How the Space Shuttle’s rocket boosters were retrieved from the ocean
Amazing NASA footage shows just how reusable the Space Shuttle really was.
This high-definition NASA video shows the Kennedy Space Center’s solid rocket booster (SRB) recovery ships retrieving SRB segments from the Atlantic Ocean following a Space Shuttle launch. The unprecedented video is from the launch of the shuttle mission STS-133, Discovery’s final flight, on Feb. 24 2011.
Following each Space Shuttle launch, crew members of Liberty Star and Freedom Star pulled the spent boosters out of the ocean and returned them to Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Once they were processed, the boosters were transported to Utah, where they were refurbished and stored, if needed.