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Author
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Topic: Photo of the week 75g (April 12)
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heng44 Member Posts: 3387 From: Netherlands Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 04-12-2006 12:09 AM
Twenty-five years ago this month I was at the Kennedy Space Center to cover the launch of STS-1. It was an experience I will never forget. Two days after launch I also saw the landing at the Dryden Flight Research Center. To commemorate the flight I will post a daily photo, giving a day-by-day account of some of the things I saw during that exciting week. At 02:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 12, 1981, I reported to the KSC press site, where a large crowd was gathering. We boarded a bus, which delivered us to the Operations and Checkout Building to watch Young and Crippen enter the Astrovan. It was a bit disappointing that the PAO-people kept us some distance away from the entrance, but it was exciting nevertheless. The crowd cheered as Young and Crippen emerged from the building and walked the short distance to the waiting van, led by George Abbey. After the convoy had left the KSC industrial area we returned to the press site, slowly making our way through the traffic jams that were by now clogging the roads into KSC. Then began the long wait, while we followed the progress of the countdown on NASA-TV. Columbia could be seen in the distance, caught in the glare of the searchlights: a beautiful sight. Wandering around the press site I watched artist Robert McCall as he painted a picture in the grandstand overlooking the countdown clock. Tension was rising as a magnificent dawn came over KSC, but in a way we were "veterans" now. Two days earlier the countdown had stopped at T-minus-9-minutes, but this time everything went well and a cheer went up when we passed T-minus-1-minute. PAO Hugh Harris counted down the final seconds and then the moment was there: "Main engine start. We have liftoff of America's first Space Shuttle and the Shuttle has cleared the tower!" It was an unbelievable sight to watch Columbia rise above the launch tower and start its climb into space. The crowd was yelling hysterically as the first reusable spaceship rose higher and higher. As the sound came rolling over the press site it drowned out the cheers. It was a loud crackling roar that you could feel in your stomach. I had the impression I could even feel the shockwaves. The emotions where overwhelming. After the anticipation and tension of the past few days, it was finally happening! This is what I had travelled thousands of miles for. When it was all over I had tears in my eyes. I guess it was the combination of the sheer power of the event and the realization that I was having a front-row seat while history was being made as I watched. This B&W photo was the first that KSC released, in the evening of April 12. Color photos were not ready until the following day. They were handed out just in time for me, because I had to catch a flight to California where Columbia would land on April 14. I remember that during the flight to the westcoast the other airline passengers were impressed by the stack of color photos I kept watching. Although this B&W photo was quickly surpassed by the color photos, it is still special for me because it was the first that was released. Ed Hengeveld |
Ben Member Posts: 1896 From: Cape Canaveral, FL Registered: May 2000
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posted 04-12-2006 07:14 AM
Very nice! Wish I had been alive to experience it.I don't know who took these but there are some more nice personal photos from that day here: http://ctein.com/thmnail7.htm If anyone has other STS-1 photos they or someone else took, I encourage you to post them today as we reflect on that morning 25 years ago. |
randy Member Posts: 2176 From: West Jordan, Utah USA Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 04-12-2006 11:22 AM
Once again, Ed, great pics! |
Ben Member Posts: 1896 From: Cape Canaveral, FL Registered: May 2000
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posted 04-12-2006 12:25 PM
Ed, if you have any more of your press site pics, I'd love to see. |
Steven Kaplan Member Posts: 140 From: New Jersey Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 04-12-2006 12:47 PM
Thanks for the photos Ed. A great way to remember a great event. |
heng44 Member Posts: 3387 From: Netherlands Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 04-12-2006 02:21 PM
quote: Originally posted by Ben: Ed, if you have any more of your press site pics, I'd love to see.
The problem is that all the shots I took during the month I was in the US are 35mm slides. I really need to have some prints made of these, as scanning them myself doesn't produce very good results. But I realized too late that this anniversary was coming up... Ed |
Tom Member Posts: 1597 From: New York Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 04-12-2006 05:31 PM
Great job, Ed! Brought back some real nice memories. |
STEVE SMITH unregistered
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posted 04-12-2006 06:24 PM
Ed. I actually got goosebumps reading your story. I can tell you were touched. As was I. Who were you covering the story for, you lucky dog. Do you still do such reporting.I was with a large group of refinery engineers at a meeting regarding a major expanison at Petrosar in Sarnia,Ontrio when STS-1 landed. Our wobnderful Canadian hosts provide a big screen TV for us to watch landing. We broke from our meetings and all watched. Major internatonal cheers when it landed. It was a good intenatonal bonding moment. We had Americans, Brits, Texans, Canadians, Indians, and several other National and Ethnic groups. I was teribly worried about the landing until they were out. It just doesn't look like it should land. And it can't make another approach!! |
dss65 Member Posts: 1156 From: Sandpoint, ID, USA Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 04-12-2006 09:32 PM
Thanks from me also, Ed, for bringing back some special memories. I'll never forget how quickly the shuttle seemed to leap off the pad, compared to the majestic, reluctant rise of the Saturn V. I also remembered feeling how important the success of this launch was to our country, which hadn't been back to space for what seemed such an unthinkably long time. It was a daring flight, indeed, and a remarkable triumph. For all the criticism that the shuttle program has attracted--much of it very well-deserved--I can't help but feel proud for all that it has achieved. We are all aware of the terrible tragedies, but what a wonderful base of knowledge it has given us to build upon. Onward and upward!------------------ Don |
mjanovec Member Posts: 3811 From: Midwest, USA Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 04-12-2006 10:57 PM
STS-1 also has special memories for me, since it was the first launch I was old enough to witness (on TV, that is) and be old enough to realize what I was watching. I was 9 at the time.I remember nervously sitting by the TV in my pajamas waiting for the big moment. I had been disappointed by the scrub two days earlier, so that only added to the tension I felt. While I didn't really understand how risky that first Shuttle flight was, I still felt apprehension for the crew...somehow knowing that spaceflight is a dangerous business. Anyway, it's one of those great memories from my youth that hasn't diminished with time. Everytime I see a Shuttle launch, it reminds me of April 12, 1981. |
blue_eyes Member Posts: 165 From: North Carolina, USA Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 04-13-2006 07:06 PM
Wow, I have to agree with Steve's earlier post--- I got duckbumps too! Ed, your words and photos were incredibly moving... thanks for taking the time to share this with everyone. Wow, wow, wow! | |
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