Adam Savage Learns About Living on the Space Shuttle! 

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Adam's next project......... A full scale replica of the Space Shuttle.

I was an Ops Engineer for Discovery (OV-103) and spent many an hour in, on and around her in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) as the various technicians worked to reconfigure and refurbish her between flights. It's good to see her again, but a bit sad too knowing she'll never fly again. Thanks for sharing this, Adam. It brought back a lot of good memories.

Adam's an intelligent person, he probably knows an awful lot about the shuttle; I love how he let's Cady talk her story and not talk over her like so many other so called presenters in similar circumstances.

Astronaut Cady Coleman is such a joy to listen to. So knowledgeable, and her love and passion for the shuttle is so evident. I would want no other tour guide. Thank you for your service!

Loved Cady's stories about getting used to gravity again. I still recall a story Senator Garn told in interviews about how when he was on orbit, he got in the habit of just letting go of an object at arm's length in front of his face so that he'd remember where he left it. Back in his office, he did it once with a pen, and stared at it for about 15sec after it clattered on his desk. "Oh, yeah. Right."

I can listen to Cady all day. She has always been great at explaining the program. I loved when she would visit us at MSFC and give mission reviews. Amazing person.

It's amazing that Cady Coleman is a chemist, material engineer and robotics engineer. Adam and her can have so much fun playing together with science projects. Hope to see more of her explaining science with Adam.

You can tell Adam would love this visit even if it wasn't filmed for the channel. Just literally being a kid in a candy store and truly wanting to learn every detail he can

Seeing the shuttle so up-close gives me a Princess Leia moment ("You came here in that?"). From afar (on SD TV) it always looked smooth, gleaming, and manufactured, but up close you see all the detail, wear, and imperfections. As you said it drives home afresh what a painstakingly intricate feat of engineering this craft is and represents. Truly awe-inspiring!

My Grandmother worked for Rockwell and built components for the Space Shuttle Program. She built the tiles and these round wafer-looking discs (I was a kid and cannot remember what those were for). She bought me all of the die cast models of the Shuttle that were available at Rockwell/NASA at the time. She would bring home the used white, “clean room,” suits too. I always made ninja suits out of mine with the hood, etc. She passed in 1996 and the Shuttles are a part of her legacy. Every time I visit one in a museum I look at the tiles and wonder which ones are “hers.” This helps keep her alive for me. She was an amazing woman. A WWII “Rosie the Riveter,” (her name was actually Rose) who continued to work in airplane manufacturing after the war and eventually joined the aerospace industry.

What is most impressive is while its delicate in certain areas, even moreso than aircraft, the shuttle was designed to survive some really extreme environments. Something that not only endures re-entry, but effectively 'flies' during it, with all the associated stresses. Then it has to transition to flying in an atmosphere, which is a whole bunch of different stresses and requirements. It makes capsules look truly simple in comparison.

My dad had the same experience viewing the shuttle in the orbiter processing facility! My grandfather was in charge of orbiter processing for discovery. So he walked in and asked him “where’s the shuttle?” And it was above us!

My grandfather worked on Discovery. He was part of the reason it flew so many missions. He was pretty high up the chain, I think he was in charge of processing the orbiter. Recently passed away last year. I’ll miss him greatly! He’s part of the reason I’m a maker today. But his legacy won’t be forgotten!

Astronauts should be celebrated more, great video

Two of the most lovable, amazing people ever. Good to know there are still people like this on a world in so much trouble.

Cady Coleman is the astronaut who did a flute duet from space with Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. Delightful event!

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is a must see! I was visiting Alexandria and when I found out the shuttle was onsite a few years back I knew I had to see it in person. Growing up and watching the launches in the 80's was such a treat. When you walk into the museum you can immediately see the nose of the shuttle. I rushed over and to stand before this beauty just brought me to tears. it was an overwealming experience and would recommend to any Shuttle fan to go see!

I remember when they first rolled out the Enterprise shuttle demonstrator and I thought "oh, how the heck will that possibly get into space?" But then almost 10 years later I watched as Columbia leapt into the sky. I had such a mixture of emotions, of pride, and awe, and just utter amazement. Seeing Adam talk to Cady Coleman was such a great experience and treat.

So many things you'd never begin to imagine without an expert like Cady to tell us about them. Great video!

