Nasa Notes
... Jim Timmons

(Continued from page 1)

view in person. We had witnessed Space Shuttle Atlantis launch on STS-101 in May of 2000. We were excited and hoping that the weather wouldn't spoil the fun. We caught one of the last flights out of DFW and arrived in Orlando at around midnight. We then rented a car and drove east to Titusville to view the launch. All of the hotels were booked solid so we picked up coffee and donuts, found a nice spot to park and waited for the launch. A few hours later at 6:22 a.m. we watched as Space Shuttle Columbia was launched on STS-109. Columbia's job was to service the Hubble Space Telescope, and the mission was a complete success. The launch was especially interesting because the vehicle plowed through a low cloud bank about 10 to 15 seconds into the launch, and it lit up the whole sky! It looked very much like a mushroom cloud. It was truely a beautiful launch. As we watched the launch that morning we could never have dreamed that what we were seeing was the beginning of the orbiter's last successful mission.

What happened this morning was a tragedy for the family members of the astronauts, the space program and America. The shuttle astronauts are true heroes.

Danny Arthur - I got up to watch the reentry this morning. I was unsure of the exact time. I checked out the sky and ran in to get some socks on.I then ran back out to check the sky but stayed on the porch and only checked out the western sky. I grabbed my shoes and walked back out. It had all ready passed. I was surprised to see such a large "contrail". I was expecting a much smaller ionization trail as I had seen on another reentry at dusk. I did not realize I was seeing a smoke trail that had expanded somewhat. It did look unusual to me but I thought "I guess that's what it looks like in the daytime."

Following the smoke trail over to the east, it narrowed down but it was right in the glare from the rising sun and I could see nomotion. I figured that I had just missed it before it went out ofsight, however the smoke trail did seem to stop and not go down to the horizon. I figured because of the glare, I just could not see the rest of it. And maybe that was the case. It just looked unusual to me. Then I heard the sonic boom. For those that were inside, that boom occured well after the shuttle had passed. That is normal.

Ten or fifteen minutes later, I found out what had happened. To me,all astronauts are heroes and I'm so sorry we lost seven heroes today.

Don Welch - It woke me from a sound sleep and I knew something was definitely wrong. I live by a train track and I sleep right through all kinds of noise all night. It took a while to find out what had caused the noise. Terrible.

Thomas Williamson - I heard the far off sonic boom this morning - I had no idea it was the space shuttle... this is such a tragic event.

IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE, IT'S MRS. BAKER FROM FIFTH PERIOD? - EAP:  NASA is again recruiting new members for the astronaut corp. The goal is to increase the interest in science and mathematics to this generations' students, much the same as today's scientists were inspired by NASA's work in the 1960's. The Educator Astronaut Program (EAP) is seeking teachers who will provide a link between teachers and students and the many and various careers and opportunities with space exploration. Educator Astronaut candidates will begin training at the Johnson Space Center and after graduation, will be eligible for a shuttle flight as mission specialists.


GET OUT OF THE WAY, ENERGIZER BUNNY  - MUSES-C:  The Mu Space Engineering Spacecraft C (MusesC) is an asteroid sample return mission that is scheduled for launch in May. It is a joint effort with NASA and Japan's Institute for Space and Astronomical Sciences (ISAS). The spacecraft uses a microwave ion engine. The prototype model of this engine has continued autonomous running for over two and a half years. The goal of 18000 hours was achieved last October. It keeps going and going….