T - 90 Minutes And Counting ~

As I write this, it is exactly T - 90 minutes from the scheduled launch time for Space X's demonstration mission to the International Space Station. A Falcon 9 rocket with its Dragon capsule payload is slated to lift off from Pad 40 at Kennedy Space Center at 1:55 a.m.

Space X is poised at the brink of making history. A successful mission means Space X will become the first private entity on the planet to not only achieve orbit, but to dock with the ISS. The symbolism of this feat cannot be overstated at a time when NASA is reeling from funding cuts and the iconic Space Shuttle will never fly again. 

More importantly, Space X has ambitious plans that go far beyond the symbolic. The Dragon capsule can function as a reusable spacecraft to carry astronauts to the ISS and beyond. Space X founder Elon Musk envisions manned missions to Mars within the next 10 years and a burgeoning space tourism industry that will offer round trip rocket rides to space stations, habitats and other future destinations in low Earth orbit and beyond. 

Within the next 20 years, space travel, space ships and suborbitals will become as commonplace as air travel and aircraft. We have finally reached the dawn of an era that will make space accessible to those who want to experience it, on a large scale.  90 minutes from now, Space X is set to pave the way!

Go Space X!

Go Falcon!

Go Dragon!

Revisiting STS-133 ~ Discovery's Last Mission ~

Among those who were invited to participate in the NASA Tweetup (now NASA Social) at Kennedy Space Center to watch Discovery's last launch, STS-133 is often referred to as "The longest tweetup". 

Discovery was originally scheduled to launch on Nov. 1, 2010. The launch was scrubbed at the last minute. Hope remained alive for about a week that Discovery would launch soon, but it was not to be. Several additional launch dates in early November were also scrubbed. In the end, Discovery had to be moved from the launch pad back into the hangar for additional work. 

Discovery STS-133 finally launched on February 24, 2011. Many of the tweetup attendees traveled to Florida twice in hopes of seeing the launch. After four months of anticipation and disappointments, experiencing the long-awaited last launch of Discovery was a sensory and emotional high that STS-133 tweetup attendees are still talking about today.

Among the STS-133 tweetup guests was fellow space geek and violinist @tallulah_kidd, who was so inspired by the magnificence of the launch that she spontaneously played her violin at Kennedy Space Center. Her music is pure improvisation after seeing Discovery off on its final mission. 

Enjoy.

At the Vehicle Assembly Building 

Serenading Robonaut

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Below is a special STS-133 bonus - 

William Shatner's wake-up call to Discovery's crew on orbit during the last mission: