How many can say they have truly witnessed the end of an era? These days it seems like a lot more. With Atlantis now safely home the shuttle program is officially retired. No more launches from the Kennedy Space Center, for at least the near future.
John Glenn
Let’s take a step back through the doorway to the past. February 26th 1962 is a cool Florida day. This day however there is a charge in the air. A rocket sits poised towards the sky with an American Astronaut on board; the countdown starts. An entire nation watches as it waits to see the fate of this brave man, John Glenn strapped onto a giant flying missile. The clock strikes zero and the engines ignite. An entire nation holds it’s breath. On this day everything goes according to plan. In one moment of pure excitement the entire nation lets out a collective sigh of relief. So many years of scientific breakthroughs and many hardships have finally put an American into space. Where do we go from here?
Enter Project Gemini. Again an entire nation sets it’s eyes on central Florida as we launch more people into space. These astronauts were some of the bravest people in the world. The launch vehicle for this project was the all new Titan rocket. What was the objective of the Gemini project? Gemini was a very important stepping stone to the Apollo program. These space flights were used to develop techniques for extended space flight. 10 flights occurred between the year 1965 and 1966. The first spacewalk also occurred during these missions.
Perhaps one of the most famous space programs ever was the next step in the evolution of American space flight. This is the ever famous Apollo program. Our nation’s goal: Put a man on the moon. For this goal we developed the most powerful rocket the world has ever seen. We dubbed this behemoth the Saturn V. This vehicle had 7.5 million pounds of thrust that pushed it through the sky into space. These were perhaps the golden years of American Space flight. However, with great 
leaps in science there also comes tragedy. In a training exercise for Apollo 1 three astronauts perished in a fire on the launch pad. This was America’s first taste of tragedy in space flight. Perhaps the most famous mission of this program will always be Apollo 11. This time all the eyes of the world turned their attention to central Florida. When the clock reached zero and those boosters ignited a fire ball lifted off into the great unknown. As someone who has witnessed numerous launches, I can only imagine the thunderous roar of those powerful engines as they pierced the sky. Apollo 11 was a great success for the United States. We put a man on the moon before the end of the decade (1969). Perhaps one of the most infamous missions was Apollo 13. While in space there was an explosion aboard the command module. Those on the ground worked furiously and valiantly to bring all three astronauts home safely. Again a nation breathed a collective sigh of relief.
This brings us into the not so distant past. We now witness the birth of the Space Shuttle program. The first orbiter to be launched was Columbia. Columbia launched on April 12th 1981. Most of us know of the history of the shuttle program so I won’t go into terrible detail. I would like however, to touch on the tragedies of the shuttle program. January 28th 1986. Challenger is on the launch pad awaiting it’s chance to take 7 astronauts to space. Unfortunately Challenger blew up due to a faulty O-ring shortly after launch. While Challenger never reached space, it did make it to the heavens along with the crew. Fast forward 17 years. Columbia is making it’s return trip home. However, Columbia broke up on reentry killing all astronauts aboard. An entire nation watched with saddened hearts on these days. Days that true American heroes died doing the very thing they loved.
From Left to Right: El Onizuka, Mike Smith, Christa McAuliffe, Dick Scobee, Greg Jarvis, Ron McNair, Judy Resnik
July 8th, 2011. I stand outside, my eyes off to the south; I am about to witness history. I have seen so many launches before but this one is different. My heart is pounding with excitement as the clock counts down. It is a kind of reluctant excitement. Knowing I am seeing the final page in a chapter of American history. The clock begins to count down. It seems the entire space coast is full beyond capacity. The clock hits zero. I watch the orange fireball rise into the sky. My heart still pounding as every second goes by. Then I feel the slightest tear roll down my cheek. No, I’m not crying because I’m sad. I am shedding a tear for beauty that won’t be seen for some time. A beauty that I want my children to be able to witness. The launch was beautiful, as I watched it ascend up into the sky I felt a swell of pride in my heart. Standing there knowing that our great nation is as strong as it ever was. I’m watching as modern day heroes take their place in space history.
July 8, 2011 Final Launch
July 21, 2011. It’s 5:54am and I’m wide awake. A long sleepless night waiting for Atlantis to come home. As I browse the internet for jobs, I hear two loud booms that shake my house. These bring a smile to my face because I know Atlantis made it home. With this I close my eyes and go to sleep as the book of the American space program closes for now. What will be in the next chapter?
July 21, 2011 Atlantis has returned home.
