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Mon. July 19, 1999
Trying to catch a Shuttle
Work today was a glorious blur when compared to the adventure that took place tonight. Around 6 o'clock Erika and I sat on a curb outside Converse Hall here on campus. We waited a few minutes for Dr. Leake in her Ford Tauris (a.k.a. Jelly Beanmobile). We hopped in the comfy ride and shot off down the highway across the Florida border. Large cumulus clouds billowed and spit lightning out over Florida just south of Jacksonville. Oldies music and good (albeit difficult to hear) conversation carried us down the various roads past Daytona Beach and on to Titusvill, FL. I slept for part of the evening jaunt down Florida's Atlantic coast but awoke at a most proper time. I saw signs that mentioned a common Shuttle launch viewing site, Titusville. My head lazily hinged toward the east to show me my first glimpse of the American space program: glaring spotlights shooting into the heavens above the treetops used to illuminate a launch-ready Shuttle on its pad. Now I was excited!
We took and exit or two in the direction of a VSU grad's house. Jim Sardonia used to be one of Dr. Leake's students at VSU and after a time with the Air Force became a Launch Weather Officer of Range Weather Operations with the 45th Weather Squadron. So, such a position with NASA allowed him to offer Erika, Dr. Leake and I visitor passes to see the launch. With these arrangements set, we met up with Jim at his home just south of the John F. Kennedy Space Center. After introductions and a brief hello or two, Jim drove us out of his comfortable subdivision and, with borrowed badges in hand, we passed into the Space Center. Two checkpoints laterw we were into the heart of the complex. Jim's position afforded us a spot to watch the launch that is further than normal civilian car passes could've got us. We steaked out our spot in a parking lot just in the shadow (were it daytime) of the 500' tall Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). My giddiness was now apparent. I could barely keep still as I despirately tried to take pictures through binoculars with my digital camera. Altough it could not pick up a steady, detailed shot of STS-93, I could make out some details on the Shuttle. 3 miles away it stood, closer than I'd ever been before. My first 3-dimensional glimpses of a Space Shuttle set my imagination soaring!
A built in hold in the countdown at T-9 minutes was lifted and the final preparations for the launch were underway. The count progressed flawlessly down and it reached 20, then 12 seconds. At this moment the voice booming from speakers nearby started constantly counting down. 11... 10... 9... 8... 7... then a jumble of voices. My heart was carreening against my chest harder than it would after a 5 mile sprint. I don't remember much at that point besides the fact that my finger was ready at the camera trigger and Jim said something to the effect of, "They fired the engines." That was bad news. There turned out to be a computer shut down of the launch about half a second before the main engines were to ignite due to the detection of unacceptable hydrogen levels in the aft engine compartment. It was all over for the evening. Columbia did not launch.
I felt nothing but high spirits about the experience though. With a payload totaling nearly $1.2 billion and 10 years of work the last thing NASA wants to do is to fly by the seat of their pants. The warning which scrubbed the launch was determined to be caused by a faulty sensor and there's another scheduled attempt for around midnight Wednesday night/Thursday morning. The gang here is pretty determined to make good on seeing a launch and will also try again tomorrow.
Dreams can come true. I'm living proof.
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