7/8/11

End of an era.




I know my blog is a place to write about my creativity and the endeavors I am currently working on. But working a lot from home allows me to do many other things at the same time. Today I watched the final space shuttle launch, and it was strangely emotional to me. I shouldn't be surprised though, I've grown up with the shuttle program, and like most people my age it has been a large part of my schooling.

I was 5 when the challenger disaster occurred, and watched the tragic events unfold live on television. It has an impact, believe me. A few years later Barbara Morgan came and spoke at my school. She was the alternate teacher scheduled for the Challenger flight if Christa McAuliffe was unable to fly. It was one of the most amazing assemblies I can remember. She had footage and hands on visuals of their training methods and had me enthralled the entire time.



And a few years after that I was chosen to grow space tomatoes. I'll explain further. One of the missions Challenger was assigned to do was to collect a satellite that contained various plant seeds that had been sent into orbit to study the effects of zero gravity on live plants. It was collected about 5 years later then it was supposed to have been. I thought I was the coolest for being able to grow something that had been in space. Mind you, they turned out to be normal tasty tomatoes, but you can't help a girl from dreaming that they would be purple and glittery or something fun like that.



So today when I watched the shuttle launch live, on the NASA iPad app, in HD, listening to all of the radio check-ins, well-wishes, and speeches, it was hard not to tear up a little. And how could I not be awed by the idea that my little tablet was broadcasting live images from the underbelly of the shuttle as it blasts miles into space. Certainly it is the closest I will ever get to blasting into orbit, but it can't keep me from dreaming...

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