Reaching for the Stars
Growing up within a stone’s throw of the Space Program.
I was born the year the Challenger exploded. My mom told me how she stopped her car to watch the launch, about 3 months pregnant with me, got out and yelled “Go baby go!” at the launching shuttle — just before exploded. She never yelled at launches after that.
I grew up on Star Trek, Star Wars, and other science fiction staples, so it was nearly inevitable that I grew up as a space nerd. Living in Florida, just a couple hours from the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral, only helped to feed that love of all things space.
I have pictures (somewhere) of the sections of the International Space Station that were being assembled at the Kennedy Space Center in the early 90s. They’re blurry — no flash allowed, so I was trying to cover my flash with my hand (with all the logic of a 8 year old) while still trying to take a picture with my little 110mm camera.
I remember waking up early, before the sun was really up, and sitting on my driveway on the Gulf Coast, watching the shuttles launch. Even though we were about 3 hours away, the big booster rockets created enough of a glow that we could see them make their way into the stars.
I was broken when the Columbia broke up upon reentry. I remember hearing the sonic boom and being excited that the shuttle had returned to earth…it wasn’t until later that I heard about the tragedy that had befallen the shuttle and it’s crew.
Then, not long after, the Shuttle program ended.
When the last Shuttle launched, I took my kids outside to sit on the driveway and watch the end of an era. I cried. They didn’t understand why I cried.
Last September, I got a chance to head back to Kennedy Space Center and reignite my inner space nerd. SpaceX’s revitalization of launch pad 39A, the famous pad that launched the Shuttle missions, brought tears of joy to my eyes.
The renewed focus on space travel and making our way out into the universe is an amazing thing, but to me it’s something even more special.
It means I can share my love of all things space with my children as they grow. I was worried that the death of the Shuttle program would mean that they wouldn’t get to experience that wonder.
This evening, we got to watch the Falcon 9 Inmarsat-5 Launch live, thanks to SpaceX’s webcast and seeing that same joy in my children’s eyes as I have experienced throughout the years is an immeasurable wonder in itself.
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