GROUP 5 NEWS & INFORMATION |
| |
| |
 |
| Front Row: c/A1C Ryan MacDougall, c/Amn James Rose, c/Amn Alexis Rappa, c/A1C Nikyla Waldrop, c/Amn Haley Storey, c/Amn Matt Plummer, c/Amn Matt Shad Back Row: c/TSgt James Zamor, c/SrAmn Dalton Johnson, c/Amn Brett Cochrane, c/Amn Tomie DeGrande, c/CMsgt Jared Miller, 2010 Olympic Gold medalist Curtis Tomasevicz, c/TSgt Michael Wodhal, 1Lt. Corinna Hensley |
| |
|
| May 02, 2010 |
| STS-131 SHATTERS THE STILL OF THE DAWN
|
| By Lee County Schools Cadet Squadron (SER-FL-816) |
| |
| |
| On April 9th, members from Lee County School’s cadet squadron attended the launch of the STS-131 shuttle mission from the Kennedy Space Center. The Civil Air Patrol members were the guest of National Atmospheric and Space Administration’s Director Charles Bolden. |
| |
| Historically, this was considered to be the last night launch for NASA’s shuttle mission. A week prior to the launch, cadets and senior members carefully followed news reports of a possible launch delay caused by a helium leak on the space shuttle. When NASA announced “all systems were go”, everyone excitedly prepared for the journey across the Florida peninsula and the opportunity to witness aerospace history in the making. |
| |
| The two Civil Air Patrol vans packed with dedicated cadets and senior members departed Cape Coral for the four-hour drive to the Kennedy Space Center. As the group neared the Space Center, they carefully negotiated their way through the hundreds of campers and vans along with the thousands of spectators that lined the causeway leading to Cape Canaveral and filled the area surrounding the NASA launch site. |
| |
| At midnight, the group finally arrived at the KSC VIP Visitor Center. After parking the vans, the cadets and senior members were directed to a white tent. Inside the tent security personnel screened each of the visitors prior to entering the VIP facility. |
| |
| Once inside the Visitor Center, the cadets were surprised to have the opportunity to view museum displays, meet astronauts from prior missions, and watched a thrilling NASA IMAX movies. There was much to see and do for six hours while waiting for the shuttle launch scheduled for 06:21 hrs. |
| |
| The NASA IMAX experience was an excellent movie. The enormous movie screen was approximately 30 by 130 feet. The viewers were provided with 3-D glasses. The cadets laugh repeatedly showing enjoyment of the special effects offered by the movie. The one-hour movie was followed with video of the training and actual STS-125 mission tasked to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. The video footage highlighted the dangers the astronaut face and gave a personal view of the daily routine of life while in space. The group members left the theater feeling as if they had actually just spent time aboard the shuttle. |
| |
| As our group was slowly exiting the movie theatre, we were approached by a Civil Air Patrol Cadet and his family who were happy to see the cadets in uniform. He introduced himself as a Cadet Master Sergeant from a unit in Illinois. He proudly shook the hands of the cadets and senior members. He shared his excitement in seeing the launch and expressed his wish that his home squadron could have joined him to see the launch. He finished conversing by wishing us a safe trip back to Cape Coral. It was a real treat to see this young Master Sergeant’s pride standing among his fellow cadets. His professional demeanor created a great role model and we were all proud to be members of the same organization. |
| |
| As our group was slowly exiting the movie theatre, we were approached by a Civil Air Patrol Cadet and his family who were happy to see the cadets in uniform. He introduced himself as a Cadet Master Sergeant from a unit in Illinois. He proudly shook the hands of the cadets and senior members. He shared his excitement in seeing the launch and expressed his wish that his home squadron could have joined him to see the launch. He finished conversing by wishing us a safe trip back to Cape Coral. It was a real treat to see this young Master Sergeant’s pride standing among his fellow cadets. His professional demeanor created a great role model and we were all proud to be members of the same organization. |
| |
At 04:00 hrs, we were directed to board the buses that took us to NASA’s Banana Creek viewing site. This site is approximately 3 miles from Launch Pad 39A, directly across the Indian River. On the way to the viewing site, a tour guide gave us more information about the space center. He pointed out the largest American flag displayed in the country on the side of the main building. He noted that the width of each red and white stripe is big enough for the tour bus to drive on with room to spare on each side. Our tour guide had been retired for over 10 years and was still dedicated to the US space mission by volunteering during the shuttle launches. Most of the NASA employees we met had a career of over 25 years with the agency.
