Now Matter How Cool You Are, An Astronaut Is Cooler.

[Jester]

So today my niece and I went to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. I was shocked to learn that she's lived in Orlando for 4 years now, and this was her first foray to the KSC. She was awed. As, of course, was I.

My visit a couple of years ago to the Johnson Space Center in Houston reminded me that A. I live in Florida, B. I love space stuff, and C. One of the greatest memories of my childhood was a trip to the KSC.

I was 7. It was 1977. Neil Armstrong was still one of the biggest heroes to grade school boys (and people in general) because he was Neil Freakin' Armstrong, he had been the first man to walk on the moon, he was a freakin' astronaut, and the little kid with the same last name in Texas had not yet grown up to tarnish it by being a cheat and an asshole on a bicycle.

And my family took their first (and as it turned out, only) family vacation to Florida. Disney World? Check. Space Mountain? Check. (It was a brand new ride!) Beaches? Check. Space Center? Oh holy hell check check and double check.

I don't know what my sisters thought of it. I don't know if I knew what my sisters thought of it at the time. I'm quite sure it wouldn't have mattered to me. Because they annoyed me, and space was awesome. And the Space Shuttle program was their big project, though they were still four years away from their first launch.

I had never heard of the Space Shuttle program before that summer day 37 years ago at the Space Center. My young brain did find the concept of a reusable spacecraft a bit tough to fully grasp. What my brain had no problem grasping was how awesome the Shuttle was, because there before us in all its glory was the Enterprise, the first Shuttle, the prototype. It would never go into space, but I didn't know that then, and I wouldn't have cared. It was huge, it was awesome, and it was the most gorgeous thing I'd ever seen.

Today we saw the Atlantis. We saw a Saturn V rocket. We did the Shuttle launch simulator. My 24 year old niece and I were little kids let loose with the greatest toys imaginable, the products of what I stated was the single best thing out government had ever done.

And the Orion is coming. The SLS is coming. The next stage of Space Exploration is slowly coming into being.

And we found out that the first test launch of the Orion capsule is tentatively schedule for early December. "We're going!" I told her. Not asked. Not suggested. Told. I got no argument. Her boyfriend later said, "Well, if we miss that one, there's always--" and I cut him off. "No, dude. We're going."

My name's Jester. I'm 7 years old. I'm a space geek. And I'll be there when history is made with the first test launch of Orion.

Join me.

[Tama]

Excuse me while I go read 2061.

If only I had better math skills, I could have been doing something space related...

Finally, we're getting out there! Hooray!

[Kittish]

Now I've got to dig out my photo album of my visit to the Rocket Garden... My (now ex-) husband and I missed seeing a shuttle launch up close and personal by TWO DAYS when we went on vacation to Florida one year. I still kick myself for not checking launch schedules before we left home and getting there in time to see it.

[Seshat]

I was six months old when Neil took his one small step.

I've walked through the duplicate of the moon lander they used. (It's in the Smithsonian Air & Space museum.)

I had one day in Washington DC. Of all the possible places to go - that was what I chose. I'm a geek. I always will be.

(Other parts of the Smithsonian were on my short list. As was the Library of Congress, if it's open to the public. But I think I'd need a decade to properly enjoy the LofC.)

[lordlundar]

Is it wrong that I read KSC as Kerbal Space Center?

I honestly think I play that game too much.

[Arcus]

I know how you feel, Jester. I've always been a huge fan of space. I've met one of my goals and that was to see the three remaining Saturn V rockets (Huntsville AL, Huston TX, and KSC.) Now I'm working on seeing the shuttles and shuttle test units. I'm not very far into that list with just the Discovery, Pathfinder and Explorer/Independence.

[dalesys]

My mother's first cousin's husband is the astronaut with the longest time between selection and launch... (04/66 to 04/85) His daughter designed the mission patch.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I've always been a huge fan of space.

SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!

[MoonCat]

One of the things I regret about living at this time in history is that even if I make it to 120 years old, I won't be around long enough to see humankind go to the stars. I have no doubt that we will.

Closest I'm getting is my name engraved on a plaque on the Mars lander. They had a website before it was launched where you could sign up to have your name placed on it. So I did my brother's, because he was the biggest fan of all things Space you could ever find, and I know he would have loved that. And I did mine because WHY NOT.

My brother was able to go to Florida back in the 90's (80's? Can't remember) to watch a shuttle launch. I'm glad he got to see that at least.

[Jester]

Now I'm working on seeing the shuttles and shuttle test units. I'm not very far into that list with just the Discovery, Pathfinder and Explorer/Independence.

Are you forgetting Atlantis, or are you not mentioning it because you've already seen it?

My mother's first cousin's husband is the astronaut with the longest time between selection and launch... (04/66 to 04/85) His daughter designed the mission patch.

You can't say all that and not give us something, i.e., his name or an image of the patch. Or the story of why the selection and launch were 19 years apart....

[Kittish]

You can't say all that and not give us something, i.e., his name or an image of the patch. Or the story of why the selection and launch were 19 years apart....

...Or, you could maybe go poking around with the info you've got, and find out that he's probably referring to this man, who was listed as the mission specialist for NASA mission STS-51B.

[dalesys]

...Or, you could maybe go poking around with the info you've got, and find out that she's probably referring to this man, who was listed as the mission specialist for NASA mission STS-51B.

Checks pants for socks.
[/TP]

Yep. Met him at a family reunion in Callao, UT.

He testified that one of his religious practices was to visit the Houston Saturn V each month and weep uncontrollably... That was supposed to be his ride.

[Arcus]

Are you forgetting Atlantis, or are you not mentioning it because you've already seen it?

I listed the ones I've visited. I saw Atlantis on the back if the 747 as it flew over Salt Lake on it's final flight, but I'm not counting that one. I was a quarter mile from Enterprise last month and didn't know it till it was too late. All the others were still flying when I visited the places they now call home.

[bbbr]

The company I work for has a long history with NASA (manned and unmanned) going back to before the Apollo missions. The "stuff" we make is all over the solar system, including the 2 rovers still scampering across Mars (#3 failing to wake up wasn't our fault, stupid dust storms kept the solar panels from recharging the battery ...).

At the kickoff for Orion (we're involved there too) we had 2 active astronauts in for a meet and greet on my side of the company. Very cool day to say the least.

[cashierbex]

Did you do the Shuttle Launch Experience?

Its fun.