Yesterday Space Shuttle Endeavor made a visit to Houston on her way to California. NASA flew her all over town so residents could take photos of her over local landmarks. Of course, Endeavor spent most of her time being flown over NASA, and low and behold, my campus is on NASA property, so guess who watched fifty whole minutes of fly-overs?!
The weather was absolutely stunning. I needed a jacked the whole hour and a half my faculty was outside waiting and watching. Endeavor was supposed to arrive Monday, but poor weather delayed her. Yesterday was a teacher inservice day, so we spent 40 minutes playing like kids in the field and 50 minutes happier than kids in a candy stores as Endeavor filled us with glee. Teachers probably know how to have the most fun of anyone!
This was so bittersweet. A shuttle will never fly again. I'm ok with out shuttle mock-up we were given, but I'm going to miss these fly-overs. They have been few and far between in the last 15 years, but as a child, I saw them over and over again. Each time a shuttle had to land in California, it would be flown over Houston on its way back to Florida. My elementary school principal would schedule fire drills so the whole school could watch the shuttle fly over us. I cherish those memories. The shuttle program feels like its in my blood, and I'm going to miss this.
This morning, Endeavor took off from Ellington to head to California. We arrived about 6:00 to watch her final flight preps. Then we headed down to the end of the runway to get a great view of her taxi and take off. God made everything in the sky just perfect for an absolutely majestic moment. Just beautiful! And, the smell of jet fuel in the early morning air is rather comforting. Go figure; I'm weird.
Come on, NASA (ie, Congress)! It's time to thrill this gal once more!
The weather was absolutely stunning. I needed a jacked the whole hour and a half my faculty was outside waiting and watching. Endeavor was supposed to arrive Monday, but poor weather delayed her. Yesterday was a teacher inservice day, so we spent 40 minutes playing like kids in the field and 50 minutes happier than kids in a candy stores as Endeavor filled us with glee. Teachers probably know how to have the most fun of anyone!
 |
| I'm sure astronaut Greg Johnson was having quiet a good time being the 'chase plane' in the X-38. |
 |
| Endeavor flying right over Space Center Intermediate. |
This was so bittersweet. A shuttle will never fly again. I'm ok with out shuttle mock-up we were given, but I'm going to miss these fly-overs. They have been few and far between in the last 15 years, but as a child, I saw them over and over again. Each time a shuttle had to land in California, it would be flown over Houston on its way back to Florida. My elementary school principal would schedule fire drills so the whole school could watch the shuttle fly over us. I cherish those memories. The shuttle program feels like its in my blood, and I'm going to miss this.
This morning, Endeavor took off from Ellington to head to California. We arrived about 6:00 to watch her final flight preps. Then we headed down to the end of the runway to get a great view of her taxi and take off. God made everything in the sky just perfect for an absolutely majestic moment. Just beautiful! And, the smell of jet fuel in the early morning air is rather comforting. Go figure; I'm weird.
Come on, NASA (ie, Congress)! It's time to thrill this gal once more!
No comments:
Post a Comment