Laurie, Nicole, and Bonnie's Adventure

Sunday, July 18, 1999 For the first part of Sunday, we explored the Cocoa Beach area of Florida and really took in all the sights so we could really appreciate the area. We were able to visit the beach and have some fun in the sun before our mission really started that night. Also, we got to do some silly souvenir shopping at the various surf shops located on the main strip.

For dinner, we met with our fellow Young Women of NASA at the hotel restaurant. Here, we discussed our plans for the following day at NASA. There were 12 of us at dinner altogether. It was great to finally have everybody together from the advisory council so we could discuss in person what our expectations were for this "mission." We decided to meet in the lobby at 1:30 in the afternoon the next day before the buses would depart for the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center.

We returned to our rooms where we had a "technology prep-course." We all wanted to make sure we knew what we were doing with the video cameras, still cameras, audio recorders, and laptops. Geez…what a lot of gear! We worked extra hard though because we knew we had an important job with our big day ahead of us. Bonnie was afraid she would forget how to use it; Nicole was afraid she would miss out on the actual event because she'd have her eyeball in the camera; and Laurie was afraid she'd forget it on the bus! Mrs. Renner was probably just worried we'd be able to juggle it all around with us for the whole day! Everywhere you looked, there was some other doo-dad to watch out for. Good thing we're all responsible and ambitious young women!

We finished up by about 10:30 that evening. Now, we had everything figured out. Jobs were assigned, and everyone knew who would handle what. We still weren't mentally prepared for what was to come, but at least we had a better idea of what we were doing.

Monday, July 19, 1999
We all decided to sleep in a bit knowing a late night was in store for us. By the time we woke up and got ourselves psyched for the day, it was lunchtime. We anxiously ate our lunches, trying to sit still and stay calm, but we all knew what was on everyone's minds. We had special Young Women of NASA shirts with logos that we wore to the launch, and at the restaurant, everyone took notice. You could say all the attention was in preparation for what was to come later that day!

At 1:30, shortly after lunch, we met the rest of the council in the hotel lobby. As it turned out, the lobby happened to be the meeting place for everyone else involved in the event who was staying at the hotel! We got a chance to go over everything once more, but the best part was being able to mix and mingle with strangers who would eventually become our friends. Among these guests were women in the news industry, editors of women's magazines, producers and hosts of women's television programs, young female journalists, leaders of women's organizations, White House members, and decision-makers with an impact on women's issues. It was almost intimidating to imagine just whom we were standing among! We all had butterflies in our stomachs, but at the same time, there was a very welcoming and unified atmosphere among the guests. It was exciting to know that we would be spending this important day with a variety of intelligent, successful women.

Before we departed on the bus, though, we were surprised with a spontaneous television interview for Channel 9 in Washington. A friendly and bubbly reporter asked us if we wouldn't mind sharing our thoughts on the launch and answering a few questions for their viewers. Would we mind?! We were so excited! This would be our first television interview where we could really get our mission out there. We each got to talk a little about our expectations, how we got involved, and what our other activities were. We felt pretty special after the interview - now we had exposure!

Then, the whole group loaded the buses. We eventually ended up at the Center for Education at the Visitor's Complex. Here, we were supposed to sit in the auditorium for about an hour so we could be welcomed, then hear an overview of the planned events. However, when we walked in, we were stunned to find about six astronauts sitting in the seats! After a bit of prompting from our chaperones for courage, we cautiously walked over and introduced ourselves to them. They were happy to talk to us and even took pictures with us, right there on the spot! We were shocked…these were actual astronauts standing next to us! Surprisingly, there were very down-to-earth and had a great sense of humor. We thought they would be more intimidating, but the astronauts turned out to be very friendly and open.

We all took our seats, and Roy Bridges, the Kennedy Space Center Director, welcomed us to their facilities and to an event full of exhilarating events. Then, Peggy Wildhide, the Associate Administrator for Public Affairs, gave us the overview we were waiting for. By this time, we really got an idea of just what a big deal this all was! All the guests were anxious for the launch, but we still really didn't know what to expect; it was a new experience for all of us!

