Thursday, September 20, 2012
When I was in high school the first space shuttle flew into space. When I was a senior at the University of Michigan, the Challenger exploded and I heard of this while standing in the living room of my house.
I have always liked science fiction. My father hated that, it was one of his many psychological problems (he also hated Tom Selleck, environmentalists, garlic, and at times me).
At work this morning someone mentioned that the Space Shuttle Endeavor was going to fly over Tucson on its way to a museum in California. It was going to dip low over Tucson in honor of its last pilot, Mark Kelly, and his wife Gabrielle Giffords. So Patti, Sarah, Mario, Lisa, Mike and I walked over to the park across the street from the office and right at 11:15 it appeared in the sky.
Endeavor.
It was a bittersweet sight, seeing the last Space Shuttle pass by.
NASA has shown the awesome resolve, engineering and computing skills, and bravery of American men and women. When I was a kid everyone wanted to be an astronaut or a scientist. Now everyone wants to be reality television show stars.
Oh course I made the mistake of reading some of the comments left on our local newspaper afterward. I learned that it was a waste of money, that Obama killed the shuttle program, that Gabriel Giffords is a traitor. I guess there will always be misfits who hate everything.
I hope NASA is figuring out some way to replace the Shuttle program. Space is the ultimate frontier.
I have always liked science fiction. My father hated that, it was one of his many psychological problems (he also hated Tom Selleck, environmentalists, garlic, and at times me).
At work this morning someone mentioned that the Space Shuttle Endeavor was going to fly over Tucson on its way to a museum in California. It was going to dip low over Tucson in honor of its last pilot, Mark Kelly, and his wife Gabrielle Giffords. So Patti, Sarah, Mario, Lisa, Mike and I walked over to the park across the street from the office and right at 11:15 it appeared in the sky.
It was a bittersweet sight, seeing the last Space Shuttle pass by.
NASA has shown the awesome resolve, engineering and computing skills, and bravery of American men and women. When I was a kid everyone wanted to be an astronaut or a scientist. Now everyone wants to be reality television show stars.
Oh course I made the mistake of reading some of the comments left on our local newspaper afterward. I learned that it was a waste of money, that Obama killed the shuttle program, that Gabriel Giffords is a traitor. I guess there will always be misfits who hate everything.
I hope NASA is figuring out some way to replace the Shuttle program. Space is the ultimate frontier.
