The Last Shuttle

Personal blatherings warning: I hadn't been among the multitudes watching the countdown or viewing the takeoff on television. For one thing, I don't have cable and there's no television reception in my area, which is mostly a good thing except for moments like this one. For another, I've been madly juggling catching up from four days at Westercon, getting ready for out of town guests, and preparing for Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop next week (and a few other minor tasks, like blog posts and novel revisions).

So Atlantis headed for the skies without me...and only then did I realize what I'd missed. No, missed is not the right word. The Era of The Shuttle will come to an end with or without my attention. For my children and many of my friends, there has never been a time when we as a nation have not had an active space program. But for me there was.

I was in grade school when the Soviets sent up Sputnik, and then Sputnik 2, with Laika the dog. I made my own Hallowe'en costume out of a big balloon, covered with papier-mache and then aluminum foil, with eye holes and antennae; the body was a loose robe of black cloth dotted with stars. I walked down the block going "Beep...beep..." And everyone knew what I was.