Agony & Ecstacy

A DRAGON BY THE TAIL: My alarm was set for 4:28 this a.m. I just felt like I *had* to be up to watch the ISS try to snare SpaceX's Dragon capsule. I awoke at 4 and was so geeked (appropriate word choice there), I disabled my alarms and headed downstairs. I fired up the computer and put the big screen on NASA TV and there was Dragon, closing in on the ISS. Christian was up soon, and then CJ stirred soon and joined me on the couch. 

When the ISS's Canada arm was extending to capture Dragon, I let a sleeping Annabelle know what was going on. She joined us, and together we watched history being made, as this is the first time a commercial company has accomplished a supply flight to the ISS. 

We watched as Dragon approached meter by meter, with NASA and SpaceX conducting tests all along the way. There were a couple of hiccoughs with they worked through, but at 6:56 our time, NASA astronaut Don Pettit using the station's robotic arm at 9:56 a.m. EDT.

Here Pettit is, ready to make the snag. And that he did.

Photo: NASA.gov

Upon completing the task, Pettit said, "Houston, it looks like we got us a Dragon by the tail!"

The Dragon snared, the next Really Big Deal - berthing Dragon with the ISS. That worked too - hooray!

A video of the approach, capture and berthing is here:


"Today marks another critical step in the future of American spaceflight," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a press release. "Now that a U.S. company has proven its ability to resupply the space station, it opens a new frontier for commercial opportunities in space -- and new job creation opportunities right here in the U.S. By handing off space station transportation to the private sector, NASA is freed up to carry out the really hard work of sending astronauts farther into the solar system than ever before. The Obama Administration has set us on an ambitious path forward and the NASA and SpaceX teams are proving they are up to the task."


We're looking forward to them opening the hatch between the ISS and Dragon tomorrow morning.
TENNIS, ANYONE?: We headed down to West Seattle for the kids' Friday classes. We purposely arrived early to take advantage of the lovely tennis courts adjacent to the facility. Here, the kids are ready to return some not-so-powerful serves from me.

They both enjoyed their classes. Here's Bee at her last Bollywood rehearsal before the big show tonight!

I'll post some video of the show tomorrow!

SNAP, CRACKLE, POP: This afternoon, I was really looking forward to mowing the lawn. The sun was shining and it's a good workout (since we live on a hill/cliff).

Yeah, well, I didn't even get as far as getting the damn electric mower fired up. I stupidly trashed a tendon on my right ankle just navigating our (treacherous, uneven, overgrown) sidewalk and trying to get the cord situated. After my ankle folded about 90 degrees laterally, I fell, of course. And then after saying a few Bad Words, I hopped/crawled back to the house and announced to the kids that Mommy was Hurt Bad.

I looked down and didn't even want to pull my sock off, as I could see my right ankle was already sporting a gnarly bulb about the size of my fist on its outside. But I did pull it off and ewwwww. Called Christian and off to Urgent Care we went. Mercifully, I was seen quickly and everyone there was really nice.

We were back home within just a couple of hours, and within an hour of being home, I'd ripped off their POS crappy soft cast/splint. I'd had xrays, and they were negative, so it is what it is. Yes, it hurts, but I really just can't be on crutches for the next 6 weeks, so there. I borrowed a walking boot thingee from Rick and off we go. The show must go on.  Speaking of which, it's time to get Annabelle ready for her show! :)