OK, here we go again. Got out of the habit of writing and lost motivation for a while. Recently I've been really busy with school and work. Going to school and working full time eats up most of my days. Seems I'm always worrying about the next assignment and don't seem to do much else but study or put off studying. I've been thinking about this for a while though and I think I need to try a little harder to post at least occasionally.        As you can see by the new addition to the side bar I have been doing some posting on Twitter. It has sort of got me back into everything. There are so many interesting people on there to meet if you just give it some time. A lot of my followers, and those that I follow, are 'space' related. There are more people out there that are interested in the space industry than I thought. It's not just space related though. There is an ever expanding universe of things related to Twitter. It takes a little effort to weed thr...

Only ten more shuttle launches to go after this one. Yesterdays launch was flawless with perfect weather. It is always exciting to see a shuttle launch. I was poking around on the NASA web site and came across a page that described in detail what happens during the launch countdown. The countdown actually begins about four days prior to launch. This is taken directly from the NASA website . The Countdown Clock is one of the most-watched timepieces in the world. On this page, you'll learn how the countdown operates, and what milestones to watch for during our Live Launch Coverage. Image to left: Spectators gather on the grounds in front of the countdown clock during a Space Shuttle launch. Credit: NASA Here are some of the key events that take place at each milestone after the countdown begins. Note: Event times and lengths are approximate and subject to change. T-43 hours and counting The Shuttle Test Director performs the traditional call to stations and the countdown clock is act...

The past two weeks have been non stop. When Atlantis launched on February 7 it was full speed ahead to get ready for the next shuttle. Since STS-122 was delayed for so long it has kind of crunched up the schedule a bit. We only had 12 days to get the pad cleaned up and two months of backlogged inspections done before Endeavour arrived at the pad. It was crazy. I still wonder how we managed to get everything done. Somehow it did though. Endeavour arrived at the pad early monday morning and this week has been nonstop. The flow has been compressed by several days so that we will be able to launch Discovery on April 24. At least we are keeping busy I guess.

I would like to welcome all of the new readers that have found this site recently. I appreciate you all notifying your friends via email about what I hope is content that is worth reading, although a bit dry at times. There are many topics so try not to dwell on only the space category. It's over now, just let it go. No hard feelings here.

You might have heard by now that we didn't launch. It is the same problem that we have ben having off and on for a few years now. The sensors that tell the the shuttle that the external tank is empty are not working properly. It is very complicated so I won't go into it. Search google if you want to know the details.  Right now the preliminary schedule has us launching on January 2. It is schedule that has at least some people working on both upcoming holidays. If this is really the way it goes down I think that I will be working at least on New Years eve. I still have quite a bit of things planned for the break, if I get it. We really need to get some stuff fixed on the house to start getting it ready to sell eventually. If I have to work I have to work. That's just the way it goes. All that really means is I have to work that much harder on the days I do get off.  

It's launch day again today. The weather is supposed to be perfect. I heard yesterday it was 90% go for weather. That is really good because the weather people usually never give more that 70% chance with more than a day to go. Lift off will be at about 4:27 pm this afternoon. I will have to watch this one from the house. I have school tonight so I can't stay to watch. If you get the NASA channel, tune in and watch.

Space Shuttle Discovery lunched today and it was perfect. Earlier this morning it rained and there was only a 40 percent chance to launch. Luckily the skies began to clear not to long after sunrise and it turned out to be a good day for a launch. This was the second lunch that has happened since the union went on strike. I have been working in one of the union shops almost since it began in June. It has really been interesting to see the whole flow from a different point of view. There are a lot of things that just always happened, but I never knew who or how it happened. After over 4 months away from my shop at the pad I think I am about ready to go back. There are a few things that I would like to help them get accomplished first, but I think I will be going back in the next few weeks. It will be good to get back. Here is a video I took of the launch today. No matter how many times i see it it will never get old.

I got a chance to participate in the astronaut training about two weeks ago. I knew basically what happened when they were on the pad but never got a chance to be there while it was going on. Since I am one of the small group of people that has done quite a bit of work on that system since the strike, I got to participate. After the crew does a complete dress rehearsal inside the vehicle they practice what they would need to do in an emergency to get off of the tower quickly using the slide wire basket system . They get in the baskets and hit the release lever. We have he baskets tied off and locked with chain so that the basket will not go more that a few inches. After that is all done everyone goes down to the slide wire landing area so the crew can practice getting out of the one basket that is fully released and allowed to slide all the way to the bottom. Here is a picture that is posted on the NASA web sight. I just managed to get into it.

Since launch is next week I thought that I should finally post the pictures that I took as the shuttle stack passed our building. I had come back to my regular shop for the week of rollout and then went back to the union shop that I am helping out.

The union has been on strike now for 45 days or so now and there is no end in sight. It seems ordinary now to see the strikers at the gate in the mornings. Most of the people holding signs have been replaced by signs staked into the ground. They have tents and grills and fire barrels along the side of the road. It is kind of like a hobo village. I have personally talked to many of the union members that have crossed the line and the story is always the same. The union lied to us. The negotiating committee only gave us some of the information. Those bastards wanted the strike no matter what. They gave us false information so that we would vote for the strike. I filled out the paperwork to get out of the Union. I will never trust them again. What really sucks for them is that it is all true. The company is using this opportunity to weed out the dead wood. Apparently when someone calls human resources and wants to come back to work there is a list that is checked first. If you were a good...

