My Coverage of STS-135 in Westfalen-Blatt (Bad Oeynhausen, Germany)

Being a spacetweep is all about outreach and inspiration via social media. When a German twitter follower of mine learned that I was traveling to Florida to witness the last Space Shuttle launch on July 8, 2011, he pointed out that many local Germans don't even know or care about the end of the Space Shuttle program. I decided to contact both papers in my hometown of Bad Oeynhausen to see if they wanted to interview me while experiencing STS-135 in person. Did they ever! I was asked for and promised exclusive coverage to the first paper that responded, the Westfalen-Blatt. I figured if I can reach, inspire or educate just one person in Germany, it would be worth the effort. I anticipated publication with some degree of trepidation and was pleasantly surprised. The journalist who interviewed me, Malte Samtenschnieder, did a great job. I was especially happy to see her translation of my STS-135 launch tweet stream in my hometown newspaper.

If you read German, you can see for yourself (scroll down to PDFs). If you don't, here are the Cliff Notes:

The first PDF page is the transcript of the interview with me a few days before my trip to the Space Coast. It was published pre-launch on July 8, 2011 and the picture on the right is actually of the last launch of Discovery on February 24, 2011 (STS-133). The interview mainly covers how I became a space geek and how NASA's social media activism, especially on twitter, has created a growing global community of spacetweeps and citizen scientists that will help launch the coming era of space tourism, private space exploration and permanent human colonies in low-earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and other solar system destinations. 

I also give a shout-out to Sonja Rohde, who is slated to become the first German space tourist and the first German woman in space. She is from my home state of Nordrhein-Westfalen. There are also sidebars with my biographical info and about the STS-135 mission profile and crew members. The interview was featured on the Westfalen-Blatt's front page.

The second PDF page is a second article by the same journalist published post-launch in the Westfalen-Blatt's weekend edition of July 9/10, 2011. It is a translation into German of my live tweets on launch day. While historic space events tend to cause cell phone and network outages due to overload, I got lucky. All my launch-related tweets got through, without delay. I even composed my launch tweet "...5 ...4 ...3 ...2 ...1 and Lift-Off!" ahead of time, with my finger on the "Send" button and my eyes on the launch pad. (Have I noted recently that smart phones are cooler than tricorders?). 

If you don't read German but follow my twitter feed - or space events, for that matter - you don't need a translation of the second article. I should add that the translation is very good and accurately captures what I was trying to convey. Except for one quibble that only matters to those who read both German and English. I tweeted about how shuttle launch sound waves are something you feel *viscerally*, in addition to seeing and hearing them - a feeling you just don't experience unless you're physically close to a couple million tons of propellants being ignited. The translation of "visceral" ended up as "zu Herzen gehend" (heartfelt), which is an ok translation, but not really what I said in English. It's a tough one, though, so I'm giving the translator a pass :)

Most of all, these articles are symbolic of what space activism and outreach is all about for me: It is about communication, passion, creativity and hope, the transcendence of national borders and cultural differences, and a focus on building a better future for all humankind.

Click here to read about my launch day experience in English.

Endeavour's Parade - Viewing Locations

To all of you who have been fretting over whether or not you'll be able to see Endeavour from L.A. sidewalks and streets this weekend, take heart! I scouted out the route today and talked to dozens of business owners. Not a single one told me that shuttle watchers are not welcome. In fact, most of them were thrilled at the prospect of the extra business with a distinct "Bring it on!" attitude. There was no talk of anyone closing for the Parade.

I focused on businesses and venues that either provide sit-down food & beverage services or have parking lots or other outdoors spaces. I made sure that shuttle watchers would be welcome there. 

The information below is NOT official information from Los Angeles city officials (much official advice in recent days has been versions of "stay away"). I compiled this information today while making my way along Endeavour's route. I hope this info will help you make plans for the Parade.

Be sure to pay attention to street closings (details below). I have heard that the police will close off streets/sidewalks 1 mile ahead and behind the shuttle. However the street closing signs today didn't mention anything about a "rolling" closure. The viewing locations below are all venues that get you off the streets and sidewalks - if indeed city officials decide to forbid shuttle viewing from sidewalks along the route.


Update - October 11, 5:40 p.m. 
Sidewalks may be opened up along the route, as determined by the LAPD on a block-by-block basis. No details.


 
If you plan on driving to the Parade, my advice is to arrive a couple hours prior to official street closing times, park off the Parade route a few blocks away and walk to your destination. That way, your car won't be stuck inside the closure zones. 

