Life has certainly been extremely busy since I last wrote, and I apologize for not being a better blogger. One of my goals for the rest of the year is to regularly update my blog, at least once a week. I’ve had a lot of photography jobs since school ended. Perhaps my favorite summer gig so far was the opportunity to document a very special couple’s wedding with my work. Jessica and Nick’s wedding was a long time coming, and it was one of the most meaningful weddings I have ever photographed. From getting ready to the toss of the garter, the day went along without a hitch, and Jessica’s plans of arriving at her beach wedding via skyride in Seaside Heights really gave me some unique and interesting photo opportunities on July 16.
Aside from jobs, the most exciting and surprise event of the summer was the opportunity to attend the last liftoff of a US Space Shuttle ever at Kennedy Space Center in person. I always enter the lottery for tickets to view shuttle launches at KSC. We were lucky in April 2010 when I was able to get tickets to the Astronaut Hall of Fame and we saw Discovery STS 131 take off from there, about 12 miles away from the launch pad. On the third round of selections for the Atlantis STS 135 launch scheduled for July 8, one of my email addresses was actually selected for the ticket sale; I was able to get 6 for the launch at KSC Visitors Complex, which is about 7 miles from the launch pad. We arrived in Florida on July 6 and were ready to witness history.
Each day before the launch, the press and tv coverage in Florida kept on saying there was a 70% chance of the launch being scrubbed because of poor weather. We were scheduled to leave Florida on July 11, so we had a window for the possibility of launches on Saturday and Sunday. However, I knew in my gut that Atlantis would lift off as scheduled. We woke up at 3 am on July 8 as we had to be at KSC by 6 am, and we arrived at the Cape around 5:30 am…no lines, no security hangups (we found out later they staggered the arrival times). By 6 am our chairs were set up in the Rocket Garden next to the Sonny’s Pit BBQ tent. We killed time by walking around and taking in the sights, and the entire time, all of the coverage from NASA TV that was broadcast kept on talking about the chance of a weather scrub. I kept checking the Twitter feeds (I killed my phone’s battery…first time I’ve ever one that) and around 9:00 the green light for weather was announced, but it was still iffy. 2 Hours to Launch! Despite all of the doubt, I knew it was going to go!
The suspense was awesome. A lot of news crews were right by us and we watched a number of people get interviewed. After a pulled pork sandwich at 9:30 am, we were ready for Shuttle Atlantis to blast off. With about 40 minutes left in the countdown, we positioned ourselves nearer to the front of the Rocket Garden. Then, it was like time sped up…final countdown…and with 19 seconds left, the countdown abruptly stopped due to a computer glitch. Countdown resumed and at 6 seconds left the engines fired (we saw it on the screen), and 6 seconds later…liftoff. I couldn’t see Atlantis right away, but a guy behind me pointed to the tree about 7 seconds into flight. There she was, Atlantis, lifting off to the heavens, and between shutter presses on my camera, I wiped the tears away from my eyes…this was it. Atlantis entered a line of clouds, reappeared for a few seconds, then entered the higher cloud ridge, disappearing for good from sight, leaving an awesome contrail. The way it simply disappeared was kind of fitting. We waited a minute, then the sound hit us…vibrating through the air and right through us. Here’s the launch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAtelevision?blend=1&ob=5#p/c/75/3deA3BXAnHs
The suspense was over. The shuttle program effectively ended with the Lift off of Atlantis. We might never see an American go into space on American soil again. And I was there, fortiutiously, to witness history. It took us over 3 hours to get home with all of the traffic, but it was worth it. After we got home I had a chance to view the video of the shuttle closeout crew saying goodbye that we had heard about while at KSC, and what a video. You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldlphfRuk1Q&feature=player_profilepage
I don’t know why the Shuttle program means so much to me…and now its over. I regret not paying attention for so many years of my life, but I’m glad that I have the memories, and have shared the importance and memories of the shuttle program with my students. My husband got to see the first shuttle, Columbia, lift off 30 years ago while on the beach in Cocoa, and the last shuttle, Atlantis, lift off 30 years later from KSC. To see all of my photos from the day visit http://tiny.cc/2hrje .
On July 22, at 5:56 am, Atlantis returned to Earth and we watched the landing on television: http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAKennedy#p/u/5/Pc18Sjz2-Rg . I am so grateful I had the opportunity to hear Endeavor’s landing boom in 2008, see Discovery take off in 2010, and witness history on July 8, 2011 by watching Atlantis climb into the sky. My new found appreciation for space, NASA, astronauts and the shuttle will not wane with the ending of the shuttle program.
Other that that, I’ve had fun photographing critters in my yard, and spending a day with a friend taking photos throughout our area. I will be photographing 3 more weddings this month, and one is in Disney World…yes, I am totally psyched for this special day and am honored to make the trip to Florida.
An exciting announcement is coming within the next days…so stay tuned. Be well and be safe!
Shuttle Atlantis SGS 135 Liftoff
