Monday, August 29, 2022

(Almost) back to the moon

Windows on history
London, ON
August 2022
This photo originally shared on Instagram

As a kid, I woke up early and stayed up late to watch shuttle launches. I read every book and article I could about NASA and space travel.

My fire for technology was sparked by a boyhood obsession with things that not only flew, but flew so fast that they achieved orbit. My rock stars were astronauts and engineers and ground crew who made these miracles happen.

As an adult, I mourned the losses of Challenger and Columbia and their respective crew members, and the weaknesses in human behaviors that fuelled these avoidable tragedies.

I watched superpowers evolve from enemies on the ground and adversaries in space into true partners who built a beacon in the sky that inspires kids like me every time it flies overhead. Then I watched those same superpowers begin to dismantle that same partnership.

Somehow all these lessons of space flight helped shape my storyteller’s brain. Because the stories of rockets really are the stories of us.

All of which explains how I find myself early this morning, surrounded by screens as I watch NASA attempt to launch Artemis 1 on a crucial test flight. Half a century after the Apollo program wound down, we’re about to take the first steps toward returning to the moon.

It’s one of those inflection points in history, which largely explains why I find myself wearing my NASA meatball logo t-shirt over my space-themed jammies while the rest of the fam sleeps.

NASA teams are currently troubleshooting some chilldown issues with engine 3 on the core stage, itself carried forward from a storied career powering shuttles to orbit. So it’s anyone’s guess whether they’ll hit their launch window, let alone the original T-0 at 8:33 a.m. ET.

Whatever happens next is anyone’s guess. [UPDATE 8:35 a.m. ET: the launch director has called a scrub for the day.] But I can’t imagine missing out on a story that, unlike so many that dominate the news cycle today and every day, represents the very best of who we are.

Moments like this were humbling and memorable when I was a child, and they’re precisely so today, as well.

Godspeed, Artemis 1. May the dreams of the countless heroes who created you continue to soar not only into the heavens, but well beyond.

#Artemis #Artemis1 #GoArtemis #NASA #SLS #Orion #spaceflight #space #moon #dream

Related:
Old orbiter. New code. February 2020
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