During last week\u2019s farewell tour, thousands of people turned out to take one final glimpse of Shuttle Endeavour in the air, before she was permanently grounded in California. Each time the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) landed, the US flag was held aloft from the flight deck \u2013 apart from during their stay in Texas, leading to a very special gift for Texan Nate Moeller.<\/p>\n
A Piece Of History:<\/p>\n
Landing at Ellington Air Field in Texas, Moeller of MaxQ Entertainment \u2013 who work in association with NASASpaceFlight.com \u2013 was one of thousands who travelled to greet the baby of the fleet, as she proudly sat atop of the SCA.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Z317.jpg\" "\\"Z3\\"")
Taxiing towards her overnight stop, the crew of the SCA opened the window and displayed the Texan flag, albeit upside down. For Moeller, that provided an opportunity to joke about the incident with one of the crew, who he had gotten to know over the internet. However, the response would prove to be no joke.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had the good fortune of connecting with a member of the crew, who, upon landing at Ellington with Endeavour, opened the hatch above the flight deck and proudly flew the Texas flag as the 747 and Endeavour taxied toward us,\u201d said Moeller to NASASpaceFlight.com <\/p>\n
\u201cThrough an honest error, the flag had been mounted upside down, a sight at which we all had a good laugh, with my father even remarking \u2018That\u2019s a subtle protest \u2013 it wants to stay here and not go to L.A.\u2019. \u201cI quickly texted my friend on board to let him know, to which he responded \u201cThat\u2019s ur flag\u201d. Needless to say, I was stunned.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arriving pre-dawn the next morning, ahead of the SCA\u2019s departure from Ellington, the crewmember who had responded kept his word and handed over the Texan flag \u2013 leaving Moeller speechless.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe crewmember met me at the security gate and excitedly handed me the flag. I could think of nothing to say beyond extending my greatest thanks and wishing him a safe trip as the team continued to Los Angeles with their historic passenger, Endeavour,\u201d added Moeller. \u201cWe said our goodbyes and he boarded the aircraft to prepare for departure.<\/p>\n
Space tourism guides (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n \u201cEndeavour\u2019s departure from Houston marked the conclusion of my shuttle-chasing adventure, which ended three years to the day after it began. Though I was sad to see her go, I\u2019m thankful for the beautiful and thoughtful memento I have from the crew, as well as the story that will accompany it when visitors to my home ask about the Texas flag proudly displayed on my wall.\u201d<\/p>\n The Texas public did not fail in showing their enthusiasm for Endeavour, turning out in large numbers. The response was so impressive, it reminded Moeller of the early days of Shuttle, something that has been repeated by numerous people throughout the farewell tour.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a scene reminiscent of early shuttle launches and landings, grass fields and surrounding roadways were lined with cars, RVs and news vans. In all, some estimate that over 100,000 people came to see Endeavour throughout the day \u2013 a fitting send off if there ever was one!\u201d<\/p>\n Although California also did themselves proud with the turnout to see Endeavour, it has been argued that Texas was unfairly overlooked when the decision was made as to where to place the orbiters for their retirement. Moeller, a proud Texan, understandably agrees with such comments, but wished California well in caring for the youngest orbiter in the fleet.<\/p>\n \u201cThat said, I do understand why it didn\u2019t happen. A lack of proper funding and campaigning here in Houston drove the decision to not award an orbiter to Space City. But I\u2019m thankful that we had the chance to give Endeavour a proper sendoff as she began the journey to her new home in Los Angeles, and I was thrilled by the welcome she received all over California. It tells me that she\u2019s in good hands and that\u2019s what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n Many people who attended the events, or simply caught a glimpse of the SCA\/Endeavour duo, will all have their own stories about what the Shuttle means to them. For Moeller, it was an extra special moment, as the Endeavour completed his \u201cset\u201d of orbiters.<\/p>\n *Refer to the Live play-by-play Coverage Area with over 1,600 images of the tour \u2013 Click Here*<\/p>\n \u201cEndeavour\u2019s arrival brought an overwhelming sense of pride and joy for many reasons. She was the only bird I had not seen in person before, and now I can say I\u2019ve seen all four orbiters (and the three spaceworthy birds in flight). <\/p>\n \u201cBoth were quite overwhelmed by the spectacle, and I dare say they have a new appreciation for what makes this business so special. Out of all the things to which I looked forward during the event, that is what I hoped for most. The departure, though somewhat sad, was still a proud and exciting moment. My final memory of an orbiter in motion is of Endeavour in flight. It is a fitting conclusion to an adventure that began exactly three years earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n Another often-related note from those watching the orbiters head to their retirement homes was one of the future. Some people have the misconception the space program is all-but over. However, most \u2013 including Moeller \u2013 know there is more to come.<\/p>\n \u201cThough the future programs lack the iconic image of the space shuttle, I look forward to seeing what comes of the ISS commercial crew initiatives as well as NASA\u2019s plans for exploration beyond Earth orbit. I wish them all success and look forward to being a part of the next chapter of our space-borne endeavors. <\/p>\n \u201cMost importantly \u2013 I cherish the amazing stories of the shuttle fleet and my own personal encounters with them all. To Discovery, Atlantis, Enterprise and Endeavour \u2013 Thank you, and farewell.\u201d<\/p>\n To read about the orbiters \u2013 from birth, processing, every single mission, through to retirement, click here for the links: (Images: Via Nate Moeller \u2013 MaxQ Entertaiment\/NASASpaceFlight.com and NASA)<\/p>\n (L2 and NSF are continuing to follow the orbiters through to their retirement. To join L2, click here: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/l2\/)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" During last week\u2019s farewell tour, thousands of people turned out to take one final glimpse of Shuttle Endeavour in the air, before she was permanently grounded in California. Each time the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) landed, the US flag was held aloft from the flight deck \u2013 apart from during their stay in Texas, leading […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1445,9131,9022],"class_list":["post-40018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-endeavour","tag-sca","tag-tr"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40018"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Z4A1.jpg\" "\\"Z4A\\"")
\u201cAfter snapping a couple of photos with the flag in hand, backdropped by the SCA\/Endeavour duo, I proceeded to a nearby parking lot with a full view of the runway that would be used by the stack. I carefully hung the flag on the fence as a small salute and thank you to the crew, 747 and Endeavour as they lifted off right in front of us.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Z510.jpg\" "\\"Z5\\"")
\u201cThe roads leading in and out of Ellington Field were jam-packed all day long, as Texans ventured in and out of the normally-quiet airport to be a part of this historic last journey of the SCA\/orbiter stack,\u201d he noted. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Z86.jpg\" "\\"Z8\\"")
\u201cThere is a reason Houston bears the nickname \u201cSpace City\u201d. The dedication of the people at Johnson Space Center is a large part of what made the thirty-year Space Shuttle Program possible. In that sense, I overwhelmingly believe that an orbiter should have landed here for good,\u201d Moeller noted.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Z69.jpg\" "\\"Z6\\"")
\u201cThe occasion was made even more special by the fact that my father, who had never seen an orbiter at all, was on hand for the flybys and landing, as well as the eventual tour of the 747. My wife joined me later that day and was also able to see the shuttle for the first time. <\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/forum.nasaspaceflight.com\/index.php?topic=25837.0<\/p>\n