...And They're Off!

It was a pretty day in Florida for a launch! STS-124 took off carrying the Japanese module "Kibo" for delivery to the space station. It was another smooth launch for me as ARD Support Officer; this was my fourth flight. The solid rocket boosters burned a little hot, so the main engines throttled to compensate for the extra thrust from the SRBs. We had a little bit of a trend, due to performance dispersions, and therefore took a thrust update to get the ARD modeled correctly. No big deal. Wham, bam, we're in orbit! It was a very smooth launch overall and I'm excited that the mission has begun.

For the past few missions, NASA has been putting together creative posters for each crew. They usually spoof a movie, and this mission's taking on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. (Google the movie poster and compare it to the above.) I particularly like Karen Nyberg's wind-blown and glowing hair. Very dramatic. Makes me laugh.

I'm off to find some dinner and relax before heading to bed. I'm due on console for my first-ever Orbit 1 shift at 6 a.m.!