I love it how it feels we're walking along earing our friends talking about all this awesome stuff. Love. It.

My fiancees grandfather was blessed enough to be awarded with a Silver Snoopy Award. It was amazing to have met him a few times before he passed away a few years ago. Edit: With Cady mentioning the return to flight after Columbia I realised she may have worked with him and the SRI

This conversation is so natural and authentic. Lovely to feel like one was really there with both of you, having a conversation like this. Beautifully done.

The adaptability of the human body is amazing. I remember watching a science show many years ago where they had this woman volunteer who wore a special pair of goggles on her head for several days that flipped the world upside down. They wanted to see how difficult it would be for her to do simple things like write her name, thread a needle and ride a bike. of course at first none of those things were simple! But after about 3 days she was able to do all of them with ease. But here's the interesting part: When the experiment was over and they removed her goggles, it took her ANOTHER 3 days to re-adapt to how she was doing it before!

Can't help but smile when listening to those two! The pride, the joy and pleasure, so wholesome!

I'm so glad youtube improved the zoom feature, cuz now I can really zoom in and see some of those details Adam pointed out about the stencil spray painted Discovery logo

The pride, amazement & wonder from both Cady & Adam is almost over whelming & they are the ones who have experience with the shuttle, I think it might be to much for me to see in person(maybe one day) Adam please do more of these videos even though I miss the maker Adam. Thank you Cady Colman.

Having Cady on the channel is such a wonderful bonus!

At 15:30-ish, Cady Coleman mentioned that when she went up in the shuttle for the first time, that everyone was so exited. The image of Kerbals popped up in my mind at that point, as they are always excited to be launching. Well, they are ALWAYS excited, period.

What fantastic production quality! The opening shot really captured how intimate and humbling it is to be around these massive machines. This truly is a sacred place, thank you for sharing this with us! Astronaut Coleman is awesome!

I could listen to Astronaut Coleman speaking for hours! I love shuttles and she is super knowledgeable and engaging!

I worked on all 100 B1-B aircraft, I know that plane inside and out. So years ago I went to the Air Force Museum and walked around their B1-B on display I thought about all the work I did on those aircraft, Engine runs, landing gear retractions, Wing sweep testing etc. You just stand there and say to yourself "Hello Friend."

This is a great watch. Adam Savage make it more fun because he is like big kid. But his knowledge base to ask really great questions is awesome. He should be given a talk show where he goes to the guest and interviews then in there environment. It would be a huge hit.

The joy and excitement in between these two is amazing to watch and enjoy.

I've been to the Smithsonian a few times. Never get tired of it. I highly recommend Wright Patterson AFB museum, the US Space & Rocket center in Huntsville, AL (and space camp and the astronaut training annex) and Cape Canaveral and all of it's wonderful sites. Didn't get to attend space camp 🥺 but mom made sure I saw a lot. Even saw one of the shuttles on a launch pylon with the tank and boosters just a day or 2 before launch. She had hard time explaining that we couldn't stay because you can't just change trains and added hotel stay without huge cost.

The Space Shuttle, everyone's favourite spacecraft! I'm still in denial about it's retirement!

Our astronauts are truly national treasures and I'm so excited about the future of space exploration. Thanks for this video

That shuttle up close is scary. If this was sitting on the back lot of some property, people would say "that's the cheapest looking shuttle replica I've ever seen! What did you make it with? Chicken wire and canvas? lol The textures are a crazy patchwork that is lost seeing it in orbit or when it's landing.

One day they’ll create a new version of the Space shuttle. One day.

I’d love to buy a few beers & spend the afternoon talking with you both. About all of the above & more. A very engaging conversation.

Thank you for these museum tours Adam, LOVE em!

This was an amazing interview.

This episode and the one where they were building an Apollo capsule hatch are two of my favorites from the Smithsonian. Well done!

I was just there two weeks ago for the first time and I was in total awe of how big it was. Seeing it on tv doesn’t covey how big the shuttle is. My kids and I spent a total of three hours at the museum, and I spent two hours just looking at it, and they had to tear me away from it to see the rest of the museum. Absolutely a stunning piece of technology.

I want to hear Adam's commentary on all sorts of space craft now, not just the shuttle. Cady elevates these chats from awesome to beyond awesome.

props to the camera guy for doing all kinds of shoots and seamlessly balancing between seeing their faces and their backs facing the shuttle.