I have included a few hotel listings along the route for those who want to stay along the route overnight.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please email me at ctaake23 at gmail.com or contact me on twitter (@ct_la).

Here is a detailed map of the route and major stops along the way.




 
** FRIDAY OCTOBER 12 **

LEG 1 - EAST: Manchester & Sepulveda to Manchester & Crenshaw Drive

Manchester Blvd. will be closed from 12-5 pm along the shuttle route, according to signs displayed today.



Manchester & Sepulveda - Shuttle starts to head East at 1:15 p.m.


Manchester & Airport

Holiday Inn Express (rooftop viewing available)
Sizzler
7-11 parking lot


Manchester & Belford

Yum Yum Donuts
Jino's Bistro


Manchester & Bellana

Denny's
Burger King
Jack in the Box
Mini-mall parking lot anchored by a Subway


Manchester & Hindry

7-11 parking lot
Tumby's Pizza


Manchester & Olive

Arby's
Day's Inn
Sandman Hotel


Manchester & La Cienega

Randy's Donuts (look for the huge iconic donut with a shuttle in the donut hole)
Louis Burgers
Airport Hotel

Update - October 11, 2:55 p.m. 
Randy's donuts will be closed on Friday. They leased their parking lot to Toyota and the Tundra shuttle transporter will be stored there.  This is right at the 405 Freeway overpass.

** END ROUTE FOR OCTOBER 12 ** - Endeavour will reach the 405 Freeway overpass at Manchester & La Cienega around 4 p.m. Here she will be transferred to another carrier to cross the overpass around 10 p.m. Note: CHP will close freeway ramps in the area around this time.



** SATURDAY OCTOBER 13 **

Endeavour will continue along Manchester Blvd, entering the city of Inglewood around 8 a.m.


Manchester & Ash

Roscoe's Chicken & adjacent mini mall parking lot


Manchester & Cedar

Bravo's Char Burgers
Economy Inn
Lotus Motel


Manchester & Inglewood

7-11 parking lot
Charly's Restaurant
Carl's Jr


One Manchester Ave - Inglewood City Hall
This is an official viewing area and there are some grassy areas set back from the sidewalk. There are no other off-sidewalk viewing opportunities through downtown Inglewood.


Manchester & Locust

McDonald's
IHOP


Manchester & Hillcrest

Von's parking lot (including Starbucks and a bistro cafe).
This is a good one if you don't want to wait at a restaurant or fast food place. This is also the only segment along the route where Endeavour will be going downhill. There are grassy areas inside the parking lot to wait. I made sure the manager is fine with shuttle spotters in the parking lot. There is a fence around the lot, but it doesn't obstruct one's view, unless you have professional photo/film equipment.


Manchester & Prairie / Inglewood Forum

Sizzler

9 a.m. - Celebration at the Inglewood Forum. This venue accommodates 14,000 people. I couldn't get any info on how close visitors can get to the shuttle there.


Manchester & Briarwood

Inglewood Cemetery - for those who want to get into the Halloween spirit. You will not be able to get close to the sidewalk here due to walls that block the view but the cemetery is large and has gentle hills from which Manchester Blvd. is clearly visible.



LEG 2 - NORTH: Crenshaw Drive & Crenshaw Blvd to Martin Luther King Blvd.

From here on out, viewing opportunities diminish quite a bit. The neighborhoods are mostly residential, with houses frequently bordering the sidewalk without lawns or spacious businesses. 

I did not see any signs about closure times along Crenshaw Blvd., but expect it to be closed, partially or in its entirety, from early morning to at least mid-afternoon on Saturday.


Crenshaw & Florence

McDonald's and adajacent mini-mall


Crenshaw & 60th Street

Pizza Hut
Taco Bell


Crenshaw & Slauson

Burger King


Crenshaw & 48th Street

Church's Chicken


Crenshaw & Vernon

McDonald's


Crenshaw & Martin Luther King Blvd / Baldwin Hills Mall

Walmart / Macy's parking lot
Louisiana Fried Chicken, numerous additional restaurants

This is the location of the Baldwin Hills Mall, where there will be a celebration hosted by Debbie Allen at 2 p.m. The venue can accommodate 3,000 people. So if you want to go to this one, arrive early.



LEG 3 - EAST: Martin Luther King Blvd. to CA Science Center

A sign on MLK Blvd today read: Closed 8 pm / 10-12 to 8 pm / 10-13

The initial stretch of MLK Blvd is comprised of residential areas with very few viewing opportunities.


