| Posted on Jul 12, 2011 01:55:44 PM | Mike Fossum | 4 Comments | |
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July 9, 2011
Atlantis is on the way! With weather threatening to delay the mission and an interruption in the countdown at 31 seconds (!) before launch, the crew of STS-135 has begun their voyage!!
Ron Garan and I during suit fit check a couple of weeks ago. After training underwater for over 250 hours together and doing 3 spacewalks on STS-124 three years ago, we definitely have a feeling of “Getting the band back together”!
Collecting samples from a freezer, which stops all biological activity at a crisp -98OF. This space shuttle flight will be our last opportunity to get a lot of these valuable research samples home for a while.
The period of time leading up to this historic event has been unbelievably busy on the International Space Station. We arrived exactly one month ago on June 9th. We’ve been busy preparing the ISS, preparing for our spacewalk while they are here, and collecting scientific and engineering samples to go home on the last space shuttle.
As busy as each day can be, all work stopped yesterday as we watched the launch of Atlantis with a live video feed from Mission Control in Houston. The major event overshadowing all of our work for the last month has been preparation for this mission, so it was appropriate we joined the rest of the world in viewing this historical event.
There are a wide range of emotions which run through you watching any human space launch. Those haven’t changed much since I watched as a child: Excitement, fear, anticipation, wonder, and hope for the future. We hold our collective breath as the beast roars to life. Cleared the tower – check. Good roll program – check. Go for throttle up – check. Solid rocket booster separation – check. Go for nominal main engine shutdown/go for pitch maneuver – check. The cadence of a highly-trained crew onboard Atlantis and on the ground is like music to our ears. There are challenges and much work ahead, but for now, all is well.
This is the only photo we have onboard the International Space Station of yesterday’s launch of Atlantis to begin STS-135. Since you’re reading this, you have at least a passing interest in our nation’s space program and have probably seen dozens, if not hundreds, of photos of this historic event. I don’t need another one. After 30 years of space shuttle missions, this one says it all for me.
Make no mistake, the preparation and launching of any spacecraft is a tough business for tough people. This is true from the top managers who have to make the tough decisions to the technicians on the ground who hone their rocket maintenance skills on the weekends keeping their Harleys in perfect running condition. They prepare that spacecraft for each mission with the same tender loving care they use to polish the chrome to a perfect shine for a Sunday ride. For us astronauts, that’s not “our” space shuttle. The technicians who care for them daily make it very clear they consider each to be “their” space shuttle. The ground team just allows us take each vehicle out for a ride and we better bring them home in good shape! You have to really trust someone to loan them your bike. Same goes for spaceships!
The space shuttle launch image is one which symbolizes America. It is powerful, huge, tough, bold, and at times audacious. Today the famous launch pads at Kennedy Space Center have gone silent. We’ll have more time to ponder the implications later. For now, we have a mission to execute.
Come on up, Atlantis! We’ll leave the lights on for you and have a cup of coffee waiting!!
Living the Dream!
-Mike Fossum
Tags : General
Hi Mike,
I just want to say thanks for writing this blog. The Space Shuttle and the ISS have really represented human space flight during my life, I was so excited to get to visit KSC in 2003, and it's incredibly sad to witness the end of the Shuttle era now. It's great to have the chance to see you guys up there in space via Nasa TV, so thanks for the hard work you all put in to keeping the dream alive. Any space up there for a biology PhD student?! :)
Vicki
I have been and continue tonbe a great admirer o the work that NASA does. In particular as we ponder the significance of this last shuttle mission and the enormous contribution the program has allowed I salute (as a former Marine) all of the ground teams, the flight crews and now focus on the ISS one of two of your collective greatest achievements 1) Hubble and 2) The International Space Station. Without the shuttle, there would be no space station.
Lastly, I have to say that I am sad to see the shuttle program go the way of history. I feel certain that in the next 100 years or so, with unimaginable new technologies arriving, that some sort of reusable "space truck" will return. I hope so. It is hard for me to imagine future time when the need to do earth orbit work on a significantly larger scale will not continue to grow exponentially.
Oh well, just venting a bit of my emotion as we say good by to shuttle. Thank you all for your wonderful contribution to all of mankind. We are all in your debt. Semper fi. Rick Carroll, CA
That would be a dream come though to be there...
Good evening
What a dream.
The space shuttle history started a long time ago. A time I was a freshman. One of my uncle working for ESA came home with a book talking about the European partnerschip and the European Lab to come on board. This was before the early first launch.
I would like to thank my host family while they will recognise themselve in this text as they provided me the chance to come over the States in 1983... and saw on television the dream of my uncle realised while looking at TV in California.
Even if I never had a good relationschip with him, I would thank him on the fact I tried to do better he did, and currently participate a certain way to the current dream we all had while talking about the shuttle.