ICYMI - A Human Tripod Once Caught a Falling Satellite

Normally a spacewalk sends out two people. One time in NASA history, it sent out three, because a massive satellite wasn't cooperating and somebody suggested becoming a human tripod instead. Robert Pearlman still has the footage in his head, and he's not the only one who does. He was also one of the last journalists to get that close to a space shuttle before it flew for good. Not press-line close. Launch-pad close, training-room close, the kind of access NASA only hands out once everyone already knows it's ending. What he watched that day wasn't just a rocket leaving the ground. Down the road from a real 184-foot shuttle on display sits a brand new museum full of Star Wars props. Pearlman has stood in front of both, and only one of them stopped him cold the second he turned the corner. Guess which. Topics: space shuttle, Atlantis final flight, NASA history, Endeavour exhibit, spacewalk Originally aired on 2026-07-16