MLK & Olmstead

Audubon Middle School. There are large playgrounds and sports areas right on MLK Blvd. Downside: You'd be behind a chain link fence.


MLK & King Blvd.

7-11 mini mall (it looks like a tight fit there; city workers were taking down street lights today)


MLK & Arlington

McDonald's

A sign at Arlington said today that this stretch of road will be closed on 10/13 from 4 pm to 10 pm. I take this to mean that the shuttle will probably arrive at CA Science Center closer to 8 pm than 4 pm.


MLK & Western

Popeye's
Burger King
Ralph's parking lot


MLK & Normandie

KFC
Carl's Jr
Taco Bell


MLK & Walton

McDonald's with adjacent mini mall parking lot


MLK & Bill Richardson Lane




 
END OF ROUTE. 

This is a good location to see the shuttle at the end of her journey. Endeavour will turn left here and head over to the CA Science Center, which will also host a celebration. See my previous two Endeavour Parade blog entries for details on this celebration.


Update - October 11, 2012 12:40 pm
CBS just reported that Endeavour is slated to arrive at the CA Science Center at 8:30 p.m. Previously reported arrival times were 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Open Letter to Mayor Villaraigosa

To Mayor Villaraigosa and city officials in charge of moving Endeavour to the California Science Center:

The way you have handled public relations for Endeavour's move so far is an absolute disgrace. By keeping spectators away from the shuttle route you are turning an event that could be a highlight in the history of space shuttle retirement into a nightmarish police state scenario. Your emphasis on "security" is a thinly veiled way of saying that Angelenos cannot be trusted to celebrate THEIR shuttle without damaging it, themselves, each other or city property - especially considering that the route leads through some of LA's poorer neighborhoods. I really have to wonder if you have a clue just how bad this looks to us - and everybody who will be watching this weekend.

This is the last time any space shuttle will be on the *move* anywhere on Earth or in space. Do you really want to turn this historic occasion into one that Angelenos and the world will remember as one of anger, resentment and ham-fisted management?

It is an honor for Los Angeles to have been chosen as the permanent home of one NASA's orbiters, especially considering the role Southern California played in the shuttle's design and development. One would think you could grasp the historic significance of moving this magnificent machine through our city streets. Angelenos and visitors want to be PART OF HISTORY. Yet you are treating Endeavour's move as if it is a huge inconvenience, through a city populated by residents too incompetent or dangerous to watch a shuttle go by at TWO miles per hour.

What makes you think Angelenos are incapable of participating safely in a celebration and parade? We have hosted the Olympics as smoothly as any city can. We host an annual marathon through those same city streets. We survived closure of our busiest freeway for a whole weekend without missing a beat, twice. We can handle horrific daily traffic, along with earthquakes, riots, fires and floods. Angelenos are tough, resourceful and delightfully diverse. How dare you paint us as people who can't be entrusted with keeping ourselves and the space shuttle safe because we want to WATCH FROM THE SIDEWALKS?

If your concern is for the shuttle or transporter injuring onlookers: Please. The transporter will be crawling along. What are you afraid of? I'd really like to hear what kind of specific "security" concerns you have. I would also like to know how you intend to handle massive crowds at a venue you are billing as a public viewing site, even though it accommodates only 3,000 people (Crenshaw Plaza).

Are you concerned the shuttle might get damaged by the people along the route? Endeavour has accomplished 25 fiery launches and re-entries, traveled 120 million miles in space and helped build the International Space Station. Are you saying Endeavour is too fragile for a parade and celebration in the streets of Los Angeles?

I can tell you this: You will not keep Angelenos and visitors from seeing Endeavour along the route. The shuttle belongs to the people. We paid for it, just like we pay for the maintenance of public streets. It's ludicrous that you're telling us we can't see our shuttle on our streets. Alas, just as we've learned to cope with man-made and natural disasters, we've gotten used to a city government completely out of touch with city residents.

It's up to us, then: We will find a way to #SpotTheShuttle!

I will scout the route tomorrow, talk to business owners and residents along the way and compile a list of viewing locations. Look for the info on this blog tomorrow evening.


Here is a detailed map of the route and major stops along the way.

Endeavour's Parade Route - UPDATE

Below is an updated route timetable for Space Shuttle Endeavour's trip from LAX to the California Science Center on Friday and Saturday. (Source: nbc.com)

The details below differ from the timetable I published here on October 8 (source: Los Angeles Times), including arrival time at the California Science Center.

