ALL FIRED UP: Today was a special day at MPA because it was a scheduled shuttle launch day. We love us some shuttles 'round here. :) (Royal wedding? What royal wedding? We were tuned into NASA TV before 6 a.m. today!)
A couple of weeks ago, we watched Endeavour roll out to the launch pad for its 19th and final mission. And today, the shuttle was set to lift off at 12:47 p.m. our time, and there were hours worth of pre-launch festivities to watch. The weather was a bit iffy this a.m. - last night there were storms near the launch pad (see above) and this morning there was lots of cloud cover and some light drizzle. However, we were optimistic. ...
One of the things we did to prepare ourselves for today's launch was watch a fascinating video about an incredible piece of machinery onboard STS-134, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS).
No doubt in your lifetime you've heard about more than a few things that could Change the Face of Science and answer the mysteries of the universe. The AMS actually lives up to that billing. No, really.
A couple of weeks ago, we watched Endeavour roll out to the launch pad for its 19th and final mission. And today, the shuttle was set to lift off at 12:47 p.m. our time, and there were hours worth of pre-launch festivities to watch. The weather was a bit iffy this a.m. - last night there were storms near the launch pad (see above) and this morning there was lots of cloud cover and some light drizzle. However, we were optimistic. ...
One of the things we did to prepare ourselves for today's launch was watch a fascinating video about an incredible piece of machinery onboard STS-134, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS).
No doubt in your lifetime you've heard about more than a few things that could Change the Face of Science and answer the mysteries of the universe. The AMS actually lives up to that billing. No, really.
Fifteen 15 years in the making and larger than a VW bug, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer is a state-of-the-art, high energy particle physics experiment built in Geneva by a collaboration of 16 different countries. When deployed on the ISS it will sift through space particles, searching for clues on what the universe is made of and how it began. Using a magnet it will separate the matter from the antimatter and in the process, perhaps unlock mysteries about the origin of dark matter, strangelets, pulsars, blazers and gamma ray bursters and more. (For decades, scientists on Earth have speculated about such things, but the Earth's atmosphere has made it impossible to conduct these experiments.)
Try as I might, I'm not doing the AMS justice here. Do yourself a favor and watch the video.
SUDDEN TURN OF EVENTS: All morning I was exchanging messages with a friend who was in Florida for the launch. I virtually 'rode along' with her on the bus to the Kennedy Space Center and then another bus trip to the Causeway, for launch viewing. About 2 hours before launch, she had a seat in the bleachers at Cape Canaveral and here in Seattle we watched the astronauts get into their van and head for the launch pad.
I joked to the kids that Commander Kelly was probably saying, "Hey, can we hit a McDonald's drive through? I want some fries."
About that moment, the astronauts' van did a u-turn and they headed back toward the Kennedy Space Center.
"I guess they really wanted fries," CJ cracked.
So, so disappointing. According to a press release I got tonight, "Mission Management Team Chair and Shuttle Launch Integration Manager, Mike Moses explained the importance of the APU heaters that keep the hydrazine fuel from freezing in orbit. There are two heaters on APU 1 and both are required for operations. 'It was pretty straight-forward scrub today,' said Moses. 'The team made a very good call.' "
A bit earlier I heard the launch director say he'd rather be on the ground, looking up and wishing he was in space than he would like to be in space, looking down, wishing he was on the ground. I can appreciate that.
So many people were disappointed today - including none other than President Obama and his family. At least they got to tour KSC. They even got a VERY close up look of "our" shuttle - the one we saw launch last May - Atlantis.
I joked to the kids that Commander Kelly was probably saying, "Hey, can we hit a McDonald's drive through? I want some fries."
About that moment, the astronauts' van did a u-turn and they headed back toward the Kennedy Space Center.
"I guess they really wanted fries," CJ cracked.
So, so disappointing. According to a press release I got tonight, "Mission Management Team Chair and Shuttle Launch Integration Manager, Mike Moses explained the importance of the APU heaters that keep the hydrazine fuel from freezing in orbit. There are two heaters on APU 1 and both are required for operations. 'It was pretty straight-forward scrub today,' said Moses. 'The team made a very good call.' "
A bit earlier I heard the launch director say he'd rather be on the ground, looking up and wishing he was in space than he would like to be in space, looking down, wishing he was on the ground. I can appreciate that.
