Northrop T-38N Talon yearning to be in flight once again.
My reason for wanting to do so was twofold. (Besides, obviously, the Space Center is freaking cool)
One: I wanted to pay my respects. Something most people tend not to think about is that within ONE week on the calendar, NASA lost all 17 astronauts they have ever lost on active programs.
The Astronaut Memorial Mirror Wall.
January 27th was the 45th Anniversary of the loss of Apollo 1.
January 28th was the 26th Anniversary of the loss of Challenger.
And coming up on February 1st is the 9th Anniversary of Columbia's loss.
Two: Two of the three Orbiters currently at KSC were on display at the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building), which was now open for tours for the first time in 33 years.
The Vehicle Assembly Building dominates the skyline for literally miles around.
In the main "hall" of the VAB was OV-104, Better Known as Atlantis.
I took a lot of shots of her ;) Love this one.
Sort of hidden off in an alcove (said alcove being larger than any house I have ever lived in, of course) off Atlantis's left wing was Endeavour, OV-105.
We were on the tour bus when 11:38 hit, exactly 26 years to the second after the Challenger disaster.
A few minutes later, at the Overlook for Launch Complex 39, our tour guide used his "incredibly accurate and highly detailed" prop to explain what happened to Challenger on her launch.
The approximate position where Challenger was when she came apart.
Everywhere you look around the Kennedy Space Center these days, there are reminders of the past, like Pad 39A, the main pad for the Shuttle and Apollo programs.
Pad 39B has been dismantled to go back to the old "clean pad" concept that Apollo used.
Something about these overgrown old tracks from the Apollo days and this faded sign spoke to
me.
Of course, the future also has its own echoes of the past.
Kitty Hawk, the Command Module of Apollo 14
And the newest crew vehicle, now being tested, the Orion.
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