SOMEWHERE ON THE ROAD TO KENNEDY SPACE CENTER -- As the dateline would suggest, I'm in transit. In what has become a series of lines, that lead to more lines, I am on a bus bound for Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center - another in a series of stops - that will eventually take me to the causeway that sits about 4 miles from Pad 39A, currently hosting a Space Shuttle for the final time.
OV-104, more commonly known as Space Shuttle Atlantis, began fueling a little past 2:00 AM here in Florida, but weather - not technical readiness - appear to be the big obstacles to an on-time launch at 11:26 AM ET. NASA gives the launch about a 30% chance of taking place with a chance of thunderstorms in the area. As a baseball fan .300 are odds I'll take. Much of this day, I suspect, will be spent playing the waiting game.
So there's no confusion, my beat remains commercial aircraft, and my business here in Florida is separate from any official Flightglobal coverage, but seeing an opportunity to see a shuttle launch in person, I seized it, which is not to say I wasn't going to write something about the goings-on here at the cape.
More from Florida to follow as the morning rolls on, but it's just shy of 3 AM now, and I'm going to try and briefly add to the 90 minutes of sleep I got "last night" while I still have the chance. JO, out.
the article about was writtin by Jon Ostrower of" FlightBlogger" of which I am a faithful follower...
A few of my thoughts....
Ever since the Challenger blew up in the 80's, I have always been such a nervous wreck when a shuttle was about to take off....so scared something bad would happen!!!!! I thought I would die, my heart pounded so hard for each launch....waiting to hear the control people persons .......say "GO WITH THROTTLE UP"....then the slow calming of my vital signs....
And so damn Proud when the launch was roaring(yes pun) success....and I am by no means discounting the Columbia accident on that terrible Saturday morning in 2003, I believe....!
Always risks involved...and the brave men and women....who tooks those risks.......
Now there will be no more missions....leaves me empty and really sad.......hard to explain....maybe it's NOT supposed to be explained...how's and why's of what makes us.......Us....OV-104, more commonly known as Space Shuttle Atlantis, began fueling a little past 2:00 AM here in Florida, but weather - not technical readiness - appear to be the big obstacles to an on-time launch at 11:26 AM ET. NASA gives the launch about a 30% chance of taking place with a chance of thunderstorms in the area. As a baseball fan .300 are odds I'll take. Much of this day, I suspect, will be spent playing the waiting game.
So there's no confusion, my beat remains commercial aircraft, and my business here in Florida is separate from any official Flightglobal coverage, but seeing an opportunity to see a shuttle launch in person, I seized it, which is not to say I wasn't going to write something about the goings-on here at the cape.
More from Florida to follow as the morning rolls on, but it's just shy of 3 AM now, and I'm going to try and briefly add to the 90 minutes of sleep I got "last night" while I still have the chance. JO, out.
the article about was writtin by Jon Ostrower of" FlightBlogger" of which I am a faithful follower...
A few of my thoughts....
Ever since the Challenger blew up in the 80's, I have always been such a nervous wreck when a shuttle was about to take off....so scared something bad would happen!!!!! I thought I would die, my heart pounded so hard for each launch....waiting to hear the control people persons .......say "GO WITH THROTTLE UP"....then the slow calming of my vital signs....
And so damn Proud when the launch was roaring(yes pun) success....and I am by no means discounting the Columbia accident on that terrible Saturday morning in 2003, I believe....!
Always risks involved...and the brave men and women....who tooks those risks.......
misstwa
5 comments:
Nice article. I hope to see the shuttle once in my life, who knows when it'll be traveling from museum to museum...
Thanks, Julie.
I remember the first mission...I followed it so closely. I remember when the first Canadian went on a shuttle mission (Marc Garneau). I remember when the Canadarm was installed. :) I followed the shuttle mission closely when the first Canadian female astronaut went (Roberta Bondar)...and I remember the two tragic events of the shuttle missions. Sigh.
Now with the ISS, the astronauts go up with the Soviet Soyuz (?), I think. I just hope space exploration will continue...I understand that it is very costly and money is always a sticking point...but ....but...how could we NOT explore UP THERE? :)
It's the end of one chapter, and the beginning of another.
When I was a little boy, I remember being saddened when NASA discontinued the Apollo program. It seemed like the end of space travel at the time. But the lessons learned there gave rise to something even better. Just as the space shuttle will give rise to ....... who knows?
NASA has been talking a lot about a return to the moon. I think it would be very interesting to do that, and recover some of the Apollo equipment to see how it has aged in that environment. Could be very interesting indeed.
Nice stories Giulia and Craig, unfortunately I wasn't born back then haha. Wouldn't it be awesome to be on the moon for once in your life? What would it feel like to 'stand' on the moon, watching at the earth being weightless... I can hardly imagine...
Bas
now you know it's bad....when you remember watching the first landing on the moon....LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
on one little TV....black and white....I'm laughing/smiling...but it's scary!!!!....because that was a Long time ago...So BAS....Hush yo mouth....LOL....
One of the Apollo mission left some mirrors on the moon, and are used to measure the distance between us and them...ha ha
and do you know that silly moon has a bit of a wobble...so depending on the wobble it may be closer or farther....from us...
speaking of wobble's must have hit the post this pic twice...oops(picture)...
whats the saying...."CAN PUT A MAN ON THE MOON.....BUT CAN'T .....FIND A non-WOBBLE BLOGGER PERSON OF INTEREST...
Thank ya'll for the visit....
miss(outta this world)twa
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