T O P I C R E V I E W |
heng44 | Here is the view that STS-1 astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen had of the approaching recovery convoy following their landing at Edwards AFB in April 1981. The photo was taken through Columbia's hatch window. Ed Hengeveld |
moorouge | "Nice of them to bring the giant TV so we can watch the Muppets while waiting for decontamination." |
dabolton | So Young and Crippen were unstrapped and on the lower deck before the recovery team arrived at the vehicle? Were they in a hurry to leave. How long were they onboard after wheels stop? |
Greggy_D | You know, I had the same thought. How long did the shutdown checklist take to go through? Isn't it 10-20 minutes long? |
Henry Heatherbank | I was going to suggest one of them may have needed to take a leak (on the lower deck), but even that couldn't have been the case because they would still have been suited up in the launch/entry suits. |
Cozmosis22 | Apparently they took their time after that first flight since they didn't know exactly what to expect. Things got more efficient during the next 30 years. Don't see any "sniffers" in that photo. Could be that they were already up to the bird out of view, doing their thing. |
heng44 | I remember that Young was very impatient to go outside. Crippen was still on the radio with Mission Control while Young was already inspecting Columbia. He was very excited and finally went back inside to go get Crippen. |