The Launch.....

Looking back, it was such an unbelievable time. Half a mile away was Americas crown jewel of our space program poised for launch. The sun had come up and birds were flying through an unmolested sky, no clue that they had the front row seat to history just like the rest of us. It was kind of like waiting for your magic decoder ring that was to come in the mail. I really wanted to see a rocket BLAST OFF !! There was a huge digital readout of the countdown flashing in the viewing area and we could hear the conversation between the Astronauts and Mission Control as they went through the pre-launch check out. Key system 7 ....Check...etc. I felt the buzz of the moment and I can remember thinking how unbelievable it was that I was there, how could I have been so lucky, and never would I have ever assumed that being that close was even possible. We were all such optimists. If the rocket had blown on the pad I really feel as though it would have not been pleasant for any of us. Until you see it in "real life" you have no concept of the size. It was just an amazing marvel of construction and ingenuity.

As the morning progressed there were a couple of delays with a switch or relay acting up and the digital clock would pause until the repair or glitch was repaired. Then the numbers would start moving. The crowd was really like a bunch of people relaxing at a picnic. Some in shorts, some in long pants, and it seemed everyone had a black NASA ball cap. I guess that made us "official". The countdown proceeded and it seemed that more glitches started appearing. NASA can fix them.....they can do anything. The launch vehicle was being fueled and the vapors bleeding off sending a white cloud from the hoses. Excitement was building. Of course we had no idea how long it took to get everything ready......the schedule seemed to be progressing. Conversations between Mission control and the Shuttle were continuing....then a longer than normal silence. It was starting to get hot and clouds were coming in. It was quiet. The clock was stopped, we were standing around, grouped in clusters talking, or laying on the ground. The speaker cracked with the voice on Mission Control....... ( To be continued.)