Countdown

The astronauts are here. They flew in from Houston yesterday. This is a huge sign. Launch is near, God willing.

Canaveral is a cape. Kennedy is the Space Center located on the cape. Cocoa Beach is the long stretch of white beach that stretches south of Canaveral. We opted, this time, for the Best Western Cocoa Beach.

They give it a 90% chance of lift off on Wednesday night. Conditions indicate it as such. Relatives are arriving. Friends are filling the local hotels. The launch is near. Local businesses are booming. But most of the booming is due to spring break.

Barb and I optioned for a local hotel this week. Tony’s family is gathering here. We wanted to be a part of that. Barb overheard the front desk responding to an inquiry, “We have no rooms available Tuesday through Friday. The shuttle is launching.”

Most of the party arrives this evening. Tomorrow we meet for breakfast then drive to the Kennedy Space Center for a tour. We gather together tomorrow, Tuesday evening, at the center, for a reception hosted by the Antonelli family. Then on Wednesday, we drive to Kennedy to board a NASA bus to see the launch, God willing.

It has been a long journey. But in no way has it been difficult. Finally, we sense completion. God willing.

It Is A Go but First, Caladesi Beach

An interesting day with extending circumstances dominating our thoughts as we, again, experienced a very special part of Creation.

First, Ben had surgery today. Last summer Ben literally landed on his ear as he attempted an in air somersault on his wakeboard at Oconee. The impact broke his eardrum. It has been healing but not completely. Today surgery was done to graft some of his skin over the eardrum to fill a gap that had not healed. The surgery went well and the recovery should be short. Hopefully and thankfully.

Secondly, we received word that the shuttle is now scheduled for lift off on March 11, at 9:20 pm EDT. Barb and I will head over to Canaveral tomorrow.

This week, we couldn’t have planned it better. Today it was 80 degrees and no wind. Our last day here found us at two natural preserves, just 5 miles from our condo. Honeymoon Island was originally named Hog Island until 1935 when a New York developer constructed thatched roof bungalows there and marketed them toward honeymooners. The bungalows are gone. Just beach, natural vegetation, the roads and parking lots remain.

From that island one can take a passenger ferry (actually, just a pontoon boat) to Caladesi Island State Park, which over the years, has been rated as the top state park in the nation. The weather was perfect. However, due to the storms and wind last week, dead sea grass had washed up on the beach giving blemish to the otherwise perfect beach. Thankfully it did not have the odor of the washed up grass we experienced in the Keys a year ago. Shell collection was the main activity while pausing to marvel at the turquoise gulf, white beach, and the antics of pelicans as they, in kamikaze style, dove headlong into the sea for fish.

There are many reasons that we find Florida our favorite state. And there are more reasons that we find this area personally attractive. The weather, the unique communities, the beaches, the baseball and the arts. Our condo this week is located on the outskirts of an unincorporated community where most homes were constructed in the '50's. The houses on the gulf have been purchased, torn down, and replaced with huge homes. A few have for sale signs. But for the most part, the community of Crystal Beach remains what it has been - a close community that supports commerce, the infastructure, the bike trail that runs through it and the arts. The sign above is the community bulletin board and the message, as we drove by it, changed every day. The message today says it all. Florida - what a state.

You can click on pictures to enlarge them.

Clearwater Beach

It was just a short 9 mile picturesque drive to Clearwater Beach. It was 80 and some colleges are on spring break so the beach was busy. Picture of beach and Clearwater.

Spring Training

There are several teams that spring train in this area. We enjoy baseball and we chose a Phillies game. They won the World Series last year. The team includes former Mariners, Jamie Moyer, Raul Ibanez, Greg Dobbs, and Miguel Cairo. They also have Jake Woods (Tacoma).

It was sunny and warm in the sun, cool in the shade in the local stadium. The World Series trophy was available for us to approach. The champions were just a few rows from us. Spring Training. Intimate. Local. Just what baseball used to be.

Then we drove to watch the sun set over Clearwater Beach. Florida, what a state.

We wait for the launch but we also wish Lyndsey the best. Go Freeman. If it were not for the possibility of the launch, we would be there with you all.

The latest from NASA

Family and Friends of STS-119,
Managers and engineers from the Space Shuttle Program and several other offices within NASA met today at the Johnson Space Center to discuss progress on the flow control valve issue which has delayed the launch of STS-119. After another lengthy meeting, Wednesday, 11 March appears to be a strong possibility. As always, the Agency Flight Readiness Review (FRR) has the ultimate authority to officially set the launch date. The FRR will reconvene at the Kennedy Space Center this Friday, 6 March, to consider the results of today’s Space Shuttle Program decision.
If STS-119 launches on 11 March, launch time will be approximately 9:20 p.m. EDT. Based on today’s decision, the crew will enter quarantine again tonight at the Johnson Space Center crew quarters. If the Agency FRR approves an 11 March launch, we will fly to the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday afternoon. There, we will perform a final review of flight procedures and perform flight training in the Shuttle Training Aircraft.
Please contact our crew secretary, Nuria Aguilar, if you have any changes to your plans to attend our launch.
Thanks for supporting STS-119 and have a great week.
Lee J. Archambault, Colonel, USAF
STS-119 Commander

Sun Coast

They call it the “sun coast” and it has been sunny. In fact, the St. Petersburg Times once had a guarantee. If the sun did not shine any time during the day, the Times would give away free papers the next day. The guarantee is no longer valid but the weather is still the same.