Once again, no excuse for not posting. Nevertheless, happy 4th of July to everyone. I have been working a lot this past week (six ten hour days if weather permits. As you know from my previous post the unionized part of our company are on strike. Some months ago I volunteered to help out in other areas if a strike actually happened. For the past week that is what I have been doing. I have been apprehensive about posting this because I wasn't sure how the friends I have that are union members would take it if they found out. It is a huge deal if a union member crosses the picket line and comes back to work. I am not in a union shop but I am currently doing their job. I think I have finally figured out how I really feel about it. For me it comes down to preserving my own job. The connection is not an easy one but it is there. We are coming to the end of the current program. I believe the USA is doing its best to acquire new contracts and continue as the prime contractor for Americas...

The union workers that work for United Space Alliance decided to go on strike today. At 10:00am they walked off of the job. I have only heard second hand information of the problems the union leaders were having with the contract offer. Mostly benefits disagreements I think. What ever the problem is, I know that quite a few of them voted for the contract and didn't want to strike. I'm sure most can't afford to lose a weeks pay, let alone the possibility of way more than that. The last time this union group went on strike I've heard the the union gave each of them $100 the first week and nothing for the rest of the strike, which lasted several more weeks. I just can't see why, no matter what the reason, anyone would want to go on strike. It just doesn't make sense to me with all of the federal laws that there are now to protect workers. If a company doesn't pay a competitive wage, they won't be able to keep the most qualified people. That may be very s...

The space shuttle stack is on its way to the launch pad at this very moment. I hope we are ready. Pad A hasn't launched a shuttle since Colombia back in February 2003. It will be different for me this time. Since we are at the other pad I'm not in charge of the shop that I am in. I'm still getting used to letting someone else take care of making sure everything is coordinated. Trying to go back to being a regular tech is harder than I thought it would be. I see so many things that I know need to be done that I just want to go and do them. Normally I am used to being so busy during a flow that it is hard to wait for a job to be assigned to me. However, I have to keep reminding myself that if the situation was reversed I would not want some else telling me things that I already know about or generally doing my job for me. Believe it or not, doing less is harder for me than running around trying to do twelve things at once. It's a little twisted. Here is a picture that I t...

I've been working at Pad A for a week now, it isn't so bad. It's not like I don't know anyone over there, but usually we only work together occasionally. It will still take some time to get to get used to how everyone works though. My new locker is finally set up so that it is a little homier. I miss my desk. I like having a bigger area for the things that I am working on. As a shop lead I am used to having to think and worry about all sorts of things. It may sound a little twisted but I like having more responsibility. I am happier that way. Don't get me wrong, it is nice having a break. Not having to think about who is doing what job, which one is more important, who needs to know when it's done, and if all of the paperwork is correct is nice, for a while. Unless something changes it will probably be a year before I get back to that. I will just have to wait and see. On a side note, my teeth hurt again. The back teeth feel sore every time I have something to e...

It's official. The next shuttle will launch from Pad A. That means Pad B will almost shut down completely. The entire second shift is moving to Pad A to help them finish getting ready. Since I'm on second I will be moving over there this week. It will be different working over there, kind of like two semi disfunctional families moving in together. There will be some growing pains and some adjusting for sure. The move is semi permanent. Next year when the Hubble mission launches we will have the rescue shuttle on Pad B. After that Pad B will be permanently turned over to the new program.

It has been foggy in the mornings and cloudy in the evenings lately. I think it is part of that same weather system that snowed on Malibu CA. I had to work a little late last night and the clouds were low and descending as the temperature was going down. At about 12:30 am this morning the clouds had dropped below the top of the VAB. Since I got my new camera, I keep it with me in my truck so I have it when I see something interesting. This is really a neat sight and these pictures don't really do it justice.

I got my hair cut yesterday and while I was waiting for my turn I thumbed through one of those books with pictures of different hair styles. After looking through the whole book it struck me that my hair cut wasn’t in there. Nothing even close. I guess just plain and short doesn’t count as a style. That’s too bad, a hair cut that can be combed using not much more than a damp towel is a great thing. There loss.

It has been a long couple of days but it was all worth it. Two 12 hour days in a row really wears a body down. Oh well, seeing a launch like that is well worth it. Jen came out to see the launch since she had never seen a night launch from up close. I think she was really impressed. Some of the pictures that she took came out a lot better than I thought they would. Here are just a couple.

The shuttle launch was scrubbed last night due to heavy cloud cover. Normally we would try again today but the weather is just as bad or worse. Saturday is the day now. Hopefully the weather will hold up. Until then there is a lot to do. The decision was made to top off the cryogenic storage tanks that supply the orbiters fuel cells (that is what my shop deals with). It is lot of work to get from launch configuration back to a place where we are able to do the top off and then back to launch mode. Basically it is everything that my shop does over the last week before launch all mashed up into under 24 hours. The next problem is that this week I am the only one in my shop on second shift at pad B. It isn't as bad as it sounds. There will be plenty of help from the other pad and from some of the other shops. Still though, I don't plan on leaving tonight until 3:30 am tonight/tomorrow morning. At least tomorrow is Saturday, it really sucks when I get out of the shower after comin...

Well, tomorrow is launch day. I hope the weather holds up. There is a chance that it will be cloudy at launch time and high winds are expected for Friday and Saturday. Tonight we will rotate the service structure away from the shuttle for the final time before launch. It is scheduled to be at 12:30am tonight. Urggh. Once it gets moving it takes about an hour to get fully retracted. However, this operation never gets started on time. It could be a very long night. This is the first night launch since 2002. Night launches are really amazing. It is hard to describe just how bright it is. Imagine what it looks like outside just before the sun comes up in the morning. That is about how bright it is 3 miles away from the launch pad. Darkness to dawn in just a few seconds. There is nothing else like it. Be sure to watch if you can, I here there is supposed some really amazing new cameras tracking this launch.