The next step was a tour of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center. This building was huge! It had to be big enough to assemble the whole space shuttle, so you could fit four 35-story office buildings inside. In it, we saw giant cranes, rocket boosters, hoists, and other heavy equipment for the assembly process. Basically, you could compare it to a major indoor construction site, for a space shuttle, of course.

The Orbiter Processing Facility is what we saw next. This is where people perform maintenance on the orbiter. Right before it's launched, it comes here to be set up and prepared for its mission. Directly after the landing, it comes here for repairs. For example, during reentry, there is tile damage on the shuttle, so they replace the tiles in this facility after landing. In this building (it was much smaller than the assembly building), we were so close to an actual space shuttle that we could have touched it! They called it a payload, and we were able to peek inside the cargo and see the cockpit windows, where the astronauts would sit. We also spotted the jet propulsion thrusters that are used to turn the shuttle. Luckily, we were able to take lots of pictures. Our tour guides, actual members of the facility that work there everyday, were patient and informative. Our next bus trip took us back to the Visitor Complex where we started for a special panel discussion. It was called Discussion with Women: Past, Present, and Future of Space. Basically, we witnessed a discussion of 7 highly esteemed, experienced professionals who are perhaps most knowledgeable when it comes to women's statuses in science in technology. This discussion was generally centered on NASA, but of course focused also on the fields of science and technology as a whole. Lynn Sherr of 20/20 was the moderator of the discussion, leading it with key points and questions that sparked many comments and discussions among the participants. Some of these answers were expected, while others surprised us.

After the discussion, we stopped for a snack, then boarded the buses again for one of the most exciting parts of the day. We were headed for the Crew Walkout, where we actually got to see the crew of the launch walk out in their jumpsuits on their way to board the shuttle. One interesting part of the walkout that we thought was quite thrilling was that the crew is considered a national asset. Apparently, sharpshooters (people with guns) are strategically placed in helicopters and bushes surrounding the area for security. There were even SWAT team members placed around the buses and the doorway to protect the astronauts. In about fifteen seconds, the astronauts were out the door and entering the bus. Everyone was waves, smiles, and cheers for the proud astronauts heading out to their mission. We could all feel the excitement; now it was really happening.

We cleared out of the walkout to head back to the Visitor Complex for two lectures especially planned for guests of the launch. The first, by Dr. Patricia Cowings of the NASA Ames Center, was called Train Your Mind and Body to Overcome Fear. It was a workshop showing how astronauts train. Essentially, it was how they manage stress by controlling body functions (heartbeat, sweating, and body temperature). Dr. Cowings based it on physical control and insisted that this takes much practice and persistence. The astronauts must be very disciplined, and it's hard work, but it's definitely necessary. The second lecture, by Dr. Kathie Olsen, a NASA chief scientist, was called Gender Differences: Male vs. Female Thinking. It focused on how similar men and women are despite stereotypes. Even though we are different, we are more alike. She exposed many stereotypes we believe, as well as the roles of men and women in society.

After the lectures, we were destined for the Banana Creek Viewing Site, where we would see the actual launch of the STS-93. We sat with astronaut Joan Higginbotham, who explained the launch process play by play to us so we could actually understand what was going on. Everything was going according to schedule, and at 30 seconds the computers took over as usual. However, at 6.6 seconds, the mission was stopped because sensors detected high levels of hydrogen in the tanks. It could have been a hydrogen leak, which would have been very dangerous, actually detrimental, to the flight. Good thing NASA is so careful with its equipment and its astronauts! If the computers hadn't have been extra careful, the boosters would have lit at 5 seconds, and then it would have been impossible to fix anything. All the participants were extremely disappointed that the launch would not be taking place that night, but we would all wait 24 hours to see if it was fixable, and hopefully they would recover the system and set it up again for launch. Despite the initial failure, the whole process still intrigued us all. We got to see and experience it all!

