now they retail between 3.99 and 4.99 a pound. you can make a salad for four or five people. you have to make sure there's dodges in the display. when you -- there's tongs in the display, the colors need to be nice and bright. no yellow. when you bring them home, open up the bag so they can breathe merchandise the fridge. if you do not do that, they will decay 5-10 times faster and one more thing, in the store, it not getting wet. you know, a lot of times you go to the retail area and the mist comes down, when the water hits the lettuce it breaks them down. do not wash it before you store it but watch them before eating it and pat them dry with a paper towel. spring mix in the summer, it's a wonderful thing. bye bye. >>> and an exciting morning over at nasa in mountain view, large crowds gathered to watch the

quÉ esperamos ahora del programa de la nasa? >> con la conclusiÓn del programa del trasbordador espacial, tenemos nuevos retos y destinos. >> cuÁles son esos destinos? >> quizÁs regresar a la luna y tambiÉn a un asteroide o a marte. >> el presidente barak obama ha dicho que para el 2025 espera estar en algÚn asteroide y en el 2030 marte? >> asÍ es. y se requieren nuevos cohetes y nuevas naves espaciales. >> hay un aspecto negativo y se refiere a los despidos que van a haber por este cierre. >> incluyen cambios en los programa que tenemos hoy en dÍa. al concluir el programa del trasbordador espacial cerramos este capÍtulo y esto incluye a personas que preparaban el trasbordador. >> de cuÁnta gente estamos hablando? >> de dos mil a 4 mil personas supÉrspcles transmito mi gran emociÓn de haber sido partÍcipe de esta historia. >> vamos a ver el estado del tiempo en toda la naciÓn. >> acÁ mucho calor. >> se extiende, no? ♪ ♪ >> asimismo, sacha y fÉlix, el calor se extiende al sureste de la naciÓn. mÁs de 100 grad

i'm live at nasa ames in ta

nasa engineers determined the spaceship is a-ok. joel brown has more on the shuttle program which first took off in 1981. >> launch teams are not working issues right now. >> space shuttle "atlantis" is getting fueled up and ready to go. >> countdown has resumed. >> reporter: this morning, nasa moved ahead with its final launch despite a bleak forecast. >> i wish i had better weather for you but we'll have a 70% chance due to the showers and thunderstorms we expect in the area. >> heavy rain pounded the region thursday in a lightning strike near the launchpad sparked concern before they determined there was no damage. they'll haul food and supplies to the international space station to keep it stocked through 2012. >> rain or shine, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to be here when atlantis finally takes off. some estimates put the crowd at close to a million. kathy cook came from georgia to catch the last glimpse of atlantis roaring into space. she's seen almost all of the apollo missions but this is her first shuttle la

bill gerstenmaier, nasa associated administrator out of nasa headquarters, bob cabana, the director of the kennedy space center, mike most sis, the space shuttle launch integration manager and mike line back, the shuttle launch director will be the participants in the news conference at the kennedy space center which now will begin at about 12:10 p.m. central time. allow us to bring to you the at least the beginning of the payload bay door opening aboard atlantis. [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] >> houston, block six is complete and we'll pick up with the open command for the doors about 31 minutes after. >> okay. we copy block six. we'll be standing by for the doors. . . >> go ahead. >> supply water galley supply valve to open. talk back to open. >> complete. >> thank you very much. >> and the mechanical systems officers reports here in mission control that the latches are beginning to disengage for the opening of the payload bay doors. we're expecting and hoping for some television through the fm ground station here at the johnson space center of that operation. again pay

last year president obama gave nasa a new space challenge. launching american astronauts on space exploration journeys to asteroids and eventually to mars, all to be engineered through the private sector. nasa will provide limited seed money to the private sector. >> so the point is what we're looking for is not just to continue on the same path. we want to leap into the future. we want major break-throughs, a transformative agenda for nasa. >> the space private sector is not wasting any time picking up where the u.s. space shuttle left off. for example, a california co space shuttle left off. for example, a contract worth cp billion. space ex has developed a capsule called dragon and a rocket called falcon 9. private sector companies like space spa are keeping nasa alive and in space. president obama hopes that partnering with the private for greatest space fearing nation, as president kennedy termed us. >> question. sat good idea to outsource american space exploration by giving nasa contracts to the private sector? i ask you bruce. >> yes,

nasa is watching it very careful. good friend told us when comes down to t the launch chances are always 50/50 so we are hoping for the glass halfful. >> like human beings we are all day-to-day, right? >>> ahead, prince william and catherine will fly to los angeles for the weekend as they leave canada. >> real westerners. >>> the shuttle "atlantis" crew three men and one woman are on board the spacecraft. earlier this morning they were there for the historic mission. you see them coming out and getting ready to load up and make their way down. before they came to the kennedy space center though, they sat down with us to talk about this moment, this mission, and what it all means to them and for the future of space exploration. >> minus 10 9, 8. >> i remember exactly where i was for sts-1. a college student. i think a freshman in school. i remember we stopped class and they had the tv on in the auditorium. >> first space shuttle launch. >> far away goal. just seemed so over my head i could never be an astronaut. >> rep

