Atlantis

Ok...these are from last summer and I don't know why I never posted them :(  I am just a bad blogger.

Kennedy Space Center.  I love, love, love all things NASA!  This was  not my first time there, but it was for George and Aidan.  Everything there is facsinating, but the cherry on top...the highlight of my whole summer...was seeing the Shuttle Atlantis in person, in all her heavenly glory.

Before you can see her, you have to watch a short film which was amazing and awe-inspiring.  Then the curtains part and Atlantis is right in front of your eyes.  We all teared up.  It's the stuff dreams are made of.  Definitely my dreams!

It was very special to see her up close like that.  A day, and summer, I'll never forget!

The End of a Fantastic Era

From NASA...

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:18:04 -0500

At 5:57 a.m. EDT, space shuttle Atlantis landed for the final time at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center after 200 orbits around Earth and a journey of 5,284,862 miles on STS-135. It was the 25th night landing, the 78th landing at Kennedy and the133rd landing in shuttle history. Atlantis’ main gear touched down at 5:57:00 a.m. followed by the nose gear at 5:57:20 and wheels stop at 5:57:54 a.m. At wheels stop, the mission elapsed time was 12 days, 18 hours, 28 minutes and 50 seconds. The STS-135 crew consisted of Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim. They delivered more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, spare equipment and other supplies in the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module - including 2,677 pounds of food - that will sustain space station operations for the next year. The 21-foot long, 15-foot diameter Raffaello brought back nearly 5,700 pounds of unneeded materials from the station. A post-landing news conference at Kennedy is planned for 10 a.m. on NASA TV and http://www.nasa.gov/ntv. The participants will be Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations, Bob Cabana, Kennedy center director, Mike Moses, space shuttle launch integration manager, and Mike Leinbach, space shuttle launch director. Since STS-1 launched on April 12, 1981, 355 individuals from 16 countries flew 852 times aboard the shuttle. The five shuttles traveled more than 542 million miles and hosted more than 2,000 experiments in the fields of Earth, astronomy, biological and materials sciences. The shuttles docked with two space stations, the Russian Mir and the International Space Station. Shuttles deployed 180 payloads, including satellites, returned 52 from space and retrieved, repaired and redeployed seven spacecraft. STS-135 was the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis, which spent 307 days in space, orbited Earth 4,848 times and traveled 125,935,769 miles. A welcome home ceremony for the astronauts will be held Friday, July 22, in Houston. The public is invited to attend the 4 p.m. CDT event at NASA's Hangar 990 at Ellington Field. Gates to Ellington Field will open at 3:30 p.m. The ceremony will be broadcast live on NASA Television.

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Via Con Dios!

Just got back from an exciting evening of banging and thumping....and this is what I have to show for it:


My brain!

Yes, I had my annual MRI done tonight. The results? Who the hell knows! I'll have to see what the doctor says next time I see him.

The good thing is we got back in time to see the shuttle launch!

We just came inside from watching the space shuttle launch at 7:55pm. Amazing that we are SO far away, and yet could see it clear as day from the front yard. Awesome. Simply awesome.

Have a safe flight. Via con Dios!

"Here's Your Sign"

Yesterday, a few minutes after 12:00pm, I was sitting at my desk when I heard this really loud, WHHUUUUMP! What the heck was that? I've heard raccoons and iguanas on the roof of my office...heard branches fall, but this was mucho bigger.

I waited a few minutes before I ventured outside to see if I could figure out what it was. I walked around and looked at all the roofs. Nothing. Hmm.

Later, I told my boss what happened. She asked me when the shuttle was landing. I said, "Oh, it landed safely around 12:20." "Maybe something fell off the shuttle!", was her reply. Wow. I never thought of that... it did fly in across Cuba, so we would've been in it's path...

A couple hours later, the AC started making an awful buzzing sound. I called for one of my co-workers to see if he could check it out. I then told him about the loud WHUMP I heard. Maybe something fell into the AC unit? Well, he got up on the roof, switched the unit off and on and the buzzing stopped. He looked around and didn't see anything on the roofs. (Are you figuring this one out yet?)

I got home that evening and Sam and my Mom said, "Hey, did you hear the shuttle?!?" George immediately said, "Yeah, I was at Black Point and I heard it!" (Do you get it NOW?)

At the precise moment, there was a knock at the front door. I opened it to find Bill Engvall standing there with a condescending look on his face. He handed me a piece of paper and said, "Here's your sign." then poof! he was gone...

(If you still don't get it, email me and I'll fill you in, then mail you your sign)