We (Finally) Have Liftoff!
Space Shuttle Endeavour heads for International Space Station
It took six tries, but the space shuttle Endeavour finally experienced a successful countdown and liftoff. My brother Bailey and I attended a launch party in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday for our friend, Astronaut Tim Kopra, who is on board the Endeavour. The shuttle is expected to arrive and dock at the International Space Station (ISS) today.
We ate nachos, ice cream, and cake as we waited once again for NASA to give the launch clearance. Three other times, the shuttle launch was scrubbed because of a gas leak. Bailey and I were at the Kennedy Space Center for the first three attempts. The next two attempts we experienced in Austin. Bad weather got in the way of those launches.
The party in Austin, was held by some of Kopra's high school friends and families. He went to school in Austin with my mom. We were all very excited to be able to finally see the launch after so many delays.
As Endeavour lifted off, we all sat in silence and watched in awe. Some people had tears in their eyes. We kept asking each other, “I wonder what the astronauts are thinking now? I wonder what they are doing right now?”
We are all extremely happy for Tim. He is going to be part of the first six-person crew on the ISS.. And we are very eager to get a chance to talk to him now that he is in space. We have a special email address just for him, while he is living on the Space Station. (That's got to be one of the coolest email address in the whole universe!)
This morning, I read on Twitter that the crew’s wake up song was “These Are Days” by the 10,000 Maniacs. My mom wasn’t surprised by this choice of music. She says Tim has always loved the 10,000 Maniacs, and Natalie Merchant.
I am currently following the leader of the mission, Mark Polanski, and reading his tweets from space. You can too. His Twitter account is Astro_127.
As soon as Tim gets to the ISS he will make his first walk in space! Then we are going to link up to his email and we will let you know more soon!
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