Slipping the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God

One of the greatest perks about living in this little corner of heaven is the front row seat we have for every Space Shuttle launch.

As I raced out of the office to watch "Atlantis" streak across the sky today, it was hard to believe that it would be for the last time.

That'll wake ya up!

Yours truly is a creature of habit. There, I've admitted it.

The morning routine involves checking ye olde email on my computer in the upstairs office.

As soon as I can see the sun peeking over the tree line across the street, I know it's time to power things down and head out the door to conquer the world.

So, this morning I'm following this routine to the letter, when I catch a glimpse of glowing light emerging from the eastern horizon.

Surely, it's still too early for the sunrise, I think to myself.

Before I could turn to scrutinize the world beyond my window, though, the panes started rattling in their frames. It was an awful lot like I suppose a train would sound like if it jumped its tracks and decided to barrel its way down Elizabeth Avenue into the waters of Lake Ivanhoe.

Then and only then did I remember: DUH! Space Shuttle Launch!!!

Oh, the wonders of living in this little corner of heaven . . .

One small step . . . 40 years later

Despite what some of ye socks might say behind my back, yours truly was NOT around 40 years ago when man first step foot on the moon.

But, that's not keeping me from marking the big milestone today.

Living so close to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center, I probably follow the current launches and missions more than the average joe.

And, I've been worried as the current shuttle program draws to a close, that America has lost its passion for the space program.

It's a shame, really. So much has been discovered over these past four decades to benefit us non-astronaut types.

But, I suppose since the shuttles have been so reliable for so long, that they produce yawns where the Apollo program inspired awe . . .

With all the efforts being made (and dollars being spent) to create "hope and change" in our little corner of heaven, I guess I just wish more was being done to expand our efforts in space.

I mean, it's nice that we have 13 astronauts from around the world crammed into the space station as I type this . . . but, when are we going to start sending them to more exotic places?

Mars, anyone?

Anyone?

BOOM! BOOM!

Ye out-of-town socks may never have experienced this before, but this little corner of heaven was rocked by some twin sonic booms about 3:15 this afternoon.

It happens every time a space shuttle breaks the sound barrier to come in for a landing over at Cape Canaveral.

But, it never ceases to startle me.

IT IS LOUD! Shakes the windows. Rattles the teeth. You really have to fight the urge to hit the deck.

Well, at least I do.

Anyway, I'm glad the craft and crew are safely back at the space center.

Now, it's time to calm my jittery nerves . . .

5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

This little corner of heaven was treated to a spectacle in the sky last night, courtesy of the combined efforts of the eggheads at NASA and good old Mother Nature.

Just as the twilight shadows were creeping across our little peninsula, launch control fired the rocket boosters that lifted Discovery over Cape Canaveral.

It always amazes me how something as big and clunky as a shuttle on the launch pad can become as graceful as a ballerina when it breaks the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God. And, last night, the dancing spacecraft wowwed her audience even more than usual with a special maneuver, twisting around and upside down as soon as she cleared the ground.

Don't get me wrong, I would never trade places with any one of the seven brave voyagers on board Discovery. I'm perfectly content to remain earthbound, a witness to this spectacle.

For your viewing pleasure, I am including with this post a somewhat blurry photo snapped from my mom's back yard in east Orlando. (You can see the blackening trail of the rockets rising above the treeline from lower right to upper left.) But, you probably had to be there to really appreciate the rumbling of the ground beneath your feet and the glow from the distant fire on your face.

These launches never cease to amaze me, renew my faith in our ability to conquer big challenges . . . good thing to keep in mind on a Monday, no?

I hope all ye socks have as positive a launch to your weeks!

Shuttle launch scrubbed for tonight.

What a disappointment! I was hoping to celebrate my niece's birthday tonight with a shuttle launch.

Night time launches are awesome, due in no small part to the fact that they can be seen from my 2nd floor window. The glow of the booster rockets fills the night sky. And, most important, you don't get stuck in traffic driving over to the cape and back.

But, it was not to be tonight. Something about a fuel leak, and they'll try again tomorrow.

Still, I hope Morgan had an "out of this world" 6th birthday!

Stormy weather keeps shuttle away

A bit of nasty weather in this little corner of heaven today prevented the space shuttle Endeavour from landing over at Cape Canaveral.

So, it had to put down in the California desert, and Central Florida missed-out on those window-rattling twin sonic booms we've come to know and love so well.

It seems the only thing that went right with this mission was the spectacular night launch I blogged about in this dryer some 16 days ago.

After that, one of the seven astronauts lost a $100,000 toolbag in a spacewalk.

Anyway, if ye socks are interested, you can track the orbit of said toolbag at this website:

http://www.n2yo.com/?s=33442

A launch for the history books

Well, ye socks, today we lucky residents of this little corner of heaven were witness to some space program history: the last scheduled night-time launch of the Space Shuttle.

The shuttle is being scrapped so NASA can move on to bigger and better things, I guess.

I, for one, will miss these night time launches, though.

Even as far away as my front porch here in Orlando, we can see the night time sky take on the glow from the launch pad and watch what looks like a big ball of fire shoot above the tree line as it pushes the shuttle into the stratosphere.

Truly awe inspiring.

3 . . 2 . . 1 . . blast-off!

I know a lot of ye socks in this little corner of heaven are jaded to the whole Space Shuttle program.

But, I don't know how anyone can experience a launch like today's and NOT be left breathless.

(And, that's coming from someone who's seen DOZENS of these things.)

Hope they get that plumbing repaired up there . . .

Boom! Boom!

That's what I heard at 8:35pm.

At first, I thought it was the kids down the street shooting off fireworks over Lake Hammer.

Then, I realized the space shuttle Endeavor was due to land over at the cape.

For ye socks who live outside of this little corner of heaven, we get a window-shaking "heads-up" every time one of the shuttles comes in for a landing. The twin sonic booms happen when they break the sound barrier.

Pretty cool, huh?!

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 . . . iginition . . . BLAST OFF!

To commemorate my niece Morgan's 5th birthday today, I had my friends over at NASA arrange an early morning shuttle launch.

If ye socks have never experienced a night-time launch, it's pretty spectacular.

From my humble abode in Apopka, we generally only get to see something like the picture posted here.

But, the closer you get to the coast, the greater the glow from the rocket boosters.

In fact, at Jetty Park, it gets as bright as high noon!

This morning, though, it was so cloudy in Apopka that I couldn't see anything.

Oh, well, back to bed til a more decent hour . . .

A shuttle launch and some amphibians

A group of us got together to participate in a night-time hike at the Geneva Wilderness Area up in Seminole County this evening.

Things got started with a spectacular Space Shuttle launch.

Then, Jim Duby, Principal Coordinator of the county's Natural Lands Program, led us off into the wilderness.

We got a bit of a break at the Ed Yarborough Nature Center, where Jim taught us how to differentiate the different calls of the native amphibians we were hearing along the trail.

Yes, that's right. The focus of tonight's trail was frogs and toads, which left certain hikers' skin crawling . . . especially when Jim passed around plastic containers with live specimens!!

Anyway, it was a beautiful night for hiking, and "a good time was had by all" in what is left of the old piney woods around here.

Happy trails to all of you socks out there who were not fortunate enough to have joined us this time, but hopefully there will be many more opportunities in the future!