So many people were disappointed today - including none other than President Obama and his family. At least they got to tour KSC. They even got a VERY close up look of "our" shuttle - the one we saw launch last May - Atlantis.
BTW, though Endeavour was foiled, Annabelle had her own launch of sorts. She was playing with a blast-off balloon, which rocketed all 'round the house when she let go of it. Its motion and sound were probably enough to entice Kirby, but to make the balloon even more enticing, Annabelle taped a doggie treat to its end!
HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?: We finally got around to putting our seed starts into outdoor soil today.
First, we had to add a couple of bags of soil to the planter boxes Christian built. CJ and Annabelle troweled and raked and tamped and got the beds ready. Then they dug a couple of holes - one for a tomato plant and one for a tomatillo plant we bought at Lowe's a couple of days ago.
We'll see how they grow. Fingers crossed.GLORY, GLORY: Knowing we were heading to 'The Village' today for Annabelle's ballet, I started rounding up books to take back to the library. One I knew was due soon was "Just in Time, Abraham Lincoln," by Patricia Polacco. What a wonderful history lesson it turned out to be.
The book is about a pair of modern-day brothers whose grandmother takes them to a museum in Maryland, where the curator sends them out the back door on what they believe to be a Civil War re-enactment, but turns out to be a time-traveling adventure.
The action occurs in September of 1862, right after the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000 casualties. (I explained to the kids that 23,000 people is akin to when we go to a Mariners game that's VERY busy, and suggested they picture every person in the stands being a war casualty. In one day. Wow.
The story told of the brothers becoming increasingly embroiled in what didn't seem like a re-enactment any more, especially when they met Lincoln and saw the war casualties. Through the museum curator had told them not to say anything to anyone about who they were or where they came from, the boys eventually found themselves consoling and encouraging Lincoln - telling him that the North WOULD win, that the war was worth it and that one day a black man would be president.
The book ended with the boys making it back to the safety of the museum, where they saw a photograph by renowned Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner of Lincoln meeting Union Army General George B. McClellan.
I loved that the book gave us a jumping off point to go search for source documents, and lo and behold, we found the original photo that was copied in the picture book depicting Lincoln and McClellan's meeting.
We also checked out some of Gardner's other work, including a photo of soldiers killed along "Bloody Lane" during the Battle of Antietam.
We also took a look at one of Gardner's most famous photos,"Confederate Dead at Devil's Den" (in Gettysburg).
There's a bit of controversy surrounding this last photo. Some claim that Gardner moved and posed the body in it. :/ (Apparently this wasn't all that uncommon back then. Go figure.)
The book is about a pair of modern-day brothers whose grandmother takes them to a museum in Maryland, where the curator sends them out the back door on what they believe to be a Civil War re-enactment, but turns out to be a time-traveling adventure.
The action occurs in September of 1862, right after the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000 casualties. (I explained to the kids that 23,000 people is akin to when we go to a Mariners game that's VERY busy, and suggested they picture every person in the stands being a war casualty. In one day. Wow.
The story told of the brothers becoming increasingly embroiled in what didn't seem like a re-enactment any more, especially when they met Lincoln and saw the war casualties. Through the museum curator had told them not to say anything to anyone about who they were or where they came from, the boys eventually found themselves consoling and encouraging Lincoln - telling him that the North WOULD win, that the war was worth it and that one day a black man would be president.
The book ended with the boys making it back to the safety of the museum, where they saw a photograph by renowned Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner of Lincoln meeting Union Army General George B. McClellan.
I loved that the book gave us a jumping off point to go search for source documents, and lo and behold, we found the original photo that was copied in the picture book depicting Lincoln and McClellan's meeting.
We also checked out some of Gardner's other work, including a photo of soldiers killed along "Bloody Lane" during the Battle of Antietam.
We also took a look at one of Gardner's most famous photos,"Confederate Dead at Devil's Den" (in Gettysburg).
There's a bit of controversy surrounding this last photo. Some claim that Gardner moved and posed the body in it. :/ (Apparently this wasn't all that uncommon back then. Go figure.)
The Civil War: Nothing has ever affected me the same way as the first time I saw the graves and headstones at Gettysburg. All numbers, no names. I can't describe it.
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