Countdown

   In just a few hours, the Discovery STS-133 will launch from its pad at Kennedy, and start its mission in space. What an amazing experience that must be, to feel the great engines lift you aloft and then the pressure gradually build until you are released into an environment of micro-gravity. The clock is already counting down; the anticipation must be building in Mission Control even now.

   I would love to be there, in that room, watching it all happen. Feeling the energy in the room, ebbing and flowing as processes are followed. People start gathering, sitting in the stands with binoculars and cameras at the ready watching the clock count down. They will feel the compression and shock of the air as the gases mix and combust. The sound will vibrate the inner ear as the eye watches the orbiter being carried away from the gravitational pull of the earth.
   How amazing it is that such a thing received so much of its early constructive knowledge in warfare. Early parents of rocketry found themselves gaining experience during the World Wars, as the instruments rained down terrible experiences on the population below. That beautiful orbiter, the External Tank, and Solid Rocket Boosters, they are an instrument of peace and exploration. We have just started understanding space, it’s mysteries and complexities, and something of terror gave birth to something of beauty.

Christmas – Discovery

There is a smattering of snow on the ground. Not enough to cover the longer blades of grass, but a sufficient amount to create a powder sugar dusting effect over the lawn and driveway. This is the first snow for the puppy and it was an eagerly anticipated moment to see what the reaction would be. Sleepy indifference led to focused investigation as the puppy discovered everything he could about the snow. I cautioned him to stay away from any snow that isn’t white, but other than that – let him jump from snowy paw to snowy paw.
 

A puppy’s first snow is a time of great discovery. They plow through little drifts that reach the tips of paws and poke their curious noses into the white wet and attempt to determine why all the smells have changed. This was no exception. I had to laugh when Buddy found out that if he pushed the snow across the driveway, his mound would grow to a towering height of about three inches. At that point, he could attack it with his pink tongue and great puppy vigor. Sticks were even more fun as they were discovered laying in snow, thus serving a duel purpose of toy and a wonderful way to help with teething gums. I look forward to many days ahead of discovery for Buddy as he discovers his first winter and Christmas. The enthusiasm and excitement he finds for each of these new things is such fun to watch.



A Lesson from STS 133

I had planned and dreamed for months of watching, feeling, and hearing a shuttle launch. The Discovery was scheduled to launch November 1, 2010 as mission STS 133. Well, Robert Burns was right as he told the mouse that fore planning can run amuck.
    “But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
     In proving foresight may be vain;
     The best-laid schemes o' mice an 'men
     Gang aft agley,
     An'lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
     For promis'd joy!”
    Well, it was not “grief an’pain” but disappointment as the Discovery launch was pushed back one day after another until now it is rescheduled for November 30. But, even though the best laid plans did not go as planned, I did get to see this assembly of parts together on the launch pad. It continues to amaze me that the many thousands of parts assembled to create enough thrust to safely launch this bird into the atmosphere.
   So, the Discovery didn’t launch as planned, and here is the lesson – keep trying and persevere. Persevere when things do not go as planned; persevere when there are technical difficulties and weather delays. Persevere when others do not understand the dream. Persevere through and keep working, because though the plans can “agley,” without a plan and perseverance there is no discovery.

Have you thought about?

   When things are humming along smoothly, it is easy to complete forget about how they got started. For instance, have you ever thought about how it was decided to have multiple branches of government and what each would look like? How did letters become shaped they way they were? Who first had the idea of a light bulb, a car, a computer, or a hot water heater? Who had the idea of the different inventions around us and then pursued it enough to either creation or the encouragement of others? Who thought of wiring or pipes or carpet? Trade, taxes, laws, and infrastructure – it all becomes something that we don’t even think about, just simply accepted. But, each of these had a beginning, a brainstorm and then action.

   There have been many inventions, decisions, discoveries, and designs made. It is easy to forget that each started from an idea. What idea do you have that could result in the next invention, decision, discovery, or design?

Dreams of Flight

“Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds...and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of...wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,

I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air.

Up, up, the long, delirious burning blue

I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace

Where never lark, nor even eagle flew.

And while with silent, lifting mind I've trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space...

...put out my hand, and touched the face of God.”

  I fell in love with the ideas of flight and space when I was a little girl. It caught my attention, held my imagination and dreams. The space shuttle program is coming to an end. The orbiters, the beautiful black and white birds, are taking their place in history. However, there is no new craft ready to take its place. Instead, we are entering a new time of unknowns. Where it will go and where it will lead I do not know. But, I do know that I plan on seeing the Discovery lift from earth on this flight. To watch the fuels mix and combust, putting forth thousands of pounds of pressure and create inertia, to boost the bird from her home. What will happen without these dream capturers, these pure science moments? Where will our newer technology come from, our new spin-offs of products that many never will realize nor care that they come from space. Atlantis, Challenger, Columbia, Discovery, and Endeavour – the names caught the hearts and imagination of some. The names still ring of bravery, intelligence, tragedy, and yet victory in the face of utterly devastating circumstances. I want to see the bird fly. I want to see the orbiter move away from the trellis which holds her and be powered into the sky. I want to feel the roar of the engines in my insides, as my heart and the vibration of that might sound mingle for a moment and my heart beat is part of the engine roar. Slip the surly bonds of earth, top the heights, and trod into space.


High Flight – by John Magee