As NASA winds down the shuttle program, space geeks everywhere are running out of time to see a launch. We decided that we needed to see one and the Discovery launch last week afforded us the opportunity. We visited Kennedy Space Center the day before the launch to see the shuttle on the pad. We took in the Saturn V rocket pavillion, which is something the nerd in me found absolutely fascinating and then we toured the rest of the exhibits. Sue had fun with the interactive moon landing presentation. Kids on the tour with us enjoyed the space shuttle simulator ride. However the center certainly appeals to the middle aged group who witnessed the moon landings in awe. We think that kids who live in the age of Star Wars and video games miss some of the magic that was the original moon landing program. Risk, novelty and the thrill of mans most ambitious (and expensive) challenge to date are the stuff that captured our imaginations 40 years ago. Seeing the aging Apollo astronauts on video talking was really captivating.
Anyway, we gathered with a large crowd to see the lift off of Discovery the day after. It was fantastic and should be on everyone’s bucket list. The trouble is that you only have two more chances. The next lift off is for the shuttle Endeavour on April 19, 2011. Start making plans……
