Previous Xmastime Space Shuttle Goodies

Is the Space Shuttle a big pussy?

I see the greatest mechanical engineering feat of our lifetimes, the Space Shuttle ("NASA's Hothouse Flower") has finally decided it's not "too windy" to land:

The shuttle touched down at about 3:14 p.m. ET. NASA had scrubbed an earlier planned landing, citing high winds.

Fucking christ. Just like with rain, as I mentioned in an old THINGS ARE GOOD:

6) I’m glad the space shuttle finally made it off the launching pad. This fucking thing can hold 50,000 tons of shit, blasts off with 12 gazillion pounds of pressure psi, immediately hits 28,000 mph and OH NO NO!!!....might rain later on, so we better scratch the liftoff. Wtf. Not very impressive, assholes. The post office builds its credo around walking around delivering the mail in sleet and hail, yet NASA can’t shoot this fucker through the atmosphere for 1 minute.

The Axl Rose of aerospace travel, isn't it? It'll land or take off when it's good and fucking ready.

Space Shuttle RIP:

Obviously, to somebody my age, the two biggest events in space shuttle history are the beginning:

I can't imagine it comparing to the Apollo program of the 1960's, but the space shuttle program was MY space program; I can still remember holding off going outside to wait for the bus (which was probably still about 45 minutes away) as the final countdown for the first one was going on. Then, I think, it stopped with 39 seconds left. Though that might be apocryphal on my part. Then I remember Jane Pauley saying Joe Louis had just died, so I wrote out the barber shop scenes for Coming to America while I waited. I was at the perfect age for that launch, 4th grade, and I wrote a letter to NASA to the captain. Never heard back (won't Facebook him - I am too proud.) Twas the year I wrote to NASA and got back a buncha shit about Mars.

And the Challenger explosion:

Today is the 25th anniversary of the Challenger explosion; I remember very clearly Mr. Smith announcing it to us in World Geography class. Yes, the same Mr. Smith who, while handing me my trophy as the 1986 World Geography Award Winner, took the time to explain to the entire class that I didn't actually deserve it. Grrrr. 

Christa McAulife's backup Barbara Morgan:

Out of 11,000 applicants, Barbara Morgan was named the runner-up to New Hampshire teacher Christa McAuliffe and trained alongside her. But after McAuliffe's death on the shuttle Challenger in January, 1986, NASA cancelled the Teacher-in-Space program. 

"It looked to me personally that Barbara Morgan would never get a chance to fly," said Bill Harwood, a veteran CBS space reporter.

But history would dictate another course. Using rare footage, photos and internal documents, as well as interviews with Morgan, her friends, colleagues, students and family, No Limits shows how Barbara became a full-fledged astronaut, and then overcame additional challenges, including the loss the crew of the shuttle Columbia on February 1, 2003. Morgan had been scheduled to be on Columbia's next flight later that year.