Blogs / Cosmic Variance

One word: AWESOME.

Ok. A couple more words. The launch was spectacular, and went off on time and without a hitch (beyond a bit of ice on part of launch vehicle, but that they got off at the last minute). We did wind up at Banana Creek, and the view was primo. There were a bit of low clouds, so we lost sight of the shuttle pretty quickly and couldn’t see the separation from the boosters. But, the short time we could see it was completely worth it. The noise was terrific — low and rumbly, then building to dense crackles like the finale to the biggest fireworks display ever. I also wasn’t prepared for how intense the light of the engines was. You really couldn’t look right at it without discomfort. My favorite moment was probably when the smoke started pouring out of the base of the launch assembly, when you really knew “Holy crap, it’s gonna go!!!!”. Everyone was screaming and pointing and whooping it up. I did wish the President had come, because I get the sense that Obama doesn’t yet buy into the promise of spaceflight — I don’t see how he couldn’t have been moved and impressed by so many people with so much expertise coming together to make something so amazing happen.

And then five minutes later everyone was back on the air-conditioned buses trying to get the heck out of the 90+ degree heat and humidity.

From what I’ve gathered from NASA-TV and from conversations at various parties(*), the mission is going well. A camera on the robotic arm has scoped out the outside of the shuttle, and last I heard all looked pretty good, although they did go back for a second look near the nose. They’ve now safed Hubble, getting ready for it to be grappled on Wednesday a bit before noon. EVA’s (i.e. spacewalks) start on Thursday.

Other random notes:

Favorite free trinket? You know those little charms that kids decorate their Croc’s with? Ball Aerospace was giving out ones shaped like the Hubble Space Telescope.

Favorite item from the gift shop? NASA astronaut oven mitts.

Favorite unexpected surprise? Kennedy Space Center is in the middle of a nature preserve, so it’s teeming with wildlife. We’ve seen gators, raptors, vultures, bald eagles, turtles, and a crazy assortment of long-legged shore birds.

Least enjoyable moment(s)? Lines in 95 degree heat, with no shade. Followed by more lines. Seriously — it’s crazy trying to get that many people into secured launch viewing areas. We got there almost five hours before the launch, and still probably spent two of the intervening hours waiting in one line or another. When your kid voluntarily turns down ice cream in the burning sun because the lines are too long, you know it’s bad.

(*) Parties? Yes, shuttle launches seem to be like the Oscars.

As mentioned in a previous post, I am now deep into the Committee Era of my career. This means a lot of sitting in conference rooms, writing reports, and making Important Decisions. The work is essential for keeping the scientific enterprise running, and for ensuring the future of the field, but it also means time away from home and work, with no compensation beyond the frequent flyer miles you accrue, a satisfying sense of paying it forward for younger scientists, and sometimes a decent dinner.

However, occasionally there are perks. On the right you see the invitation I got in the mail a few weeks back. No, it’s not for yet another committee meeting, but instead is an invitation to the mutha-frakkin’ space shuttle launch! Booyah! Rockets! Loud noises! Massive objects going really fast in directions they are not meant to go! (um, can you tell I’m excited?)

The launch is for the final servicing mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. The astronauts (including astrophysicist-HST-repair-god John Grunsfeld) will be overhauling both the scientific instruments and many of the systems on the telescope itself (see the great interactive graphics put together by the New York Times). I could go into exhaustive detail about everything they hope to fix, but the mission should wind up doing something like the following:

Before.	After.

Even in its somewhat, shall we say, “well-loved” state, HST is still an amazing device, and still sends back cutting edge science, in spite of the fact that it’s down to running on a ~15 year old camera and back up electronics. But man, if everything in the repair mission goes well, the telescope is going to be incredible. Let’s all keep fingers crossed for the safety of the astronauts, and wish them the best of luck with their work!

(PS. I’ll be part of a press conference on Sunday, helping to honor WFPC2, The Camera That Wouldn’t Die. I’m guessing it’ll be on NASA Select (on cable). It looks like you can also stream video directly to your computer. Launch is scheduled for 2pm Monday the 11th!)

(PPS. And Astropixie has an image up of the most awesome NASA promotional poster ever created. I first saw it on a hallway at the Space Telescope Science Institute and have been coveting one ever since. Seriously — click over and take a peak.)