Reporting Live from the Launch

Hi, everybody! I guess I'll start with a little bit about me. I'm almost fourteen and going to be a sophomore next school year. My goal is to become an astronaut doctor. I won a contest and therefore earned the opportunity to have a thirty-minute teleconference with astronaut and doctor Chuck Brady. He is a very kind and generous man. At the end of our conversation, he invited me to the launch of his first shuttle mission, STS-78, on Thursday, June 20 at 10:49 a.m. and to his pre-launch party the evening before.

We arrived on Tuesday, June 18. The day before the launch, Wednesday, June 19, we spent time at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). We took a VIP bus tour of KSC, including sites such as the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building), pads A and B, and the landing site. I sat with my nose pressed against the window (not literally) staring at the marvels. Towards the beginning, I expected the tour to be very similar to the one I took during Parent/Child Space Camp only three years ago. I soon found out that this tour was, however, much more wonderful. We stood only a few hundred feet from the shuttle--an optimum photo op. Most people were too busy taking pictures to stare at the shuttle. In order to avoid this, my dad brought binoculars, and we stared. Of course, we took our fair share of pictures, too. It was tedious and hot while we were taking the pictures, but now I'm glad we did it. Also on the tour, we saw the tanks holding hydrogen and oxygen to be pumped into the external tank at a later time and the rover used to transport the shuttle from the VAB.

When we got back to Spaceport USA, the main tourist section of KSC, we observed the inside of the Explorer (a full-scale model orbiter). It was fun, but didn't seem to be worth the wait since I had just spent a week at the Alabama Space Camp simulating missions in a mock-up just like this (except it didn't have walkways, stairs, and glass panes in front of the control panels and seats). We then went to the museums, which were interesting. Of course, the air conditioning helped a lot. I picked up a few souvenirs like a STS-78 shirt and a keyring, both displaying the mission patch. We also spent some time in another air conditioned room which housed a TV monitor and a NASA employee, both of which provided information regarding the current state of things inside the orbiter. We also saw the emotional Challenger Memorial. Somewhere in between there, we grabbed a ham and cheese sandwich and Space Dots. To summarize our time at Spaceport USA, I'd say it was HOT, but fun.

It was raining after our tourist time, so my parents went to the car and got the clothes we would be changing into for the pre-launch party. After a few minutes of primping, we were all ready to go at 6:30. It lasted until 8:30 and it was great! First we mingled around the snacks. Then, we went into the Imax theatre to watch a home video including baby pictures of all of the astronauts hosting that party. It was fun to see Dr. Brady doing things besides sitting up straight in a flight suit. I'm a pretty visual person, and putting together that formal astronaut photo and the sweet, fun spirit Dr. Brady showed on the phone was made much easier that Wednesday night. After that movie, we watched "The Dream is Alive." It was basically an overview of spaceflight and EVA's and stuff like that.

Well, finally Thursday came. I didn't like getting up so early, but as soon as I remembered what we'd be doing, I didn't mind it at all! We got ready and drove straight back to Spaceport USA to catch a bus to the launch. We waited a few minutes there and watched the astronauts getting into the orbiter on NASA TV. Their faces were beaming and so were ours. We got a seat on the upstairs left of the bus behind two people that looked like twins. They had the same nose, anyway. However, that wasn't the focus of our attention. Neither Michelle, my friend who came with me, nor myself wanted to imagine the launch so that the real thing would be that much more amazing. Of course, we later discovered that there was no way to make that sight more amazing than it was. Anyway, the bus was #12. We had to remember that so we would come back to the right one (I'm surprised we could remember anything after such a breathtaking event, though).

Eventually, we got to the launch site. The countdown clock was just like in all the movies--big and it kept your attention more than any other object at KSC besides the shuttle until the actual launch. As soon as we got there, we knew it would be scorching hot, but we also knew it probably wouldn't much matter to us at the time. We looked around at the postcards and souvenirs and stuff. My friend Michelle and I decided to find a patch of shade and come back to our spot at the bleachers at around T -20 minutes. Somewhere in all that looking around, we managed to see a cute little alligator peeking its eyes out of the lagoon that was between us and the shuttle. We got tons of pictures (of the shuttle and us, not the alligator). Luckily, many of the people pictures were taken before we started sweating. Anyway, Michelle and I waited in the shade playing cards. First we played Speed, then Frustration, then Set. We could hardly stay focused on our games because we were so busy looking at our watches. We finally decided to go back to the bleachers where we could see the countdown clock and then come back to the shade. The clock was at T- 20 and holding for 10 minutes. We didn't know when we came in during this 10-minute hold. Probably at about 5 minutes or so. Apparently, this holding period was expected, and that explained why the countdown clock hadn't made sense before. We waited on the bleachers with my parents for a while. However, we were scared away by the terrifying prospect that we would start dripping with sweat like everyone else in the bleachers. Fortunately, the smell was not strong in the bleachers or in the shade, where we ended up going back to. On the way, we saw a bunch of military people in a certain section. We busied ourselves again for 15 minutes or so and came back to find the clock at 9 minutes and holding again for ten minutes. Because we didn't know how much longer it would hold, we decided just to wait at the bleachers. Every minute seemed to take forever, but finally, the clock started. Again we found ourselves fighting the urge to imagine the launch. Instead, we talked about anything and everything. After the clock started, a bunch of people stood up, so the people behind them stood, so we eventually ended up having to stand. We didn't mind it too much because of what we were standing for.

