Reflections on a past launch

As we approach the STS-131 Space Shuttle launch, I was moved to share something I wrote in October 2007 when we visited the Kennedy Space Center to view the STS-120 launch. 

The Final Frontier

Just across the water, I could see the Space Shuttle Discovery sitting on the launch pad.  Years ago, I watched a landing at Edwards Air Force base, but this was my first Space Shuttle launch.  We were guests of Astronaut Stephanie Wilson, a friend and former colleague of mine from our days on the Galileo mission to Jupiter.   Now she was flying on her second Space Shuttle mission.

I was here at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (“KSC”) with my wife Nikki and our sons, Kazuo and Eiji.  We were thrilled to be able to share this experience with them.  Kazuo, in particular, has already shown some interest in space. Eiji, for his part, is especially adept at spotting the moon, which he calls “La Luna”. 

We patiently waited as the launch countdown continued. There were hundreds of us out here, sitting on blankets on this narrow grass swath along the Indian river. We had a very clear view of the shuttle and the solid rocket boosters and liquid fuel tank as it sat motionless on the pad, poised to erupt.  It was hot. No shade. The kids were getting restless.

As we watched the crowd gather and mill around, we thought back to the reception we attended in Stephanie’s honor.  It was nice to meet many of her family members, but also friends from many parts of her life: a former teacher, friends from her hometown, colleagues from past projects, former classmates, etc.  We also met two other astronauts.  Kazuo must have noticed that every astronaut he has met is a woman, because he proclaimed: “Mommy, boys can be astronauts too!”

Because of the timing required to dock with the International Space Station, the launch window was only ten minutes long. We kept our fingers crossed as the countdown continued. Everything was a “GO” for the launch, as we approached lift-off.  The crowd was excited, and readied their cameras. I hit “record” on my video camera.  We’re getting close.  Nikki picked up Eiji and I grabbed Kazuo.  9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2  - 1 … And I gasped as a saw a big cloud of smoke.  “That’s it! It’s going!” The crowd cheered, as we all watched this huge spaceship defy gravity, slowing escaping the Earth.  I was mesmerized by the incredibly bright exhaust which seemed to sear into my retinas as the shuttle screamed into the sky.  And then we started to hear the deep and powerful rumbling of this giant, controlled explosion.  I momentarily reflected upon the beauty of physics, and this wonderful reminder of the relatively slow speed of sound as compared to the speed of light.  And then I thought about our friend Stephanie, hurdling into the heavens, soaring above us all.  Godspeed. 

We could just make out the moment when the solid rocket boosters separated from the shuttle and the crowd cheered more. We wept too, as we marveled at the human race, our amazing species, and what we can accomplish.

As for our own children, we can only wonder the amazing ways in which they too will soar. 



Originally published in the December 2007 Papas & Mamas Newsletter for Kodomo No Ie

A note about Granny D

I wanted to say a few words about Doris "Granny D" Haddock, who passed away on March 9th at the age of 100 years old.   I consider her an American hero. 

I first heard about "Granny D" when she began her walk across the United States, at the age of 88, to raise awareness about campaign finance reform.  She started here in Pasadena on January 1, 1999 and walked some 3200 miles to Washington, D.C,  arriving on February 29, 2000.  She was 90 years old when she finished.  

Now I enjoy walking.  I really do.  And I feel pretty good about myself when I walk a mile to the grocery store rather than driving.  Granny D walked across the entire country. She covered about ten miles a day for 14 months.  She celebrated two birthdays along the way.   She did it because she wanted to draw attention to the issue of money in politics.  She was wildly successful in garnering media attention to the issue, and yet, money still overwhelms the voices of average citizens.  And the recent Citizen United Supreme Court ruling, which struck down the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, has opened the floodgates by allowing corporations to directly fund political candidates. 

Nation Magazine contributor John Nichols quoted Granny D responding to the Citizen United ruling in his article "Mourn Granny D.; Then Organize for Clean Politics":

When I was a young woman, my husband and I were having dinner at the Dundee home of a friend, Max Foster, when a young couple rushed through the door breathless to say that they had accidentally burned down Max's guest cabin, down by the river.

Max stood up from his meal. He set his napkin down. He smiled at the young couple and he said,

"Thank goodness. You have done me a great favor, and you don't even know it. We have been wanting to completely redo that old place, and now it will be a clean start. It will be better than ever the next time you come to stay."

Well, I guess the Supreme Court has burned down our little house, but, truth be told, it was pretty drafty anyway. We had not really solved the problem of too much money in politics. Not hardly. And now we have an opportunity to start clean and build a system of reforms that really will do the trick.

I think one of the wings of our new house will be the public financing of election campaigns. I think another wing will be a dramatic expansion of our conflict of interest and bribery laws. I think all of us, left, right and middle, will enjoy living there without the special interests stealing us blind any more. I intend to be around long enough to see this new place built.

Her response, which was given at a party honoring her 100th birthday, recognizes the long meandering path that progress often takes, even as we hope for change quickly.   But her remarks also serve, at least to me, as a reminder that in this democracy, each of us is called to participate.   That doesn't mean we must all run for United States Senate, as Granny D did in New Hampshire, when she was 94.  But I believe it does mean we are called to use our voice and stand up for what we believe, as Granny D did, not only about Finance reform, but also on a wide range of issues facing our citizens.