Thinking: October 2007 Archives

I left home so early this morning that Starbucks wasn't even open yet. I know! It was horrible! I had no choice but to stop at the only 24-hour establishment within a few mile radius: Whataburger. Moments later, I was on my way to work with my standard #9 (that'd be the breakfast taquito) and coffee. Mmm. Their coffee is no Starbucks cinammon dolce latte, of course, but it's not bad, and at 5 a.m.? Well, coffee is coffee. I will drink any form of it.

The first of at least three separate days with increasingly early wake-up times has begun, all in the name of STS-120. Today is the TCDT, or Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. The crew's in Florida in the orbiter, and we're here in Houston ready to do our flight control thing. We pretend that it's launch day and do everything as we will on October 23 -- except we don't actually launch. Simple.

It's going to be a long day though. After this test is over, I have a couple hours in the office before heading to a training session for the STS-124 crew. They've just started their flight-specific rendezvous training, and as one of the flight controllers supporting that rendezvous, I get to attend their training. This is a fun thing; however, it might not be so fun today as I try to remain standing and watch them fly without falling asleep.

The day doesn't end there either. If I have time, I plan to squeeze in a run before heading to class tonight where we have our second test. Now you might ask: didn't you just have a test three weeks ago? Yes, yes I did. But apparently it is time for another one. Sigh.

At least the reading is interesting. The most recent chapter in the textbook was about the invention and history of the PC. Did you know that one of the first PCs, the concept of a graphical user interface, and the first computer networking all happened at Xerox? I would never have guessed that. And: "Three decades ago, just like today, a flight between New York and Paris would take about seven hours and cost about $900. If advances in air travel matched the pace of computer transistor development, that international jaunt would take a second and cost a penny." Another interesting tidbit: the question of whether all this rapid advancement will ever slow or end. Will there ever be a computer that's so good that nothing better will come along to replace it? Can they really improve indefinitely?

I honestly have no idea.

Question for the computer-saavy readers: is it possible for a USB port to go bad? I use one of my USB ports extensively for iPods, my iPhone, and for an external hard drive. Tonight, anything I plug in has acted sporadically. With the hard drive plugged in, Windows gives me cryptic "cannot fully write" messages. With the iPod Shuffle plugged in, it repeatedly recognizes the hardware, then disconnects, then recognizes, then disconnects. A minute ago it told me that my brand new iPod Shuffle (which I successfully put music on when it did connect) may be corrupted. It's all very strange, and makes me suspect the USB port rather than the two different items being plugged in.

On another topic, could Chip Caray possibly be any more biased in announcing the Indians-Yankees game? I know he's a Caray, so maybe that's how he ended up becoming a baseball announcer. It certainly isn't because he's pleasant to listen to. Last night all he talked about was New York. When they were batting, he talked about the batter. When Cleveland was batting, he talked about the pitching. When Cleveland scores, he sounds almost bored. But if the Yankees score? He's screaming and yelling about "and here come the Yankees!"

Dear Chip Caray,
Please remove your lips from New York's butt.
Love, Sarah

Sputnik was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. That makes today the 50th anniversary of space exploration! It is sort of amazing to think that my job (heck, a large part of my industry) did not exist a mere 50 years ago.

Today, we fly space shuttles every day. Sometimes for real, and sometimes in sims. Last night I worked a crazy, crazy undocking sim. So crazy that people have been talking about it in the office all day. It's not unusual to talk about sims in the office, especially since I am in training and always have questions about the ins and outs of certain procedures. But when the talk lasts all day... Yep, it was a crazy sim.

After we finally finished our last separation burn, my coworker turned to me and said "did you know the space station is passing over in a couple minutes?" Done with our job for the sim, the rendezvous team stepped outside and watched the ISS slide across the dark sky. Fifty years since a little metal ball called Sputnik, we stood on the ground and watched a huge orbiting complex float by with three people living there. Blows the mind.

You've got a chance to see the space station tonight yourself, on the 50th anniversary of spaceflight. In Houston, it will only rise 13 degrees above the horizon so you'll need a good view unobstructed by buildings. My parents in Charlotte will have a most excellent view, with the space station passing nearly overhead at 85 degrees from the horizon. My sister in Seattle will have a view similar to Houston, 19 degrees above the horizon. And my friends in Atlanta will have a view as it crosses the sky at 76 degrees.

Look for a bright white dot, unblinking, and moving fast.

And then think of how it all started only 50 years ago.

I'm so sad. I missed seeing Jose fly over because I didn't wait long enough.

Jose arrived at the airport at 8:30 to go flying. I waited until 9:30 for him to call the house phone (my iPhone was temporarily deactivated -- don't get me started on that). When I hadn't heard it ring by 9:30, I decided to sit on the balcony and read, listening for his plane. I knew I wouldn't hear the phone, but I'd hear his plane. And I did hear planes, a half dozen of them -- a couple jets, a helicopter, and the distinct sound of a couple small general aviation airplanes. When I heard the latter, I jumped from my seat to scan the sky. Each time, I was met with a plane too far away, or going the wrong direction. It wasn't him.

At 10:30, I knew that I had missed him. I couldn't figure out how, since I never heard the phone while I was inside, and never heard or saw his plane while I was outside. But it had been two hours, and he had to have taken off by then. And it's only 10 minutes from takeoff to flyover. I had to have missed him.

So I went inside and left for work.

He took off at 10:37.

He thought he saw me on the balcony. He said he even rocked the wings as he flew over.

But I missed him.

Here he is flying over during his first solo in March. I haven't seen him fly since.

I am a horrible girlfriend. And a sad one.