My advice is to plan for the earlier arrival times. City officials have been releasing very little information, considering the scope of the event. I believe that is deliberate to keep spectators away. At the time of this writing, city police plan on closing streets and sidewalks for one mile in front of and behind the shuttle. This means spectators will need to look for businesses and residents who are happy to welcome shuttle watchers and celebrate. I will make my way along the route tomorrow (Wednesday, Oct. 10) to scout for locations and will publish the information here tomorrow evening.

So far, I know of two businesses who are welcoming shuttle watchers:

Randy's Donuts - 805 West Manchester Boulevard  Inglewood, CA 90301

Holiday Inn Express at LAX -  8620 Airport Boulevard Los Angeles, CA
As of today, the hotel still had a few rooms available.


UPDATED Endeavour Parade Route ~

Friday, Oct. 12

    2 a.m.: Depart LAX on north side.
    4:15 a.m.: Arrive at intersection of La Tijera and Sepulveda boulevards. There, Endeavour will have a 9-hour layover while the roads ahead are cleared.
    1:15 p.m.: Head east on Manchester Boulevard.
    4 p.m.: Stop short of San Diego (405) Freeway, and transfer shuttle to another carrier for crossing the overpass.
    10 p.m.: Cross 405 Freeway. CHP will close ramps and run traffic stops to minimize traffic disruptions caused by gawking. Endeavour will continue east overnight.

Saturday, Oct. 13

    8 a.m.: Pass Inglewood City Hall, a designated viewing area.
    9 a.m.: Reach the Forum, the scene of a formal welcoming celebration capable of accommodating a crowd as large as 14,000.
    9:30 a.m.: Continue east on Manchester Boulevard, turning left at Crenshaw Drive, which connects to Crenshaw Boulevard.
    2 p.m.: Arrive at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard for a second celebration, with entertainment produced by Debbie Allen.
    2:30 p.m.: Continue east on MLK Boulevard.
    4 p.m.: Reach Exposition Park, another designated viewing area and the site of the shuttle’s new home at the California Science Center.

Welcome to Los Angeles, Endeavour!

Space Shuttle Endeavour arrived safely and to a huge welcome at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, September 21, 2012.

Since it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of seeing a space shuttle soar overhead on top of a modified 747 (aka SCA = shuttle carrier aircraft) let's take a look at a rare photograph first. Below is Endeavour in her full splendor docked to the completed International Space Station during her last mission to space. Italian Astronaut Paulo Nespoli snapped this picture on May 23, 2011 from a Soyuz capsule. While there are a number of photos showing parts of shuttles photographed from inside the ISS, this is the only picture showing all of Endeavour docked to the completed ISS. This picture shows her doing what she was made for: Spaceflight. Building and servicing the International Space Station. An amazing machine that gave us the ability to construct a human outpost in orbit. Endeavour may be ready for retirement now and I can't wait to visit her at her new home at the California Science Center. I'm sure she will be breathtaking. 

But to me she was never more magnificent than doing what she did best - In Space.

Photo credit: Paulo Nespoli / NASA

Around 9 a.m. on Sept. 21, I started making my way to LAX a few miles away. I took the bus and train to avoid the predicted traffic chaos and shortage of parking at the location I had in mind: The East Side of Aviation Blvd, at the end of LAX's south runway. If you know the area, this stretch of road is located north of the Proud Bird restaurant. The runway starts on the other side of the street. It's a great spot for watching incoming planes fly low before touchdown. 

I arrived at the location at 10:30 a.m, as planned, for a shuttle landing time of 11 a.m., just as I learned that landing time had been postponed to 12:45 p.m. Aviation Blvd. is not one of those quaint, picturesque L.A. streets. It's a major four-lane airport access road and the ambiance is razor wire fence-industrial. The "sidewalk" is a narrow strip of gravel.  (Note: If you ever find yourself stranded on a narrow strip of gravel for a long wait, do so with a Southwest flight attendant who has a carry-on. They have everything you need in that bag for hot, dusty, historic space events!)

When I arrived, the crowd was still relatively thin. I settled in for a 2+ hour wait. Twitter dropped in and out of being accessible during that time so my #spottheshuttle tweets from the location are a bit... spotty. 

As I have found to be the case at all space events, nothing is easier than striking up a conversation with strangers. I met two flight attendants from Southwest Air, one who had come from Minneapolis, the other Las Vegas. I met an engineer who had worked on Endeavour's SSMEs. A mother who had brought her kid to see the shuttle; they had been waiting since 6 a.m. Two film students with professional equipment who planned to get footage of the landing and use it in their film project this semester, and many more. As a bonus, I got a ferocious sunburn despite SPF50. No matter.

