Things I've learnt about the shuttle from NASA TV

NASA TV is wonderfully informative - well it is when there is something actually happening. Most of it's trivia but it does skew your perspective when watching scifi films.

For instance, before doing an EVA (spacewalk), the astronauts sit in the airlock fully-suited up breathing 100% oxygen to remove all the nitrogen from their blood. For an hour! I don't know about you but sitting still for an hour is hard enough for me particularly without a tv, but to do it in a spacesuit. These guys are superhuman. Of course, they have extra incentive. If they don't do it they get the bends. There's something I'd love to see in a flick.

Hang on Captain, we can't check the type 3 deflector for a least an hour

In the hours before returning to Earth the astronauts take in specific amounts of fluids and food so they'll be able to cope with the effects of gravity. Another one I'd like to see on film.

Prepare to land. Break out the beer and chocolate rations.

A couple of hours before the shuttle is due to touch down NASA flys the shuttle test plane along the landing route over and over to check for things like windshear. This of course involves flying up to several thousand metres and then throttling the engines back so they can glide/plummet to the ground. They continue this right up to the point where the shuttle lands. Talk about team effort.

Once landed, the Shuttle takes 45 minutes to turn off. Namely, 45 minutes to go through the checklists to turn off each and every system. Probably because there is still enough fuel aboard to cause a bigga-badda-boom. It's fun listening to them as they ask permission from mission control to turn stuff off.

Eileen, you are go for ammonia reconfig.

What ever happened to control-alt-delete?