Monday, March 13, 2006

Space Shuttle

A Spiffy Photo

Years ago I saw a comedian on TV juggling an ax, a meat cleaver, and a knife. He introduced them as George the Ax, Beaver the Cleaver, and Mac the Knife. It was impressive to see, but what was really funny was that he claimed George the Ax was the actual ax that George Washington used to chop down the cherry tree. Of course the handle had been replaced, and so had the head, but it occupied the same space...

In the spirit of his joke, I present this picture. I did not take it, but it is a night shot of the Space Shuttle being launched in 1990. I did not work here then, but the building in the photo is the building in which I now work. We're about 30 miles south of Kennedy Space Center here. When there is a launch of any kind we all mosey out the other side of this building to watch.

The last thing that went up, a nuclear powered probe called the New Horizons Spacecraft, sent to study Pluto in January, 2006, had about 5 or 6 false starts before it actually launched. I was diligent and saw it for meself, although that was a day launch. And not the shuttle, which is a more impressive spectacle. Night launches ROCK.

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