By noon, the crowd had grown considerably and was now clustered along Aviation Blvd. in both directions as far as anyone could see. The cops amused us trying to contain everybody on the gravel strip, keeping them out of the bike path and street. This was a doomed effort. The bike path was ours. During the shuttle's final landing approach, the cops caved in, stopped traffic and let us take the street. That is when the long, dusty, brutally hot wait paid off. This is what we saw - no zoom, no filters, a glorious moment:

Photo credit: Tanya Ehret

The aircraft in the upper right is an F-19 fighter aircraft, one of two that accompany the shuttle carrier aircraft (SCA), a converted 747, flying space shuttles across the country. While the shuttle program was active, NASA maintained two SCAs to return shuttles from California. Shuttle landings were diverted to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California on a number of occasions.

Video credit: Tanya Ehret

 

The landing approach was Endeavour's third pass above us. We first glimpsed the plane carrying Endeavour as a speck in the northwest, from the direction of Santa Barbara, heading inland over Santa Monica, beginning its flyby of L.A. landmarks, including Griffith Observatory and Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The SCA then headed south, where it flew over Disneyland, Boeing and the U.S.S. Iowa. It then returned to LAX and gave us two approaches: The first one much higher than the above pic; even though it looked like it might land. At the last moment, the 747 pulled up and completed one last long loop to the southeast toward its final landing approach.    Welcome to Los Angeles, Endeavour! We are proud to have you. I will see you again during the parade to the CA Science Center on October 12. Below is a collection of some of my favorite photos.  


 

Endeavour began her journey to Southern California with flyovers of Sacramento and San Francisco 

Endeavour over Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

The two photos above were taken by a photographer for the L.A. Times from a skyscraper rooftop in nearby downtown Los Angeles

 A sight that was never before seen over downtown Los Angeles - 

and never will be again

 Endeavour soars over NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena 

 Touchdown at LAX

 You don't see this every day: Angelenos stop and get out of their cars along a busy airport access road to get a better look at History in the Making. 

By Saturday afternoon, Endeavour had been de-mated from the SCA. This marks the first time Endevour was seen nose-to-nose with a NASA shuttle carrier aircraft

SpaceX, Santa Maria & Space Coast West

While Mars rover Curiosity, Space Shuttle Endeavour and NASA have been getting most of the media attention lately, SpaceX has been busy. 

The company announced today that it is targeting October 7 as the launch date for its first cargo supply flight to the International Space Station under contract with NASA. Space X's Dragon supply craft will launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

Meanwhile, in California, SpaceX's official signage went up at Vandenberg Air Force Base north of Los Angeles. SpaceX is building its own launch pad there designed to launch both crewed and robotic spacecraft into orbit - and beyond. 

 

Photo credit: SpaceX

SpaceX's brand-new sign at Vandenberg Air Force Base

This is not the first time that ambitious plans have been forged for VAFB's launch capabilities. I discovered this the last time I visited the Santa Maria Museum of Flight, near the base. One of the retirees working there as a volunteer museum guide shared interesting details with me regarding VAFB's role as a future space shuttle launch site that first emerged in the late 1970s, as the shuttle concept was being developed. 

He showed me group photos of engineers in front of a shuttle mockup, signed posters, starting to yellow with age, of Enterprise in flight position on a launch pad at Vandenberg, taken years prior to the first actual shuttle flight in 1981. He also showed me a heat tile from the doomed shuttle Challenger, acquired by the Museum as a reminder of what could have been. 

By the time Columbia made its successful maiden voyage into orbit and back again, Santa Maria was already positioning itself to become the city behind Vandenberg, a community ready to welcome an influx of skilled labor, money, vitality and tourism. During the early 80s, NASA was planning to expand its shuttle launch capability to VAFB, to create, in essence, a Space Coast West location. The people of Santa Maria were eager to step into that role. 

Those hopes and dreams, like so many others, were dashed in an instant due to the Challenger disaster in 1986, as NASA cancelled plans to launch the space shuttle from Vandenberg.
Space Coast West never came to be. 

Until now. 

SpaceX has revived this dream, as the company is planning an ambitious launch schedule, both from Kennedy Space Center and Vandenberg. Santa Maria looks like it is perched at the brink of reviving its dream to re-invent itself as a city rooted in the excitement, promise and economic boon that is spaceflight. 

As far as I know, the only space shuttle that has ever been at Vandenberg was Enterprise, never meant to fly in space. Please let me know if you know of any other shuttles that have been at Vandenberg for any reason.