Well, for the most part. It rained for about an hour on Sunday morning but then the sun came out with a biting wind. It has not been above 65, the wind has lessened but it is still cool. Therefore, Barb and I have put off visiting some of the local pristine beaches.

This area has been in the national news. The boat carrying 4 men, 2 of which were NFL players, which capsized in the Gulf, launched just a few miles from us. Also, the drought looms large here. One river which is usually a major supplier to the local water supply is flowing at 1% of normal. Needless to say, water restrictions are in place.

After church on Sunday, we drove 5 miles north to Tarpon Springs, which, in 1890, became the sponge capital of the US. Greeks flocked here to participate in the business and the town still reflects that culture. A beautiful Orthodox church sits near the Greek restaurants, curiosity shops, sponge factories, and marinas full of charter boats and, still, a few sponge boats ready to take anyone out in the Gulf.

Monday, we drove the 20 miles to St. Petersburg. The bike rentals were closed due to the cool weather so a ride on the popular waterfront trail was not possible. Thus, I accompanied Barb to the Salvador Dali Museum. An excellent choice. I now have a new found appreciation for his talent. He is a man who defied convention in his art and in his life style. However, the museum brought it all together in reflecting this man’s genius.

On Tuesday it only warmed to the mid 60’s. But the blue skies and sun warmed us as we rode the Pinellas Bike Trail to Dunedin. The 34 mile trail travels from St. Pete’s to Tarpon Springs passes by our condo. We rode the 6 miles, with a few side trips, to Dunedin, a small town with a Scottish heritage. Typical of urban trails, the trail snaked between commercial districts, marinas, and neighborhoods.

Interestingly, the term “Pinellas” is common here. We are located in Pinellas county. Lou Piniella grew up in Tampa but there is no connection with his name and the area. Pinellas means, in Spanish, “piney point” which the early explorers designated this area as such.

Our current setting is in stark contrast to the last two weeks in Daytona. It is so quiet. We are staying in a 3 bedroom house nestled within a group of about 40 similar structures. The units are set between a bayou, lake, and the gulf and look out into tall stands of mangroves. There is a central clubhouse that includes a pool, kayaks for the gulf, and other amenities but we find no time to gather as there is so much to see in the area.

Many pristine beaches and a spring training game are on our schedule for the next 3 days. Again, NASA will determine where we go on Saturday.

Pictures: St. Petersburg skyline and the bike path causeway out to Honeymoon Island.

Update

Note from Janeen, the pilot's wife...

While Tony and his crew await completion of NASA's plans to fix the flow control valves, a moderate training schedule has been put in place to maintain the crew's readiness for the moment when NASA finally says, "Go for Launch!"Simulated ascent/entry runs, flights in the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA), robotic arm practice, and suit-ups at the Neutral Bouyancy Lab (NBL) for simulated Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVAs) have kept the crew focused on their pending mission, despite the many slips -- six total, so far; four since the Feb. 12th date.As I write, the tentative target date for Space Shuttle Discovery’s launch to the International Space Station --Thursday, March 12th -- remains on track. However, an exact target launch date will not be determined until at least March 6th when the next Flight Readiness Review (FRR) is expected to reconvene. Tony and the STS-119 crew plan to return to quarantine this Thursday evening, March 5th, in anticipation of a launch on the 12th.As work progresses with the shuttle’s three gaseous hydrogen flow control valves, we continue to pray -- and hope you will, too -- for every single administrator, engineer, technician, and support personnel involved in tackling this problem -- and for their families who, undoubtedly, are sacrificing an inordinate amount of quality time with their loved ones in support of the STS-119 mission and all future shuttle flights. We thank them for their tireless dedication to and conviction in "getting it right."

On an even more personal note, we are often asked how we feel about "all of this." Like everyone else, we are reminded by the current flurry of activity that exploring space is, in fact, a very risky business. Are we scared? You betcha. Do we worry? Of course! But we don't dwell. The truth is, our family believes in and is fully committed to the challenge of space flight as one definitively worth pursuing. Without question. Without regrets. We love Daddy and want him to return to us to live out a long, meaningful life! But, ultimately, that's not our call. Tony is doing what he was born to do, and we're proud of him. Part of what makes this life worth living is actually LIVING it -- doing what you were created to do. What a gift -- both to receive and to give! We put a huge amount of faith in God's providence -- and trust in the promise of a purpose bigger than ourselves, beyond our immediate circumstances and personal desires.

"What I saw was just too beautiful to have happened by accident." ~ Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo Astronaut

"Man must rise above the Earth -- to the top of the atmosphere and beyond -- for only then will he fully understand the world in which he lives." ~ Socrates, 469 - 399 B.C.

"The eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.... I do not say the we should or will go unprotected against the hostile misuse of space any more than we go unprotected against the hostile use of land or sea, but I do say that space can be explored and mastered without feeding the fires of war, without repeating the mistakes that man has made in extending his writ around this globe of ours." ~John F. Kennedy, speech at Rice University, 1962