it has been bittersweet for nasa. they are reflecting on a 30-year space program that has been hugely successful. at the same time, tomorrow 4000 people will lose their jobs, and thousands more will be affected by what has become a way of life. nasa has wanted to concentrate on the achievements of the shuttle program, putting the hubble telescope into space and building the space station. at the same time, a day tinge with sadness. >> when is nasa next one to send and american astronauts into space? do we know? >> i spoke to the nasa boss earlier. they took us down to the runway. americans will still be in space even though the shuttle has ended. but the truth is for the first time in a generation america will not have a presence in space. the kennedy space center is famous for launches and landings. it will become deserted over the next few years. but they are hoping private companies will bid to build taxis that will go from here to the international space station and back again. but it really is a tinge with sadnes

nasa will now focus on deep space exploration beyond the moon. astroids and mars are the destination of choice and right now they are part of the team working to design the perfect craft. >> we really have to retire the shuttle because of the cost and the risk associated in order to be able to spend the money to build the next generation of vehicle that will be safer and reliable. >> faster and bigger? >> not necessarily a lot smaller but a capsule instead of a big shuttle. >> it won't be a prius with wings? >> no definitely not. >> stewart rogers says how it evolves nasa ames will be to its future. for more go to abc7news.com. >> nasa employees held appreciation event. even the astronauts briefly visited with the workers. here is how rex reacted. >> i started 26 years as a back room controller and i loved every minute. it's been such an honor. it runs in the blood. we're going cherish every minute of it. >> mission control in houston workers shared cake and memories houston directed more than 60 training flights. the celebration is bittersweet.

he said nasa wants u.s. astronauts to travel on private space missions a tharnds' working on new vehicles to bring people to space. i'm going to show you one of those new vehicles in the 10:00 a.m. hour. >> we want to get this right. exploration is far from over. if we're talking about mars it's far from over. then you think about the money and the budget that nasa has. >> this is why a lot of people are weary of the claims the u.s. will stay at the forefront. we have to see how the next budget is going to shake out. the budget for next fiscal year still doesn't exist in any kind of final form. nasa has had a budget of $19 billion this year. it's almost definitely going to get slashed to some extent. every proposal slashes it to some extent. they wait to see what nasa has to sacrifice. a lot more details on the web, i have it on facebook and twitter i'm @joshlevscnn. we're talking about this debate should the u.s. be in the forefront, how legitimate of values financially working out the budget. >> when you t

my name is dwayne brown with nasa's office of communication at nasa headquarters. as you have here today is mars day and what better venue to make this special announcement on the destination of nasa's next mars rover. we have a lot to cover. i'm going to introduce introduce her participants and they will give you an incredible presentation and then we will open it up for questions. first up, michael meyer, lead scientist mars exploration program nasa headquarters in washington d.c.. michael watkins, while an engineer whose official title is mission manager from the msl project the jet propulsion laboratory in pasadena california. john grant, geologists, smithsonian national air and space museum museum here in washington. don sumner, geologists, you see davis california. and john grotzinger, msl project scientist at the jet propulsion laboratory in pasadena. without michael, kick it off. >> thanks. >> thanks duane. today 35 years ago viking one landed on the surface of mars and made the first astrobiology cool measurements on another planet. the landing was actuall

spacex has a few former nasa folks. i am very comforted and confident that safety will not be compromised. we have nasa engineers, scientists, flight directors, and flight controllers who are now transitioning to the new of arena for access to lower orbit. >> we have had some of our space heroes testify on capitol hill. they said that they think the national security is innately tied to the nation's space program. they say there's a certain level of uncomfortableness with doing business with international partners to some degree. to what degree can you recognize the ability -- the validity of the passionate argument they make? >> i consider everybody personal friends and i have the utmost respect for them. some of them are mentors and heroes but i respectfully disagree with the positions they have taken because we are doing things that are in the national interest that will insure our national security by producing -- by facilitating the success of a viable commercial space industry for this nation. we'll grow our techn

and when we come back here, live pictures again from nasa. the space shuttle "atlantis" is scheduled for the historic touchdown at any moment at kennedy space center. this will be the end of an era for nasa, and we will speak live to nbc's jay barbree. we hope you will stay with us for the live coverage here on "way too early." covergirls -- set your lashes free. new natureluxe mousse mascara! we took out a heavy synthetic and put in a light touch of beeswax. up with the volume, down with the weight. new natureluxe mousse mascara. easy breezy beautiful covergirl. >>> back live now on "way too early" and today marks the end of space shuttle "atlantis's" final mission but also marks a more significant finish, the end of the space shuttle program as we know it. with the end of an era it is also to the city of houston, tell your friends that after "atlantis" touches down, houston mission control will go dark and more than 900 people will be laid off as a result of "atlantis's" final landing. bittersweet for so many reasons today. nasa planning to

