I can’t remember which morning I took this picture. I think it was last Tuesday, since I’ve got regular 7 a.m. meetings on Tuesdays now. Whichever day it was, the sunrise was quite pretty.
Things are still on track for the shuttle launch tomorrow afternoon at 3:50 Central time. I have all my fingers and toes crossed that all goes smoothly. Can you believe there hasn’t been a shuttle launch since last May? There were 6 or 7 missions in something like a 14-month period, and then…9 months of nothing. It will be good to get this flight underway. My shift is what I’m calling “early business hours.” At the beginning of the flight, I’ll be on console from 6 am – 3pm. By the end of the flight, it will have shifted forward to 3:00 am – 12:00 pm. That isn’t great, but it could be worse. And since my first shift is only 1-2 hours earlier than when I normally get to work these days, I don’t have to do any crazy slam-shifting. That’s a definite plus.
It’s hard to believe this will be my second and final flight as Lead Rendezvous Officer. Sometimes it seems like I just got here, but it’s been more than 4 years since I started working as a Rendezvous GPO. In an ideal world, the shuttle would keep flying for a few more years so that I could work as lead for a few more flights. But it is what it is, and working in Mission Control is definitely something I’ll always remember.
