Per ardua ad astra
I am sitting watching the commentary of the second
SpaceX Starship, drinking a coffee on the porch in the first real rain of the season. I woke up before my alarm and thought I'd take advantage of this piece of
spaceflight history. At the time of posting,
there's eighteen minutes to the start of the launch window we had liftoff, successful second stage separation. The booster's self-destruct seemingly engaged, but the second stage is on its way to orbit! And with that, I'm off to work.
I'm a big fan of spaceflight, brought up in the years of the US vs USSR Space Race. As I watch the stream, I'm reflecting on the launches I've watched, the missions I've followed. I remember following the Mercury Project, Gemini Project and Apollo program. Apollo 11, the first manned landing on the moon. The first steps on the moon on our little television set, hearing the first words from the moon. I recall the launch of Voyagers, 1 and 2, and am delighted that those brave craft continue to barrel out of the solar system.
I watched the launch of Apollo 13, followed the unfolding drama as the spacecraft blew itself open and held my breath with every announcement, glued to my transistor radio or the TV. I participated in school assembly prayers for the crew, helped to write and run dramas during English class, yelled with delight when they came back to Earth safely.
When the US was landing rovers on Mars, I was there with them. I recall the sense of hope, the joy hearing from the rovers. I remember shedding stupid tears after the Spirit rover finally gave out. I sensed the huge disappointment from the Beagle 2 Lander team after the mission failed. I held my breath during the "seven minutes of terror" during the audacious landings of both Curiosity and Perseverance, and watched the first flight of the Ingenuity drone with awe.
For years I followed the development of the James Webb Space Telescope and hoped and prayed atheistic prayers on the launch day almost two years ago. I followed ever damned minute of the flight and spacecraft initialisation, with a keen understanding of what would happen if one of the hundreds of moving parts failed to move properly. When the first images came in I was there, watching livestreams and sharing the excitement.
Space and astronomy were always a part of my sense of childlike curiosity and awe. My parents would allow me to stay up late once a month to watch The SKy At Night, bought me books on space travel and astronomy. One of my childhood heroes was the amateur astronomer Patrick Moore and my Dad would take me outside to watch meteor showers and just watch the skies.
Dad was in the Royal Air Force and used to fly bombers. One of the aircraft he flew, the English Electric Canberra, is still in service today. NASA uses a derivative of this 1950s design as a flight monitor aircraft to track spacecraft takeoff and landing. This aeroplane followed Apollo, it followed the Space Shuttles, and a few minutes ago it took off from a base in Texas to support the SpaceX launch today. I'm currently researching a writeup on this magnificent aircraft, so watch this space.
I feel chills. Not just because I'm sitting on the porch in the predawn morning, but because this is another defining moment in our history. I feel sadness for all those who've given their lives, both figuratively and literally, to get to space. I remember you all and thank you.
In Memoriam
Laika
Georgy Dobrovolsky
Viktor Patsayev
Vladislav Volkov
Vladimir Komarov
Michael J. Adams
Gregory Jarvis
Christa McAuliffe
Ronald McNair
Ellison Onizuka
Judith Resnik
Michael J. Smith
Dick Scobee
Rick D. Husband
William C. McCool
Michael P. Anderson
David M. Brown
Kalpana Chawla
Laurel Clark
Ilan Ramon
Virgil "Gus" Grissom
Ed White
Roger B. Chaffee
To my Dad, thanks again.
Iron node 16
wc -w | xclip -o
665