I could listen to Astronaut Cady talk all day. Just love learning every detail

I was fortunate to visit the NASM about 20 years ago but only for about 4 hours, not nearly enough time to fully absorb everything that there is to see and learn. Seeing these artifacts in person is unforgettable. But having Mr. Savage and Ms Coleman as guides, Adam to ask the right questions, and Cady, a truly engaging and knowledgeable expert, able to answer them from personal knowledge and experience adds depth and breadth to the artifacts that is beyond compare. I would wish for a series of programs where Mr. Savage and the Tested crew find engaging experts on each of the artifacts and do a deep dive into them from conception, through their service life and place them in the context of how they exemplified the state of the art in their time and brought technology forward. Several of these videos do that well and I look forward to more, but I would pay handsomely for a boxed set of DVD's that covered the Kitty Hawk Flyer, the Spirit of Saint Luis, etc all the way through to the future of space travel as exemplified by the NCC 1701 Enterprise and beyond.

When I got to see Endeavour for the first time, I got choked up. So beautiful, and filled me with childlike awe.

This is literally one of the very best, most informative, and funniest interviews with an astronaut I've ever seen.

The greatest spectacle I've ever seen, The shuttle launch. Maybe 10 miles away and still the sense of Power, ferocity it used to go up. It's the coolest firework I've ever seen.

I just got to see Endeavour at the California Science Center last week. Simply amazing. Just being in the same room with it is impossible to describe. Pure awesomeness.

The Udvar Hazi was my entire childhood. I would go there practically every month as a kid, and seeing the space shuttle and learning about how far humans can actually go was integral to forming my love of science. I loved seeing this footage of you in such a familiar place. This video taught me a lot and I can't wait to see more from you all at Tested! Y'all do such a great job with the videos, thank you!!

Wow this was truly fascinating from an astronaut perspective and valuable insight into things I haven't heard until now . The overall weight of the shuttle itself of great interest to me. I would have to take plenty off just to scale it to my dynamics and add quite a few more options. It won't be easy , I'm just hoping that the materials and composites required will bring that weight down significantly

I used to work at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston (photography group, bldg 8). There was a bar not too far from site called the Bayview Duck. It looked like an old English pub inside and out. I was there one night with friends and there was a Celtic band playing. They were doing traditional songs (Whiskey in the Jar, for example). Cady Coleman was on the flute.

My grandfather took me to a nighttime shuttle launch... Saying I was blown away is an understatement. You can feel the ground shake 3 miles away... It was like the sun came out as it gained altitude.

Such a great vibe in this video, you can really sense how respectful and appreciative Adam is in the presence of both the Space Shuttle, and Cady!

Discovery, A true workhorse, and the first shuttle/rocket I saw launch in person, She has a special place in my heart. I'm glad she got to rest in a place as prestigious as the Smithsonian

I was lucky enough to see this shuttle land at Dulles and came back days later to already see in its final display space. I love that place. But I have to say I love the shuttle that is displayed at the KSC. If you haven’t seen that display it’s breathtaking

My late uncle worked as a safety inspector at NASA and he took me to watch a shuttle launch in the early 90s and the guided tour of the NASA facilities in Cape Kennedy. I still get emotional when I see the VAB

What an awesome video with so many details! My father has a Silver Snoopy award and I'd never heard or seen them mentioned elsewhere until this video! Cool to hear some more little details about the piece of history on his wall.

That is actually at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center not to be confused with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall

One of the craziest things I learned about the shuttle is that you could actually crush a thermal protection tile in your hand if you wanted to.

A truly beautiful video.

Thank you for sharing so many things I didn't know! I'm working towards my aircraft maintenance license and the fact that I'll never get to work on the space shuttle makes me sad, it truly is the most incredible machine we've sent to space.

I visited the Shuttle Endeavour in LA a couple of years ago. I was so impressed about this great piece of history. Great experience watching it in real in a touchable distance 👍👍👍

11:24 Canadarm! 🇨🇦💪

This was amazing! So awesome to get a first hand perspective from Cady!

Thank you Adam. Good questions and a nice production!

