krpalmer | A Landing and an Intent (Reply)

After an extra day in space because of weather delays, space shuttle Discovery is now on the ground in Florida. During the mission, I took note of an important antenna that wasn't working and sticking equipment during the maintenance spacewalks, but everything seems to have worked out. During the mission, there was also more clarity provided about how there do seem to be more plans for future space development than just hoping SpaceX gets the Falcon 9 rocket working, a good change from the uncertainty that accompanied the previous space shuttle flight. I suppose it might yet be troublingly like ripping up old plans just to provide new ones, but there's also an air of cutting out the merely useful step of first building a rocket just large enough to launch a capsule to move straight on to the bigger and more essential rocket, and a destination in the asteroids.

How close we are to one end, though, seems wrapped up in that this is the last landing after which it's been scheduled that an orbiter will be fixed up to fly again. The mission to follow is still scheduled for the middle of May, less than a month from now, and I suppose I'm bringing that up because I'm going to chance a declaration. I hadn't mentioned anything about my vacation last year here until just before I left because I worried it might seem to boast or just bore, but now I want to say that I'm planning to go to Florida next month and try to see the launch in person at last instead of just watching via online streaming if I'm not stuck at work. I've made what seem like the essential preparations on my part; now, I'm shifting over to hoping that everything else works out as well, as I can imagine the launch being rescheduled or just delayed all the days I'll be down there... Still, at least I've made the effort instead of just daydreaming about it.