Tag Archives: space
Fly-Over
At 9:30pm, I stood up. “Ok, I’m going outside now. Six minutes to go.” The sky was mostly clear. It was dark — as dark as it can be with streetlights every half-block. We walked across the street and down a house or two and turned to the southwest. Trudy held her hand up to […]
Endeavour
I saw Endeavour hitching a ride west this morning. Standing in the wet grass on Auditorium Shores, we spotted it approaching from the east out of the sun. They had clearance to fly low at 1500 feet. With landing lights on, shining brightly thru the morning haze, a T-38 trailing slightly behind and off to […]
First Man on the Moon
The greatness of a generation. The attention of the world holding their breath. The first man on the moon. Time passed. We grow old. One by one, the greatness passes. RIP Neil Armstrong.
Conjunction
1. Tonite “Trudy, you have to come see this,” I said, coming in from the backyard. “Is it about the compost?” she asked. “No,” I said and walked back outside. “Wow,” she said, looking at the clear sky. “The stars are bright.” 2. Last Fall Back in the fall, just as it was starting to […]
End of the Road
The road ends at the ocean. If you stand near the crashing waves on Playalinda Beach at Canaveral National Seashore and look south, you can see Launch Complex 39. Built for Saturns, for the last 30 years it has been used for Space Shuttles—until last Friday when the last one flew. Standing on the seashore, you […]
One Hour Photo
1. The Kid on the Sidewalk We were on our way to Waffle House for breakfast. (We always have breakfast there when we’re in Cocoa Beach. It’s a kind of addiction.) So we were driving north, and we passed a kid on the sidewalk. He was holding a plain white sign that said, “Launch Photos” […]
STS-135
1. Pre-Dawn “The fishing pier’s almost full, but there’s still room.” We were the last people on the pier with a front row seat and a clear view of Launch Complex 39. It was small but clearly visible, shining on the horizon with pencils of white light shooting up into the darkness. Everyone else arriving […]
I Didn’t Know That
“So, you got summer plans?” John asked me as he cut my hair. “Actually, we do,” I said. “We just made a motel reservation in Florida for the last Shuttle launch.” He was silent for a moment. “What do you mean, last?” he asked. “The last Shuttle launch. We’re going to try to see it.” […]