Creative Writing: A Last Mission

The night before the launch. Atlantis lies bathed in light, in the pouring rain.
The Vehicle Assembly building at the KSC. It's where the shuttle is stored
Our broadcast area was like the Tower of Bable. The crews came from Russia, Japan, Australia, as well as from all over the US.
And there goes Atlantis, in sequence:

The Final Mission: The Space Shuttle Atlantis

July 8^th 2011

I’ve always been ambivalent about NASA; its various space programs, and Outer Space in general. I love the achievement but wonder about the justification of its cost. The technical achievements have been staggering but the expense has been equally so. Sometimes I feel that if we put the same effort into improving the quality of education in this country as we did in reaching the stars, life ON EARTH would be greatly improved. I suppose it’s consistent with my birth sign – Taurus – you know, feet firmly planted on the ground. However, I have to admit that as a kid I was a complete fan of the TV series “Lost In Space”. I dreamed of being Billy Mummy and becoming a teenage astronaut, using my vast technical knowledge to advance science and save mankind. But that only lasted until my teenage years and I discovered girls.

I had experienced one other Space Shuttle flight before, the so-called “Return to Space” by the Shuttle Discovery. It was the first mission for the Shuttle since the tragic explosion of the Columbia and, so, had historic significance. NASA needed to reassure the public that the Shuttle program was indeed safe and still viable. So, they took every precaution to ensure a perfect mission. This caused numerous cancellations in lift-off until the right conditions were achieved and Discovery was sent on her way and completed a successful mission

As a member of the media, I’m just about as close to the launch site as any non-NASA private citizen can be: about 3 miles. So close, in fact, that not only can you see the blast off with amazing clarity, you can feel it, too! I have written and published an account of my experiences with Discovery in “The Nyack Villager” (www.nyackvillager.com/archives). It was one of the high lights of my career as a journalist.

Even though I knew what to expect from a launch, eager anticipation still filled the press compound. This would be THE LAST MISSION in the Space Shuttle Program. It would be the last time any of us, or ANYONE at all, would witness the awesome power and crowning technical achievement of a Space Shuttle launch. The attitude of even jaded, experienced journalists, who witnessed virtually all of the launches, was a mixture of sadness for the program's end with the excitement of once again witnessing history. The overall atmosphere at our broadcast position could be compared to a “seventh game playoff” one. This would be it.

The weather was the biggest issue in deciding if, and when, the Atlantis would launch. It poured the day before and lightning, the Shuttle’s biggest enemy, was spotted near by. The weather report for launch day (Friday, 7/8/11 at 10:40 a.m.) was even worse, 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Knowing how cautious NASA had become, we all thought that Atlantis had a snowballs chance in hell to launch. However, the day dawned only partially overcast. The rain had stopped at about 3 o’clock that morning and the sky was indeed showing partial clearing. As we prepared for our broadcast we kept an eye on the sky. The rain held off for the entire morning and our attitude towards the launch became more positive; perhaps they would actually light that candle!

There is a digital countdown clock in the field that lies before our broadcast area that tracks the time until launch. Rather than continuous, it features a series of scheduled “stops” until it reaches the true 9-minute mark before the actual lift-off. We all checked our personal watches, waiting to see if, at 9 minutes before the scheduled launch, the counter would move. At exactly 9 minutes before, the electronic clock did indeed begin. It continued: 8 minutes, 7 minutes, 6, 5, 4, 3. We all looked at one another and exclaimed almost simultaneously, “this is really gonna’ happen”! “:35 seconds, :33, :32, :31”. Then, inexplicably, it stopped at :31 seconds. Everyone looked around in disbelief. “We couldn’t have come this far to be stopped now”, I blurted out. Everyone grunted in agreement. Then we heard an announcement that the launch had be halted because one of the support arms on the launching pad seemed to be stuck in position. However, after closer inspection, NASA engineers determined that the sensor was wrong, the support arm had indeed retracted and the countdown would resume in 2 minutes. A collective sigh of relief could be heard from the crowd of journalists and VIP’s that had gathered to witness history.

Finally, :5, :4, :3, :2, :1. “We have ignition”.

Because of the difference in speed between light and sound, you see the enormous plume of smoke generated by the firing of the rocket engines long before you hear their roar. But if you’ve been there before, as I have, you know that it’s coming. It fills you with a sense of excitement and anticipation that leaves you with goose bumps. Gradually, the Shuttle escapes its nest and begins to rapidly accelerate towards the heavens it will soon occupy. The smoke is now replaced by the glow of the rockets that rival that of the sun. Suddenly, the ship is away from its berth and gobbling up sky, accelerating to 17,000 miles/hour. You see the shock wave from the initial blast of its engines rapidly flying through the trees that separate the press area from the launch pad. It will be only a few seconds before you hear and FEEL it. BOOM! The shock wave is upon you. The railings of the building where we were stationed started to shake and you felt the air pressure increase from the shear power of the thrust of the ship’s engines. The blinding glow from the rockets’ engines was clearly visible, burning thousands of gallons of liquid oxygen and hydrogen every second. The roar was deafening but shouts of glee and “go, go, GO!” could still be heard above it. I’ve been told that the “popping” sound often associated with the roar is the water vapor in the atmosphere exploding from the intense heat generated by the engines!

Because the day was mostly overcast, we could not track Atlantis for long before it disappeared into the cloud cover. I’m sure that it was less than a minute. But, even so, it was one of the most intense moments outside of sex that one can experience (I’m sure there are some drugs that provide the same sensation, but let’s not go there!). It is in every way a masterful feat of engineering and fortitude that serves as a testament to American ingenuity, resolve, innovation, and aspiration. In many ways, it is the best we have to offer and no other country in the world can rival it for its complexity and over-all achievement. On that day, I was very much a fan of NASA.

Simply put, it gave me goose bumps. I still have them.