The 39th mission of Discovery launched today, and I believe it to be one of the most significant launches of the shuttle program, as it very well may be the last. I watched the first launch of the space shuttle missions and watched on closed monitor of the Challenger explosion in 1986. I worked for an aerospace company that performed several projects for the shuttle including a IRT (integrated rendezvous target) which helped the shuttle track with their on-board radar system to Ciris 1A, which was a revolving frame that mounted to the cargo hold area of the shuttle and held high powered telescopes to view space from the cargo bay of the shuttle.

I was fortunate enough to get an up close view of the mounting A frame that they used to put the shuttle on the back of a 747, so they could transport the shuttle after landing. This particular unit was located at Vandenberg Air force base in California. It also had a car wash system on the A frame to clean the shuttle after mounting. I took several pictures and it was very memorable.

I watched as the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986, 76 seconds into flight and remember how devastating it was to the program and all the watched in horror as the flight disintegrated right before our eyes. Every launch since then has been pretty emotional for me as I know that every launch is very dangerous and the crew aboard know the risks of the launch and yet they press on to further the good of a very important program.

The crew included Commander Steve Lindsey, pilot Eric Boe, Nicole Stott, Michael Barratt, and spacewalkers Alvin Drew and Steve Bowen. I was under the impression that Senator Giffords husband would be aboard this flight and was kind of disappointed that he was not included in this flight. The crew will be in space for 11 days and are delivering supplies and a robot to the space station. The robot is called Robonaught. The Discovery is the oldest shuttle in service and will be retired to a museum after its return to earth.

PS3 owners got a rare treat as Sony had PlayStation Home users view a live broadcast of the space shuttle from fuelling, all the way to take off. The best part is you don’t have to be standing in the hot sun to watch this live with your own eyes you can do it from the convenience and comfort of your own home on the PlayStation 3.

It may be the last Space Shuttle mission, but I am certainly looking forward to see what is next for the United States Space Program.

image courtesy of  spaceports.blogspot.com

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