Space Shuttle Discovery successfully launched from the pad in Florida.
I watched as the air filled with a light orange cloud and the vehicle was freed from the ground, fighting gravity.
I watched as the two booster rockets successfully detached, swinging away in unison, so perfect and clean.
I watched as the speedometer reached an astonishing 17,000 miles per hour and the tank seperated – successfully. For the first time, we could see it detach, see the underbelly of Discovery slide away. It was beautiful. It was frightening.
The crew of Discovery were most likely scared shitless yet thrilled beyond compare. I am sure that the names of the Columbia crew were filtering through their minds, as they were so many others, including my own. I am also sure that the crew of the Challenger were also on their minds, the crew that never even made it to orbit.
The Discovery crew includes:
- Commander Eileen Collins
- Pilot James Kelly
- Mission Specialist Charles Camarda
- Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence
- Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi
- Mission Specialist Steve Robinson
- Mission Specialist Andy Thomas
The Columbia crew of STS-107 were:
- Rick Husband, Commander
- Willie McCool, Pilot
- Michael Anderson, Payload Commander
- Kalpana Chawla, Mission Specialist
- David Brown, Mission Specialist
- Laurel Clark, Mission Specialist
- Ilan Ramon, Payload Specialist (ISA)
The Challenger crew of STS-51L were:
- Francis R. Scobee, Commander
- Michael J. Smith, Pilot
- Judith A. Resnik, Mission Specialist
- Ellison S. Onizuka, Mission Specialist
- Ronald E. McNair, Mission Specialist
- Gregory B. Jarvis, Payload Specialist
- Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Payload Specialist (TISP)
The irony is: Shuttle Discovery was also the first orbiter to fly after the Challenger accident.
112 missions have been flown since the Shuttle Program began. There have been 5 Shuttles, also known as Orbiters, used in those flights. The Enterprise was for test vehicle purposes only and was never designed to enter space.
Columbia – The first shuttle into space in April 1981, the Columbia flew 28 missions before she and her crew were lost during re-entry on January 16th, 2003.
Challenger – arrived at Kennedy Space Center in July 1982, taking off for space less than a year later in April of ’83. The Challenger and her crew were lost on Jan. 28, 1986, 73 seconds after liftoff on her 10th flight.
Discovery – arrived at Kennedy in November of 1983. Her first flight was in August of ’84. She has had 30 flights, not including her lift-off today.
Altantis – arrived at Kennedy in April 1985. Her first flight was just a few months later in Oct. of ’85. The Atlantis has 26 flights to date.
Endeavor – arrived at Kennedy in May 1991 and had its first flight exactly a year later in May ’92. The Endeavor has 19 flights to date.