Wednesday, July 21, 1999
We woke up at 5:30 in the morning to go kayaking. We had only slept 3 hours! We stayed up until two in the morning the night before, singing and talking. At 6:00 we left to go kayaking, groggily. We basically just threw on some clothes and hopped in the car. Nicole was riding shotgun, so she couldn't sleep because she had to read the directions to the site, and Bonnie and Laurie dozed off in the back. We arrived at 7:15, even after getting lost. The kayaking site was on a mangrove on KSC grounds. The KSC owns over 100 acres of land and they kept most of it a wildlife reserve. We could see portions off the mangrove closed off that were too close to the launching site. A few helicopters flew overhead, patrolling the area.

We kayaked for four hours. Laurie and Nicole were in one kayak and Bonnie and Mrs. Renner were in the other for the first two hours. We had a short lunch, then Bonnie and Laurie were in one kayak and Mrs. Renner and Nicole were in the other. It was a really beautiful site, and we saw many animals, including a dolphin that continued to follow us. Much to Mrs. Renner's dismay though, we did not see a manatee.

At 12:00 we started on the drive back to the hotel, with a quick stop at Burger King. We tried to catch up on sleep in the car and back at the hotel. We didn't get much though because we had a radio interview at 2:00. We got settled back in the hotel at 1:00, and Mrs. Renner came running to our door saying that we had a radio interview. We tried to get back to her room and discovered her key didn't work. Luckily we hadn't closed our door, and we called security. An officer came to her room and opened the door, after we closed ours. He had to let us back into our room also. For some reason, the staff thought we had checked out. We got new keys though and were able to get back into our rooms without worrying. 1590 KLIV recorded our interview. We were asked questions about our interests in science and technology and who our heroes were. They said they would play the interview a couple weeks later, and although we never listened to it, Nicole's dad's co-worker said he heard us on the radio.

After the interview, we slept until 4:00 and then got ready for the second launch attempt. We left for dinner at 5:00 and had about the worst food in Florida. The day was not going well up to that point, so we hoped the launch would cheer us up. We arrived at 6:00 at the KSC and lined up to board the bus at 8:00. Mrs. Renner offered to hold our spots, so we ate Space Dotz, which was basically ice cream in the form of tiny balls, and then we went shopping at the gift shop. We basically took our time, but at nearly 8:00 we realized we had to go! So we made a dash to the lines and arrived just before they were going to take our seats.

We arrived at the launch site at 9:00 and launch was to occur at 12:36. We heard that Hillary Clinton was to arrive again, so we waited for her in front of the rope isolating her reserved section. It seemed as if she was never going to arrive, but at 12:25 she walked through the aisle. We were stoked and whipped out our cameras. She seated herself, and we began to pay more attention to the launch pad and the clock. There was a lot of lighting overhead, so we weren't sure what to expect, but we were hopeful. But again we were disappointed; the launch was delayed!

We were willing to wait, so we continued to hang around Hillary's section. About an hour later, she got up and began to greet the crowd. We were in the front, so we were able to see her face to face! We took a group picture with her and told her about our organization. We also got separate pictures with her. She was very nice and as elegant as in her pictures. She was shorter than Bonnie expected, though.

Unfortunately, we were informed that the launch was to be delayed for 18 days, although it occurred the next day as we discovered when we arrived home. We were so disappointed and upset! The drive back to the hotel took forever, making matters worse. Traffic came to a dead halt in increments of ten minutes. It usually took us an hour to get back to our hotel from the KSC; it ended up taking two hours. We quickly gathered all of our luggage and sped to the airport so we could catch our flight at 6:45 am. We arrived in time, settled ourselves in our seats, and slept the whole way back. We were so relieved to see our parents when we arrived back at home! It was great to see our families again and tell them all of our exciting stories.