we care about it just like the nasa people do. >> and liftoff -- >> reporter: next spring, nasa expects to pick two finalists, and sometime in 2015, launch astronauts on the first commercial flight to the space station. mark strassmann, cbs news, boulder, colorado. >>> coming up a little bit later on "the early show," the latest on the uk hacking scandal, as lawmakers grill rupert murdoch and his son. >>> plus the results of a special investigation into the safety of america's nuclear power plants. >>> and, teen sensation rebecca black performs the much-anticipated follow-up to her mega hit "friday." that's the "cbs morning news" for this tuesday. thanks for watching, everyone, i'm betty nguyen. have a great day. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day. ,,,,,,,,

nasa is he have important to the economy, it is built around nasa. everybody has some direct or indirect connection to nasa. a lot of people are bittersweet about this. they've completed a mission. that's a good feeling. now there are no more missions for a lot of them. that's not such a good feeling. i talked to one astronaut and he said right now, he wants to savor the moment. >> i think right now i'm enjoying my friends got back to earth safely and enjoying the moment here with all the folks at the johnson space center. it's been kind of fun to have everybody here together. >> and right now, mike is over signing autographs even though the shuttle program is over, these astronauts are still rock stars down here. john donnelly, fox news. >> thank you very much, john. great report. >> straight ahead on this thursday, bloated benefits claiming their next victim. drastic changes ahead for our nation's post office. >> then most americans are panning president obama's performance on the economy. yet his approval ratings are still fairly high considering

because i think it may nasa make -- it makes nasa look real cool. i thought facebook would like "the social network" that eventually they did. they did, ran towards the end. it's not a hit job on nasa, that's for sure. >> let's do one last question and then we'll call it an evening. >> what happened to his girlfriend? >> thad did the crime with a girlfriend and another girl. he took the fall for them. he said it was and how him and he forced them to do it. him and us of the guy were involved, the in a cup what to do. the girls did not go to jill. then she never spoke to him again. it was sad. you know, they have known each other three weeks. it was quick love. [laughter] when she was in the courtroom, i think the judge or the prosecutor asked her, you knew this kid for three weeks, why would you do this? she said i'm still trying to figure it out. [laughter] it was one of those things. they have moved on with their life. they were not happy i wrote this book. i talk to them and character. she asked me to change her name. she wanted nothing to do wit

it was uncharted territory for nasa. >> it also paved the way for other countries to join nasa it in exploring space. the europeans build a research lab specially designed for the shuttle's loading bay. it is your ticket to manned space flight. -- it was europe's ticket to manned space flight. the first one lifted off in 1981. the new spacecraft was a game changer for astronauts. pilots were needed but so were scientists to carry out research in zero gravity. the german physicist was one of the scientists. he travel into space in october of 1985 on the challenger. his work was overseen by colleagues in germany. he carried out more than 70 experiments, it still had time to take in the stunning view. ♪ >> it was interesting how we looked out in the beginning, or at least i did. i thought i knew a lot about geography. i had no ia where we were. we sp around the window until geographic north was pointing up. after a few days, we could stay put. we could still recognize where we were. >> then came 1986 and the challenger disaster. millions watched live as the shuttle exploded shortly af

nasa this year had a budget of $19 billion. you keep hearing about the wrangling in congress over the 2012 fiscal year. basically all of the legitimate budgets presented will slash nasa's funding to some extent. we'll see how big an impact that is on nasa and its operations. >> josh, thanks so much. see you again next hour on this. next hour, we're going more in depth about the future of the space program with a nasa insider. we'll be talking with a former shuttle commander, eileen collins, first female commander of a space shuttle, 3:40 eastern time with her take on what is ahead for nasa. >>> after a staggering 168 years in circulation, scandal stops the presses at "the news of the world." looking good! you lost some weight. you noticed! these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios... five whole grains, 110 calories. multigrain cheerios... but now i see the splash

the launch also turns the page on nasa's 30-year shuttle program. manuel gallegus was there as at lan 'tis and her crew embarked on its final voyage. >> all three engines up and burning. two, one, zero and liftoff, the final liftoff of atlantis. >> reporter: shuttle "atlantis" blasted off for the very last time, the end of an era for the u.s. space program. >> houston, now controlling the flight of atlantis, space shuttle spreading its wings for the start of a sentimental journey into history. >> atlantis quickly disappeared into the clouds, not exactly the picture perfect launch spectators hoped for but a remarkable achievement for nasa. >> the 135th and final shuttle mission. >> engines revving up. >> the crew of four snapped photos this morning before suiting up and getting on board. usually six or seven astronauts fly but since this is the last mission, there's no back-up shuttle for an emergency rescue. russia will lend its soyuz rocket if the astronauts run into trouble. >> up to a million spectators gathered along coastal florida to witness t