Category: Space

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Return to the Moon

I was still in kindergarten when the Apollo 17 mission marked the last time man landed on the moon.

I don’t recall watching any of the coverage on TV, as most of my TV watching was cartoons and maybe Sesame Street.

I certainly read about the moon missions over the years, and I remember Skylab and the Apollo-Soyuz ‘handshake in space’ mission.

The first actually launch I remember seeing live was the maiden flight of space shuttle Colombia, April 12th, 1981.

I’ve seen many shuttle launches over the years, and later the recent resupply missions to I.S.S.

But today?

I’m hoping to see something that I’ve never seen before, a manned rocket, launching to rendezvous with the moon.

So you’ll excuse me if I’m found tearing up a bit later this afternoon.

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Facebook Kinda Down?

Images are wonky, that’s for sure.

Meanwhile, here’s something I picked up from Target, when I was looking for new sheets for the mattress being delivered today.

SPACE LEGO

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Hat Trick

I will never not be impressed with today’s rocket technology, having grown up in the era of the Apollo and Space Shuttle missions and their disposable hardware.

3 boosters landed today.

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Don’t Stop Playing

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” – George Bernard Shaw

I’ve never stopped.

In fact, I had the urge to finally pull the trigger on something that seemed to be calling for my attention for the last few months:

A toy rocket.   Continue reading “Don’t Stop Playing”

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John Young

I was 14 when Space Shuttle Columbia first flew.  It was the first space mission that I followed from beginning to end.

I got up early the morning of April 12, 1981 and whispered ‘godspeed’ as she began her ascent into the sky.  I have no memory of any of the Apollo launches as I was only 5 when they stopped.

Two days later, I watched in awe as a spacecraft landed safely back to Earth, to be used again in a later mission.

And then out came these two people:

Astronauts in general were always my heroes, but these two were the first to fly the ship that I’ve always considered my shuttle, Columbia.

Shuttle commander John Young and Shuttle pilot Robert Crippen.

Today we lost one of them.

As usual these days, I found out via Facebook.

As usual I find myself feeling older, as the icons of my life die.

Godspeed, John Young.