Once we arrived at Banana Creek, we were in awe to see the Space Shuttle proudly sitting on the launch pad poised to blast off into space. |
|
| It was brightly illuminated and could be seen several miles away. In the foreground, two LED countdown clocks counted down the seconds remaining till launch. The scene was made even more surreal by the sounds of launch commentators which echoed around Banana Creek. |
| |
| Our group secured a viewing spot in front of the bleacher stands to patiently wait for the launch. The cadets had been up all night and fatigue was beginning to show. One member made photographs of the cadets falling asleep on each other. The clocks continued the countdown as the historic moment drew closer. Suddenly, the countdown clock stopped showing fourteen minutes to launch time. |
| |
| As we waited for the launch sequence to resume, a launch commentator advised the crowd of about 1500 guests to look in the southwest sky, about 45 degrees up from the horizon. Ten seconds later we could see a bright glimmer of the International Space Station passing over our location. The crowd was mesmerized and silently watched the bright light passing among the stars and across the moon above. The light seemed to drift across the sky, yet the commentator estimated the speed of the ISS to be over 14,000+ miles an hour. |
| |
| As the crowd focused on the spot of light moving across the pre-dawn sky, officials announced that the countdown had been stopped due to a faulty switch aboard the shuttle. The countdown could not continue until the problem was fixed. A murmur of disappointment passed over the crowd who were becoming weary from their nocturnal vigilance. Soon enough an announcement was made that the faulty switch was repaired and the countdown resumed on schedule. |
| |
| Our group was standing about fifteen feet from a section reserved for former astronauts and other government officials. We saw Neil Armstrong sitting with his wife. It was observed that the “First Man to Walk on the Moon” was proudly wearing an American Flag pin and NASA button, on his jacket lapel. |
| |
| 2010 Olympic Gold medalist Curtis Tomasevicz was in our viewing section. Curtis helped secure an amazing performance for the US Bobsledding team earlier this year. He was part of a NASA public affairs interview and proudly wore his Gold Olympic medal. Curtis spoke to the cadets and took a group photograph with the cadets with launch pad 39A, in the back ground. |
| |
| The countdown clock resumed with four minutes remaining. As the anticipation began to build, a young woman with a microphone began to sing the national anthem. Her position near the flag pole drew the crowd’s attention to Old Glory waving above. Cadets stood at attention and joined in singing of the “Star Spangled Banner”. The entire crowd sang. Many guests had tears rolling down their faces. It was a moving experience to be present in the early morning hours with the flag flying overhead, the brilliantly-lit shuttle ready for take-off, and the national anthem echoing across the river. It was a true patriotic moment for all. When the anthem finished, a roar of applause spontaneously erupted from the crowd. |
| |
| T-minus “10, 9, 8...” the level of excitement was bursting as the countdown clock approached zero. “5, 4, 3...” the shuttle engines roared to life and the flames pushed back the darkness, lighting up the entire horizon. The smoke, flames and screams from the crowd did not compare to the intense roar of the rocket engines thrusting the shuttle into the sky. The sensory bombardment of the sights and sounds of the launch were quickly replaced by a sense of pride that blanketed the spectators at the Banana Creek site and across the rest of the Cape. With all that we had experienced since we had arrived some seven hours prior, this shared moment of unity and sense of American greatness was worth every minute, and every sacrifice that it took to make this journey. |
| |
| The crowd was thunderstruck by the experience and weary from the long, overnight vigil. The light of a new day bathed our group as we worked our way back to the bus that would return us to the visitor’s center. As the sun rose behind the now empty launch pad, it gave definition to the exhaust clouds that were the only remaining evidence of the path the shuttle had taken earlier. The blinding fireball of the rocket engines was replaced by rays of sunlight. The cadets watched Indian Creek light up with the light of a new day. Just then a bald eagle flew in front us, searing the memory of this patriotic experience in to the collection of life’s treasured moments. |
| |
| This aerospace education project was a valuable learning opportunity as well as a once in a lifetime experience that both cadet and senior members will always remember. Even more, the personal experience and our interaction with other guests reminded us of the privilege and responsibility we have for service to our country and our communities as CAP members. |
| |
Photo courtesy of NASA |
| |
|
