My Obligatory Shuttle Retirement Post

I've been debating whether or not to post anything about the conclusion of the Space Shuttle program because I wasn't sure I had anything to add that hasn't already been said. That's still true, but I have seen so many beautiful tributes that I thought I'd show them here along with my thoughts.

(source)

Although I technically work for the International Space Station (ISS) program, not the shuttle program, my work has been very much tied to the shuttle as it brings up most of the equipment we install on Extravehicular Activities (EVAs aka spacewalks), and most US EVAs are conducted by the shuttle crew while the shuttle is docked to station. So although my job is safer than most, its nature had already begun changing by the time STS-135 landed. Instead of focusing on the next flight, I'll be working on preparing ISS for maintenance and for the new commercial vehicles. I'll miss the excitement of a shuttle mission and the camaraderie I developed with the crews and the rest of the team during the training and preparation for flight. The shuttle has been America's program in space for as long as I've been alive, and its absence leaves a real gap. What saddens me most though is not the fact that the shuttle program is ending, but rather the lack of a defined plan for NASA's next program. I worry that the longer it takes to establish a new program, the more knowledge will be lost and the less the public will support our next mission.

View of the final landing taken from ISS (source)

For now, let's take a moment to acknowledge all the amazing accomplishments of the last 30 years.


Take a moment to peruse a multitude of beautiful photos from The Big Picture. Notice how many people went to great lengths to see the final launch; clearly space is still inspiring!

And finally, here's excellent video with footage from every mission.

An Exciting Rendezvous

Sarah put up an excellent post showing how the Shuttle and International Space Station rendezvous. It's chock full of pictures and behind the scenes info. Check it out!

STS-133 Rendezvous

Successful Failure

As the future of NASA is being molded, a lot of buzzwords are being thrown around. Game-changing. Bold. Innovative. One word that you probably aren't hearing with regard to NASA's future endeavors is "failure." And that can be a problem.

From the work I've done with NASA in the past few years, I have learned that we have an extremely risk-averse culture. I'm sure some of you are thinking "Well, isn't that a good thing? We don't want to repeat Challenger or Columbia." And that's true. Ignoring risks is dangerous. But in order to do great things, we have to be willing to evaluate risks and accept some of them. We aren't doing that right now and I worry that we aren't going to get where we want to go until we stop seeing risk as a red light and start seeing it as an opportunity for improvement, consideration, and evaluation.

Wayne Hale wrote an excellent blog post today explaining how failures can lead to exactly the kind of leaps for mankind NASA wants to be known for. I encourage everyone (NASA dorks and non-NASA dorks alike) to check it out. I especially liked his closing line:

Try something. Be bold, revolutionary, even game changing. Just don’t be surprised if you have to pick yourself up off the ground and dust off your pants from time to time. It’s the American way.

Wow. Just Wow.

I'm busy this week working on the current shuttle mission, for which I'm the lead in my group. It's without a doubt my favorite part of my job so it is bittersweet since this will be my last shuttle flight as a lead. It's easy to get bogged down in the day to day details and forget that the work I do is just plain cool.

Photos like this, though, remind me how amazing it is.

(source via Bad Astronomy)

Yes, that is the International Space Station and space shuttle Atlantis passing in front of the sun. Incredible!

Journeys to Space

The Big Picture has a great entry today with lots of space pictures including the International Space Station (ISS), shuttle, Russian Soyuz rockets, and more. Enjoy!

The Big Picture in Space