Launch Drunk: Final Thoughts on the Shuttle Program

(For more photos, click for my albums from pre-launch and Launch day)

I've been in a state of writer's block ever since I saw Atlantis break away for the clouds on Friday morning. Sure, I've been updating Twitter and Google+ like a madman, but I needed some time to write a long form blog post. As a fellow NASA Tweetup attendee taught me, I was "launch drunk!"

Now that I've some rest, I can better reflect on the impact that NASA and the shuttle program has had on my life.

My earliest memory is the aftermath of the Challenger incident. As a six year old, I couldn't put this into the proper historical perspective. However, there was a huge push for space and technology news within my school as well as my favorite media of the time - Highlights for Children and 3-2-1 Contact. I manned my own personal missions with my toy spacecraft, hoping that my impromptu Lego modular design would help against the inevitable alien encounter.

As a preteen, I took an astronomy class at the local community college, where we learned about planetary orbits, plotted constellations, and, of course, talked about the space shuttle. We even took a trip to the National Air and Space museum in DC, which was one of the first times I had been to a museum outside of the New York metro area. As a sign of the times, I also remember the bus stopping at a Dairy Queen on the way back, and playing the Simpsons arcade game with tree other friends as long as we could.

In a few years, I began to read the paper and watch the news on a daily basis. I always made sure to tune in for shuttle launches. There was no NASA TV or YouTube - the only way to experience NASA missions was to tune in live or for a recap. I always felt butterflies watching the coverage.

I felt those same butterflies during my first live launch last Friday, the last one ever.

NASA has big things on the horizon - continued research on the International Space Station, getting humans to Mars, and exploring asteroids - and my hope is that future generations are inspired by this work. I know I was.

NASA's Final Shuttle Launch - I'll be there!

last one by shlomi yoav

Happy 4th of July to all of my American viewers!

On July 8th, at approximately 11:40am, the Space Shuttle Atlantis will lift off for its final mission, and I'll be right there!  I've been invited by NASA to participate in a NASA Tweetup for 150 of its twitter followers.  I've previously blogged about my experience with the tweetup and the previous launch, along with the accompanying media coverage, but I missed the actual liftoff of the shuttle due to the launch being moved at the last minute for safety concerns.  Of course, this can happen again for this launch, but I have my fingers crossed!

The community of people that support NASA initiatives is very impressive. We are connected on various social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, and the information flows freely.  There are people that clearly know more than me, but not once have I felt talked down to. It's truly an example of how technology can help to bring like-minded people together.

You can view my press release by clicking here.

NASA Tweetup attendees are traveling from across the U.S. and globe to attend this historic event. A list of registered Twitter attendees can be found on the NASA Tweetup Twitter account: http://twitter.com/NASATweetup/sts-135-launch/members

Information about the NASA Tweetup can be viewed at http://www.nasa.gov/connect/tweetup/index.html 

I Have Front Row Tickets To The Next Shuttle Launch!

I used this pic on my first post a while back, but I have a great reason to bring it back!  I'm ... well, you read the title already.  I'm so excited!!!

From my website header, you can probably tell that I'm interested in space. A major part of my childhood revolved around Star Trek (TNG is my favorite) and reading / watching 3-2-1 Contact, which featured tons of space stories.

One of my favorite classes as a kid was an astronomy summer program I attended at the local community college. And of course, there was the Space Camp essay contest that I was erroneously disqualified from for cheating that I'm TOTALLY not bitter about anymore.

Well, the past is in the past! Like many science folk, I follow NASA on Twitter.  Recently they tweeted out that they were holding a Tweetup at Kennedy Space Center, and that they would select 150 random followers to attend events culminating in watching the launch from the closest possible distance with the press!

I was selected. I am lucky. More than that, I am honored to be able to witness history. Sending men to space is truly one of mankind's greatest feats. I get a front row seat to the second to last shuttle launch.

I'll leave you with this excerpt from my first blog post (that I'll have to edit soon because it'll be out of date!)

Today was the final launch of Discovery.  I have never been to a shuttle launch, but I felt a part of the action today thanks to SpaceFlight Now's live coverage.  People may have become used to Shuttle launches, but think about - we've developed a reusable peace of technology that's been active for over 40 years.  That's pretty amazing.  There has been human loss, but considering the amount of shuttle launches performed by NASA, it has been a successful use of technology.

The closest that I've been to a shuttle was the Enterprise at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.  If you haven't been and you have any positive thoughts about planes, I would strongly recommend that you visit.  In addition to the Enterprise, they also have a Concorde, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, and the Enola Gay.  I spent a day after a business trip in Reston, VA walking around the facility and came away impressed with the collection.

Some day I'll make it to a shuttle launch!

Liftoff!

Welcome to my blog!  I will use this space to post my thoughts on technology, pharma, and anything else that comes to mind.  Please feel free to comment on this post as well as future ones.

Today was the final launch of Discovery.  I have never been to a shuttle launch, but I felt a part of the action today thanks to SpaceFlight Now's live coverage.  People may have become used to Shuttle launches, but think about - we've developed a reusable peace of technology that's been active for over 40 years.  That's pretty amazing.  There has been human loss, but considering the amount of shuttle launches performed by NASA, it has been a successful use of technology.

The closest that I've been to a shuttle was the Enterprise at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.  If you haven't been and you have any positive thoughts about planes, I would strongly recommend that you visit.  In addition to the Enterprise, they also have a Concorde, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, and the Enola Gay.  I spent a day after a business trip in Reston, VA walking around the facility and came away impressed with the collection.

Some day I'll make it to a shuttle launch!