With all the brew-ha-ha in Wisconsin, the melt down in the middle east, and a looming government shutdown an event in Florida went almost unreported. The final launch of the space shuttle Discovery.
I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the space program. From reading about it's early days when a nation waited with baited breath for US astronauts come from the dark side of the moon; the moment when man broke the bonds of Earth to stand on the moon itself. To my own experiences of my youth, following the shuttle program it's heady successes and two tragic failures. It seemed to encapsulate the American experience. The exuberant rush of a people punch drunk from the thrill of the possible, confident in their abilities, proud in their nation, and defying gravity itself with a wild glint in their eyes. An occasion where the phrase "yes we can" reflected promise, progress, and unlimited possibilities which are the reward of a free people, not the thin vale of an excuse to expropriate.
The last US shuttle to lift off with be Atlantis in April. Atlantis. That's fitting is so many ways.
Last week I saw STS-133 on the launch pad. It made me think about asking contacts we have about getting VIP tickets to one of the last two launches. The VIP seats are 4 kilometers away from the launch site. What a party that would be.
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