Mission STS-124

On Saturday the 31^st of May at 5:02 pm I got to cross something off my Life List. I have been calling it a Life List long before bucket list became fashionable. What did I cross off? I was fortunate and very lucky indeed to witness the launch of a NASA Space Shuttle. Since Saturday I have told (and probably bored) just about every one I know with my story.

I grew up on Long Island, New York in the 1960’s very near Bethpage, the home of Grumman Aircraft Engineering. Grumman were the chief contractor on the Apollo Lunar Module that landed men on the moon. As a kid at Loretta Park Elementary school many of my classmates had parents who worked at Grumman. My own father was in the US Air Force. TV’s were turned on in the classrooms and our school day stopped to watch every launch. We followed every mission and we loved it! Yes, you could say I grew up with rockets. To this day, I still keep track of what is going on with NASA. Lucky for me I married another space fan. It has long been a wish of both of us to see a launch at the Space Center in Florida but never got around to it for one reason or another. I made up my mind that these was the year that we were going to do it! The pressure was on when NASA announced that the shuttle would only fly another 10 missions before retiring the fleet.

Let me tell you it wasn’t easy. Mission STS-124 was re-scheduled twice since April of this year. We were able to change our schedules and held our breathe hoping there would be no further delays to make the May 31^st launch window. Jeff and I told our selves that it probably wasn’t going to happen but would hope for the best. Oh yeah! I knew I would cry either way – either out of disappointment or happiness. I wound up crying out of joy!

Early Saturday morning we joined a Grey Line VIP tour of the Launch – we had missed out on getting NASA tickets. The tour company gave us a tour of the Kennedy Space Center in the midst of all of the hub bub. I was really too excited to pay attention. All I wanted to see was the launch pad and flames under a rocket! I would like to go back and see the facilities again some day. It looks like a great place. At one point on were on the NASA tour bus and were stopped while we watched the astronaunts being transported to the launch pad in a van.

We took up our position about 5 miles away from pad 39A on the NASA causeway with about 5000 other people and 2 hours prior to the launch. The weather was sunny and very hot. Who cared? The mission was still a go and this point unlikely to be scrubbed. I couldn't’t believe my good luck! Loud speakers were set up and we listened in as mission control communicated to the shuttle. Yes, I counted down from 10 along with everyone else with the tears already forming! All you could say was go baby go as she climbed into the sky! Jeff was in control enough to take pictures and I watched through our binoculars. What a show! All I wanted to see was that flames underneath the vehicle that meant she was moving. And oh boy did I! It all went much too fast for me and when the sound of those engines washed over us it was a welcome confirmation that the shuttle was going somewhere! This was really happening! I want to press an instant replay button and watch it all over again! I think every person near me held their breathe with me for those critical first few minutes as we watched the vapor trail grow higher and higher in the sky. Through the binoculars I watched the booster separation. How cool is that?

Then it was over.