AND WHAT THE
OF THIS WEEK WITH OUR NEWS
COVERAGE AND A CHANNEL 4
DOCUMENTARY TUESDAY NIGHT, WE
HAVE BEEN LOOKING BACK AND
REFLECTING ON THE 30th
ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHALLENGER
DISASTER AND THE LESSONS THAT
WERE LEARNED.
TONIGHT WE ARE FOCUSING ON
THE YEARS SINCE CHALLENGER AND
WHAT NASA IS PLANNING FOR THE
FUTURE OF SPACE EXPLORATION.
Reporter: NASA HAS BEEN QUITE
BUSY, GEARING UP TO TAKE US FAR
BEYOND LOW EARTH ORBIT TO DEEP
SPACE AND MARS.
CONTINUING TO PUSH THE LIMITS
INTO SPACE.
S.
Reporter: FROM THE 1960s
QUIRKY TV SHOWS...
THIS WILL COME AS QUITE A
SHOCK IT MY CREWMATE.
Reporter: TO THIS YEAR'S
BREATHTAKING MOVIE MARKS AND NOW
STAR WARS, THE WORLD'S
FASCINATION WITH THINGS OUT THIS
WORLD NEVER LIFTS UP.
LIFT-OFF, THE FINAL LIFT-OFF
OF THE SHOULDERS OF THE SPACE
SHUTTLE AMERICA WILL CONTINUE
THE DREAM.
Reporter: WHEN THE SHUTTLE
PROGRAM TO AN WENT THIS ATLANTIC
MISSION IN 2011, MANY WONDERED
IF AMERICA'S GLORY DAYS IN SPACE
EXPLORATION ALSO CAME TO AN END.
THE ANSWER, NOT EVEN CLOSE.
BY ENDING THE SHUTTLE
PROGRAM, THAT FREED UP FUNDING
TO ALLOW US TO DEVELOP THE SPACE
LAUNCH SYSTEM AND THE O'RYAN
VEHICLE THAT ACTUALLY GIVE US
THE CAPABILITY TO PUT BOOTS ON
MARS ONE DAY.
Reporter: THAT'S RIGHT.
THE DIRECTOR OF THE KENNEDY
SPACE CENTER JUST SAID WE'RE
HEADING TO THE RED PLANET MARS.
AND IT'S ODDLY FAMILIAR LOOKING
ORBITAL IS GOING TO TAKE US
THERE.
THIS IS THE O'RYAN SPACECRAFT.
.
5, 4, TREE, 2, 1...
-- 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
AND LIFT OFF, THE DAWN OF ARYIAN
AND THE NEW AMERICA OF SPACE
EXPLORATION.
Reporter: -- THE DAWN OF
O'RYAN.
THIS INAUGURAL UNMANNED
FLIGHT JUST OVER A YEAR AGO
LASTED MORE THAN FOUR HOURS
BEFORE LANDING IN THE PACIFIC
OCEAN WHERE THE NAVY QUICKLY
RETRIEVED IT.
THE O'RYAN CAPSULE IS DESIGNED
TO TAKE ASTRONAUTS FARTHER THAN
THEY'VE EVER GONE BEFORE.
WE WANT TO ESTABLISH A
PRESENCE BEYOND PLANET EARTH,
AND EVENTUALLY MARS IS THE FIRST
STEP.
IT'S BEEN CALLING US.
IT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
WE'RE GONNA GO SEE WHAT'S THERE
FIRSTHAND WITH HUMANS.
WE'VE BEEN GOING BACK AND FORTH
TO LOWER THORBIT FOR 50 YEARS,
IT'S TIME TO TRANSFER THAT SPACE
AND ALLOW NASA TO FOCUS ON THE
REALLY CHALLENGING JOB OF
EXPLORING BEHIND OUR HOME
PLANET.
AND WHILE NASA HEADS DEEPER
INTO SPACE, IT CONTINUES TO
PARTNER CLOSER TO HOME WITH
COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES.
NOW NAVIGATING JUST A COUPLE
HUNDRED MICE ABOVE THE EARTH, IN
AREAS AROUND THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION.
THE KIND OF MEXICO THAT WE'RE
WORKING WITH HERE AT KENNEDY
SPACE CENTER ARE THOSE
INDIVIDUAL AND COMPANIES THAT
HAVE DESIRE FOR FLOOR SPACE,
RICHARD BRANSON, PAUL ALLEN,
JEFF BAYZOS AND THE COMPANIES
THEY HAVE FOUNDED, VIRGIN
GALACTIC ...
Reporter: IN FACT JUST LAST
POSSIBILITY IT WAS SPACE FALCON
THAT PULLED OFF THIS
JAW-DROPPER, EVEN BY HOLLYWOOD
STANDARDS, SUCCESSFULLY
LAUNCHING AND RETURNING TO LAND
IN THE EXACT SAME LOCATION.
AND IF YOU'VE EVER DREAMED BIG,
NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT.
NASA IS STILL ACCEPTING
APPLICATIONS FOR ITS MARS
ASTRONAUT PROGRAM.
THERE'S NO AGE LIMIT.
BUT YOU DO HAVE TO HAVE A
TECHNIQUE CAN, MATH ENGINEERING
IN ONE OF THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES
AS WELL AS THREE YEARS OF
EXPERIENCE IN YOUR FIELD.
THIS IS JUST AN AWESOME TEAM.
I GET TO COME TO WORK EVERY DAY
HERE AT THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
ON THIS BEAUTIFUL 144,000 ACRE
WILDLIFE PRESERVE, YOU KNOW, AND
LOOK OUT AND SEE THE VAB AND
THESE LAUNCH PADS AND BE PART OF
THIS AMAZING TEAM.
I JUST CHALLENGE FOLKS, YOU
KNOW, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN
BEING PART OF A WORLD-CLASS TEAM
IN AN AGENCY THAT'S BEEN NUMBER
ONE IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
FOR FOUR YEARS IN A ROW, YOU
KNOW, COME ON DOWN.
NASA SAYS A TART DATE FOR
HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT -- TARGET DATE
FOR HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT TO MARS IS
15 TO 20 YEARS AWAY, BUT BEFORE,
THAT THEY CONTINUE TO WORK
EXPERIMENTS ABOARD THE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION AND
NASA PLANS ON CAPTURING AND