We were all so excited. At T-3 minutes or so I realized how fast the time was going. I knew that a few short minutes later, the whole thing would be over, and all I'd be left with was a memory. Of course, I was anxious to make that memory and was not disappointed when the clock turned to T-2. The eyes of every person in the bleachers fixated on the massive structure that would soon leave the earth. Finally, the moment came. T-6 seconds and the main engines fired. It seemed like everyone watching the launch that hadn't been to one before was surprised to be able to see that from 3.2 miles away, but it was as plain as anything. Those last seconds seemed to take forever and then be over far too soon. The shuttle launched, kind of slowly, actually. I'd seen launches on TV and everything, but it was not at all the same. I mean, it was in that there was a lot of smoke and the shuttle went up, but other than that, it was completely different. I think I heard the sonic boom. In fact, I would have sworn I did except that everyone else said they didn't. The ground shook, too. It was amazing. Anyway, it kept going up and then it almost looked like it was going down because it started to follow the curvature of the earth. At first I thought we were seeing an SRB falling, but then realized how stupid that was. It started being hidden by its own smoke, but I kept fixated on it for as long as I possibly could. The one thing that probably made its location the most obvious was the trail of smoke it left behind.

Suddenly, it was over. I couldn't believe it. Five minutes ago, we were staring at a hibernating bear--so still and lifeless. Seconds later, it awoke and roared, and then it disappeared. It was so amazing. All I could say was, "wow." Over and over, all I said was, "wow." I wrote postcards to some people so that they would have the KSC postmark on them. I hope they got the message of what I wrote. I don't remember exactly what it was, but it was probably something like, "wow." We met an astronaut named Cady Coleman and got our picture taken with her. She must have thought I was pretty strange because I don't remember saying much of anything but, "wow."

We mailed the postcards and headed straight for the bus (#12--I'm surprised I remembered after all that). Until then, there was one important thing about the launch that I had not seen at all. I had not even really looked for it. However, my mom told me about it, so I looked out my window. She was right. The sky was absolutely clear. A closer look made it even more amazing. The sky wasn't clear anymore. Clouds were building up in every direction (it rained throughout the rest of the day), darting across the sky from who knows where. Then I realized that I knew where. God had completely cleared the sky for the launch. We had prayed about that so much because the chances of us seeing the launch if it hadn't happened that Thursday were close to none. Now that the launch was over, that wasn't a problem anymore.

During the course of the day, I heard so many people talk about how "lucky" this was and how "coincidental" that was. I heard them talk and thought, how can you think there's no God after that (not to mention all the other reasons, but this was the most immediately obvious)?

Well, we got back to Spaceport and grabbed a quick lunch. Then we went to the Education Resource Center and my dad signed our school up to be on a mailing list. After that, we drove to Space Camp and, while it rained, we went on the "Shuttle to Tomorrow." That is a mock-up of a "passenger shuttle" of the future. We then went into the museum and looked around. Michelle and I waited in line to do the 4G Centrifuge, but when we realized we may have to wait another 30 minutes to an hour, we decided against it (we had both gone on a 3G Centrifuge at Space Camp before, so we didn't miss out too much). After that, we drove in still more rain to the Warbirds museum. It had various exhibits about past wars, including one mannequin in particular that was really annoying because her hand was on the wrong arm. Anyway, they had a hangar in the back where you could look around and even get into a bunch of planes, and that was fun. We saw a MIG and F-8 and F-4, but they were outside and we didn't go see them because it was raining. After that, we drove home. All that and now it was over. We did have the memory, though, and I doubt if that will ever be forgotten.

I had such a great time at the launch and on the tours and doing everything. I'd like to thank Dr. Brady so much for inviting me there and everyone else for helping make it all possible. Thank you so much!