The space shuttle, Endeavour, was in the news this month following reports of damage to its thermal protection tiles. Ice falling from the external tank during a launch on August 8 gouged a small chunk from several tiles on its underbelly. After extensive investigation while in orbit, NASA decided not to attempt repairs before re-entry. On Wednesday this week, the orbiter landed safely without incident at Kennedy Space Centre. Its return came a day earlier than scheduled, due not to tile damage, but concerns that Hurricane Dean might disrupt Mission Control activities in Houston.
Eight days before launch Gary and I had been lucky enough to see Endeavour sitting on Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Centre. For both of us it was our second trip to the Centre. My first visit was in 1996. At the time Endeavour had also been on the pad making final preparations. It lifted off three days later in a spectacular night launch. Sadly, I was already committed to a vacation schedule in Southern Florida and missed seeing the launch for myself.
Ten years on the sight of a shuttle on the launch pad was still a stirring moment. Despite its bulk, the Pad 39A complex feels rather insignificant surrounded by the vast open expanse of wildlife sanctuary that makes up the bulk of the Kennedy Space Centre. I couldn’t help but marvel at the thought that this was the very spot from which people regularly departed Earth to live and work in space. For a moment the bravery of the astronauts felt very real.
Garry and I spent a full day exploring the Centre and its numerous sights. A personal highlight was the Apollo-Saturn V Center. This museum building houses a restored Saturn V rocket, once used to transport men to the moon. Portions of this rocket had once been scheduled to fly on Apollo 18 and 19, two missions subsequently cancelled by the Nixon Adminstration in September 1970.
The 110.6 metre long rocket is as spectacular as you’d expect it to be. I was thrilled to finally see it up close after missing the Saturn V on display at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston (this rocket museum was closed for refurbishment when we visited almost three years ago). Five enormous exhaust nozzles from the first stage greet you upon entering the main hall. A truly breath-taking sight. This was one powerful machine.
We also caught the shuttle bus across to the International Space Station where visitor can observe final preparations underway for various station modules. From an enclosed viewing gallery we could see the European Columbus module and the Japanese Kibo module. Columbus is scheduled to go into space in December, with Kibo following early next year. It was surreal to imagine that the equipment in front of us would soon be orbiting over our heads.
A new attraction at the centre is the Shuttle Launch Simulator. This ride convincingly reproduces the sensations of a shuttle launch including its sounds, shuddering vibrations and eventual weightlessness. The final moment when the orbiter’s payload doors are opened and weightlessness is felt was surprisingly realistic. In a clever feat of engineering the entire simulator imperceptively shifted our position from near vertical, where we’d lain on our backs, to a position past horizontal that had us dangling forward in our harness.
As we exited the simulator we discovered that the heavens had opened up. An impressive tropical downpour ensued for almost an hour, flooding the Centre's carpark. This proved to be a daily event the entire time we were in Florida. However, each afternoon’s downpour soon gave way to clear, almost cloud-free skies for the remainder of the day.
Eight days before launch Gary and I had been lucky enough to see Endeavour sitting on Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Centre. For both of us it was our second trip to the Centre. My first visit was in 1996. At the time Endeavour had also been on the pad making final preparations. It lifted off three days later in a spectacular night launch. Sadly, I was already committed to a vacation schedule in Southern Florida and missed seeing the launch for myself.
Ten years on the sight of a shuttle on the launch pad was still a stirring moment. Despite its bulk, the Pad 39A complex feels rather insignificant surrounded by the vast open expanse of wildlife sanctuary that makes up the bulk of the Kennedy Space Centre. I couldn’t help but marvel at the thought that this was the very spot from which people regularly departed Earth to live and work in space. For a moment the bravery of the astronauts felt very real.
Garry and I spent a full day exploring the Centre and its numerous sights. A personal highlight was the Apollo-Saturn V Center. This museum building houses a restored Saturn V rocket, once used to transport men to the moon. Portions of this rocket had once been scheduled to fly on Apollo 18 and 19, two missions subsequently cancelled by the Nixon Adminstration in September 1970.
The 110.6 metre long rocket is as spectacular as you’d expect it to be. I was thrilled to finally see it up close after missing the Saturn V on display at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston (this rocket museum was closed for refurbishment when we visited almost three years ago). Five enormous exhaust nozzles from the first stage greet you upon entering the main hall. A truly breath-taking sight. This was one powerful machine.
We also caught the shuttle bus across to the International Space Station where visitor can observe final preparations underway for various station modules. From an enclosed viewing gallery we could see the European Columbus module and the Japanese Kibo module. Columbus is scheduled to go into space in December, with Kibo following early next year. It was surreal to imagine that the equipment in front of us would soon be orbiting over our heads.
A new attraction at the centre is the Shuttle Launch Simulator. This ride convincingly reproduces the sensations of a shuttle launch including its sounds, shuddering vibrations and eventual weightlessness. The final moment when the orbiter’s payload doors are opened and weightlessness is felt was surprisingly realistic. In a clever feat of engineering the entire simulator imperceptively shifted our position from near vertical, where we’d lain on our backs, to a position past horizontal that had us dangling forward in our harness.
As we exited the simulator we discovered that the heavens had opened up. An impressive tropical downpour ensued for almost an hour, flooding the Centre's carpark. This proved to be a daily event the entire time we were in Florida. However, each afternoon’s downpour soon gave way to clear, almost cloud-free skies for the remainder of the day.
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