Riding Rockets

Another place sacred to astronauts was created after I retired. In 1991 the Astronaut Memorial, funded largely by the sale of FloridaChallenger license plates, was dedicated at the KSC Visitors Center. Whenever I visit that center, I always make it a point to walk to the memorial. It consists of a large matrix of granite panels bearing the names of all astronauts who have died in the line of duty. Those names have been chiseled completely through the stone to allow mirrors set behind the panels to reflect the sunlight through the etchings. The entire panel assembly automatically rotates to follow the sun and continuously catch its light. There are now twenty-four names in the granite, the earliest being Theodore Freeman, killed in 1964 in the crash of his T-38 jet, and the latest being theColumbia Seven.

On my visits to the memorial I will take a seat on a bench and stare at the four TFNG names the panels bear…Francis “Dick” Scobee, Judith A. Resnik, Ellison S. Onizuka, and Ronald E. McNair…and remember the last moment I saw them.^*They were walking to a sim wearing Prime Crew smiles. It is how I will always remember them…young, happy,soaring with the knowledge they were next up. I will remember each of them in my prayers. I will also include prayers for their spouses and Judy’s family. The life those spouses and parents knew also ended on January 28, 1986, but nobody ever etched their names on a monument.

From the memorial I will walk to a nearby full-scale space shuttle mock-up. Metal platforms have been installed around the display so tourists can climb up and walk through the cockpit. I will anonymously join a group of families and watch them take photos and listen to them marvel at the complexity of the switch panels and the cramped volume. Invariably my attention will be drawn to a child among them. In his or her amazed young face I will be transported back to 1957. I am standing in my front lawn with the identical expression, watchingSputnik I twinkle through the terminator.

September 7, 2005

Albuquerque, New Mexico

www.mikemullane.com

*The panel only bears the names of astronauts who died in the line of duty. For that reason Dave Griggs and Dave Walker are not memorialized on the panel.

Glossary

AB—Afterburner. The throttle position that increases the thrust of a jet engine by burning additional fuel at the back of the engine.

AD—Arrested Development. The state of many military aviators, the author included.

ADI—Attitude Director Indicator. An instrument that shows aircraft or spacecraft attitude relative to the Earth’s horizon.

AFB—Air Force Base.

AOA—Abort Once Around. A launch abort in which the shuttle makes one orbit of the Earth and lands in the United States.

AOS—Acquisition of Signal. A call to the crew that indicates the shuttle data stream is being received at Mission Control.

APU—Auxiliary Power Unit. A hydraulic pump on the space shuttle. There are three APUs powering three hydraulic systems on the orbiter. There is nothing “auxiliary” about the shuttle’s APUs. They are the primary power source for the hydraulic systems. The “auxiliary” is a holdover aviation term. It refers to similar units that back up the primary engine-driven hydraulic pumps on jet aircraft.

ASP—Astronaut Support Personnel. Astronauts who help the mission crew strap into the space shuttle and who assume control of the shuttle cockpit from a just landed astronaut crew.

ATC—Air Traffic Control. Facilities on the ground that monitor aircraft in the air.

ATO—Abort to Orbit. A launch abort in which the shuttle flies into a safe orbit after an engine failure.

BFS—Backup Flight System. A backup computer that will take over control of a space shuttle. The BFS is engaged by the depression of a button on the top of the commander’s or pilot’s control sticks.

CAIB—ColumbiaAccident Investigation Board. The board appointed to investigate the loss of the space shuttleColumbia .

CAP—Crew Activity Plan. The checklist that specifies which crew activities are to be performed at what point in the mission.

CAPCOM—Capsule Communicator. The astronaut in Mission Control who talks to astronauts in space.

CDR—Commander. The astronaut who occupies the front left seat of a launching/landing space shuttle and who has overall responsibility for the mission.

CNO—Chief of Naval Operations. A four-star admiral who has overall responsibility for the United States Navy.

DEFCON—Defense Condition. The status of American military forces, from peacetime (DEFCON 5) to fully prepared for war (DEFCON 1).

DOD—Department of Defense.

DPS—Data Processing System. The computer heart of a space shuttle.

EMU—Extra-vehicular Mobility Unit, i.e., a spacesuit.

EOM—End of Mission. Used in reference to the end of a space shuttle mission.

ESA—European Space Agency. The European equivalent of NASA.