The STS – Space Shuttle has one more mission, and then retires to the semi-oblivion of being a museum relic.<\/p>\n
I worked at the NASA Tracking Station Koke’e, Kauai, Hawaii<\/a> during first 8 or 9 Shuttle missions. The site has since morphed into something quite different.<\/p>\n When I first went to work there (circa 1980) we tracked scientific satellites. Earlier the station had participated in manned space flight up to, and including, the moon missions. Between tracking chores we frequently swung the dish on the moon, locking up on experiments left behind. Some of the folks there had been involved since the first US manned space flight. This is important because most there had never seen a launch.<\/p>\n Then, just a bit over 30 years ago we supported STS-1<\/a>. The elders were excited. They NOW had live coverage from Honolulu. Coverage from satellites they’d helped launch. We were all pumped, perhaps the elders more than us newbies.<\/p>\n During my tenure I had the pleasure of drinking a beer or three with some of the astronauts during ‘meet and greets’ organized by NASA. In particular I got to chat with Ellison Onizuka,<\/a> who was lost on the Challenger.<\/p>\n Now with a single manned launch the US is leaving behind an era of wonder. Man will continue to go into space, atop Russian rockets, and perhaps private spaceships, but there will be few USA insignias to cheer on to the next achievements.<\/p>\n It saddens me some.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"