As we near the end; I remember the beginning....

Jonathan wrote:

The only thing I wish to say about all this.

I remember (barely) the very first shuttle launch. The first good look
at what the shuttle was about and all ll I remember thinking is just
how astonishingly powerful, complicated and well mostly the
...shear audacity of the whole thing.. Like nothing else.


I distinctly remember the first shuttle launch, mainly because I was there.

There were many crazy firsts for me that time.

1) First time I ever drove non-stop down along the east coast from New England
to Florida in a 1.4L Renault Le Car with 2 friends and co-workers. At the time
it was the only vehicle between the 3 of us road worthy enough to make the
trip. My car had bald tires and with a 5L V8, had terrible gas mileage. My
other friend's car, a 60's vintage Ford Galaxy 500, was being held together
almost literally by bondo body patch.

1a) When it was my turn to drive I discovered the annoyance that the normal
weight of my foot on the accelerator petal was enough to gradually (and I mean
gradually) drive the Renault above 70 mph. Besides my utter amazement that I
was achieving said speed, there was also the practical problem of trying to
regulate my speed below the speed limit with a car with a weak accelerator
spring and no cruise control. It was damned near impossible to maintain a
constant speed without continuously lifting my foot off the pedal. Finally I
figured out a way to twist my foot sideways and jam it somewhere between the
floorboard and the gas pedal in such a way to actually hold it into position
enough to maintain a constant speed. After 3 hours of driving like this my
foot fell totally asleep and after prying it loose at the end of my driving
shift I had to limp around a few minutes until the sensation of feeling
returned to my foot!

2) Stayed overnight in a motel near Titusville. Our first view of the shuttle
was of it illuminated at night:

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010412.html

The next day we actually took a NASA tour of KSC that took us out to an
observation point maybe 1/2 mile from the pad where the shuttle stood,
un-fueled as yet, obviously. Can't believe how incredibly lucky we were to be
able to get that close. (This was not the bleachers at the VAB, this was a
pull out on the road to the pad that the tour bus took us to and allowed us to
get out and take pictures. The one restriction? Do not wonder off past the
mowed grass. 'gators and poisonous snakes are, after all, a great deterrent)...

3) ET was painted white.

4) Two days later up at 5am for the launch. Sitting in a huge traffic jam for
like 2-3 hrs just to get close enough to the causeway for a view of the pad.

5) Waiting until the scrub at T-33 seconds.

6) Minimum of 3 days to kill, DISNEYWORLD!!!

7) Debated whether to return to KSC for 2nd attempt in DISNEY parking lot.
Decided what-the-heck we've already traveled the distance!

8) Returned to the exit at the NASA Parkway (405) and US Rt 1. Camping out in
the exit ramp loop median.

Lat. 28.527226, Long.: -80.788892

Relatively sleepless night, worried someone would veer off US 1 and take out
our tent with us in it.

9). Up around 6am walking up causeway exit ramp to get a view of the pad.

10) LIFTOFF! Lots of steam and smoke and finally sight of shuttle emerging
from it all heading skyward. We were some 5-10 miles from the pad, so it all
did so silently at that distance.

11) Finally when shuttle reached about 30 degrees angle from horizon, the
sound wave from the pad finally reached us. Even at that distance an
impressive roar.

12) Watching SRB separation and shuttle disappear as a blue-white dot.

13) Remembering seeing the smoke trails from the SRBs form giant corkscrew
shapes in the sky.

14) Debating whether to do the ultimate insanity and take the Renault to
Edwards for the landing. Decided Renault probably wasn't up to the trip
and we didn't want to get stranded somewhere between Florida and California.

15) Being approached by some dude in a South Carolina truck stop while gassing
up the Renault on the way back being asked if we had any drugs to sell. I
suppose it was the combination of Yankee plates, a Renault Le Car and my
friend's long hair. (NO we didn't....)

16) Renault nearly conking out on us in Pennsylvania. Thereby validating
decision made in item #14.

17) Listening to the radio over concerns TPS may have failed due to the
'zipper' effect of tiles peeling off the bottom of the orbiter.

18) Watching the landing on TV and enjoying the scene with John Young nearly
jumping for joy during the visual inspection after landing.

Dave

http://blog.juggle.com/files/2010/08/RenaultLeCar.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V0mRvh14Wc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuzuWmno-X8