July 8, 201115 yr From On Space [excerpt] The Last Launch -- Atlantis STS135Posted by Wayne LaBar at 7/8/2011 2:32 PM CDT So the night before the launch the space shuttle sat underneath its spot lights waiting patiently and proudly. CV32: I still remember the first Shuttle launch. Sitting in the library of my school with the rest of my Grade 4 class as we all watched on a tiny (by today's standards) color TV.
July 9, 201115 yr I was in second grade when Challenger blew up. I remember it was only my second year in the united states, it was the 1st time I saw a launch. Like in many American schools it was watched on tv at my school because of the teacher Christa McAuliffe that was on board. There were going to be almost daily broadcast to class rooms from space by the teacher planned to get kids to be more interested in space and science. I loved planes and space ships as a kid (real things not just make believe) I knew by sight just about every major aircraft in the US,NATO and Warsaw pact arsenal. So as soon as the explosion happened I also knew that it was a catastrophic failure and when no chuets were seen a deadly one. I cried that night for those lives lost and for all the cool stuff I knew would not get to see that week. When I watched the last launch today it brought some of those memories flooding back realizing that those tired old birds were done for real this time. Hope they have a good ride home.
July 9, 201115 yr I don't want remember about the Challenger loss and the future opportunities lost with her ... (and with Columbia). I remember the first experimental flight of the Columbia with only two crewmembers, and the report about a Hawaiian telescope seeing the spaceship underbelly for possible lost tiles ... I remember on the sucessive years the growing controversy about actual higher cost of the shuttle spaceflights than those in ordinary not-reusable rockets spaceflights. But the Shuttle program was a very good-looking dream, I hope it keeps for years the public interest in manned spaceflights
July 9, 201115 yr I don't want remember about the Challenger lost and the future opportunities lost with her ... (and with Columbia).I remember the first experimental flight of the Columbia with only two crewmembers, and the report about a Hawaiian telescope seeing the spaceship underbelly for possible lost tiles ... I remember on the sucessive years the growing controversy about actual higher cost of the shuttle spaceflights than those in ordinary not-reusable rockets spaceflights. But the Shuttle program was a very good-looking dream, I hope it keeps for years the public interest in manned spaceflights Cost aside, it is surely a concept that will be the norm some time in the future. Look at commercial stuff that is planned, what chance would that have had without the shuttle project. Maybe a bit like manned flights to the moon, they did a few but aren't that important at the moment - but they will be in the future. For those interested I used to run "Orbiter" (free space ship simulator) before Harpoon took up all my disk space. Its a real cool contraption with seemingly pretty real 'physics' involved. Its more like doing a physics exam than flying a plane. Getting a space shuttle up into orbit and rendezvous the international space station took me a LOT of practice. I think its easily found on the 'net by a search. Don Thomas
July 9, 201115 yr For those interested I used to run "Orbiter" (free space ship simulator) before Harpoon took up all my disk space. Its a real cool contraption with seemingly pretty real 'physics' involved. Its more like doing a physics exam than flying a plane. Getting a space shuttle up into orbit and rendezvous the international space station took me a LOT of practice. I think its easily found on the 'net by a search.Don Thomas Orbiter home page: http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/
Create an account or sign in to comment