13:10 The STS-93 launch is a fascinating story all on it's own. The pin ruptured 3 of those lines. If it had ruptured 5 then it would have been an abort. Also two of the engine controllers failed at T-5s, and they flew to orbit on the secondary computers. Overall they were 4.6 m/s slower than they expected, within the margin for the smaller orbital maneuvering engines

Astronaut Cady Coleman is one of my favorite astronauts. Wonderful to see her and Adam enjoying the Shuttle up close.

It must be so cool to be there. Seeing this marvel of science up close. So jealous.

I love this show. So informative about the shuttle. I built 3 of them in my teens. 1 with the 747, 1 on the tractor unit that takes it to launch pad and 1 single shuttle. Please make more like this Adam. Xx

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting a man through my job who worked on the shuttle program. He showed me 2 ceramic tiles of the skin of the shuttle. One new and one after re-entry. The amount of material burned away from re-entry is about 5 inches! So cool!

Yes yes yes! Best video on the internet this year. Well done Adam and Cady

This video going into the engineering details was great.

I love watching these two just completely geek out with each other.

I love that these two have such friendly on screen presence. Would love to see more Astronaut Coleman!

She is amazing. I would listen to her for hours!

Adam, thank you. You make the experience so genuine that I feel almost as if I were there. Your comment "it looks so handmade" really touched me.

I never tire of listening to Cady, not only is she a font of information she's just plain fun.

Cady, thank you for your continuing service. I could listen to you forever. Such an inspiration 🤓❤️

My daughter and I visited this museum this past weekend, it is AMAZING!!

When I was in 6th grade, we had a field trip to Marshall Space Center in Huntsville Alabama. It was early 1978, not long after the piggyback test had been done with the Enterprise. They led us into a small room with curtains on three walls. They pulled back the curtain on the wall I was standing beside, and just on the other side of the glass was the nose of the shuttle. It was sitting at a shallow angle so you could see the side of the vehicle. I literally gasp. It was an awesome sight.

What a fantastic talk/interview with this former astronaut. Great video.

You really ought to show Adam the Veritasium video "The Genius of 3D Printed Rockets". I think he'd love the things they're doing, making things that couldn't be made by traditional methods or that are ridiculously hard to do traditionally. The rocket nozzles mentioned in this video are what made me think he hadn't seen it because that gets touched on in the Veritasium video. The shuttle nozzles were hand welded laboriously with incredibly intricate metal tubing where every weld has to be near perfect. As she mentioned, it's vital to warm the fuel to the temperature for burn, and it's also vital that the cryogenic fuel takes up the heat from the nozzle so that the nozzle doesn't melt. It's so inspiring to hear Cady Coleman talk. Many of us have problem solving in our jobs that seem like looming disasters, and to some extent they are, but hearing someone very professionally talk about how preparation got them through with the only possible help is a radio connection to someone 200 miles below at the closest pass. I woke up terrified this morning when an email from work came in timestamped 6am from a server that shouldn't have been doing anything (for context - wee hours of the night on a holiday are when an organization or business are most vulnerable because hackers know we're off work) and that's only a 10 minute drive with breathable air the whole way.

Could listen to Cady's passion for the shuttle for hours. Incredible video. Thank you Adam and thank you Cady!

The Shuttle may not have been close to perfect, but it was what we had. And they did amazing things with and in these. Easily one of my favorite objects on this planet.

Very enjoyable, thanks Adam.

Man it looks like they've added so much to the hangar since I visited in 2018. Would absolutely love to go back someday.

I know all the criticisms of the shuttle program and they are totally valid, but I still feel so much nostalgic love for it.

Such a cool interview. Those stories of Cady were awesome!

my favorite episode so far. great content!

Brilliant. Thanks for answering the question if anyone has had to do a space walk to shut the doors.

Amazing tour and interview

10:12 - Oooooh, that's a good shot! That's good lighting! Ooof, makes me tear up! The walk-up shot at the beginning was really cute, clearly staged, right, but it was heartwarming too. But THIS moment, wow! BIG ups to the camera operator who got to record this angle, it must have felt GREAT!

Adam is a great listener.

Such great insight to the experience. Bravo!

Absolutely awesome in every sense of the word. What a feat. I can’t wait to see it one day.

Super cool. Priceless experience to have a real live astronaut share intimate details about the shuttle 👍🏼👍🏼