Blast Off in a Space Shuttle! – The Spectacular Kennedy Space Center
Mission Zone: Shuttle
Space shuttles Atlantis, Columbia, Challenger, and the Hubble telescope.
Each name resonates with the thrill of adventure, a zest for space, and some are steeped in sorrow. They are more than just the names of shuttles and telescopes. They represent the launch of discovery in the modern age, a thirst for knowledge as unquenchable as the stars. They carry with them the legacy of brave astronauts – just as they once carried the astronauts themselves.
At the Kennedy Space Center, Atlantis, Hubble, and the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle memorials have come home to rest and inspire all who visit them.
Atlantis
When you first set eyes on the space shuttle Atlantis, the moment is so moving you may find yourself reaching for a Kleenex.
Through the magic of Kennedy Space Center’s Imax theater, you’ve just traveled with the shuttle through her construction, her expeditions in space, and her final homecoming. Now you’re within arm’s reach of her and an integral part of her final mission – “inspiration and motivation.”1 It takes both of you to carry it out. It’s Atlantis’ job to be an inspiration, but she needs someone to inspire: and that’s where you come in.
And let’s face it, our end of the mission is easy.
The space shuttle Atlantis is breathtaking, hoisted in the air, and titled at a 43.21-degree angle, looking every inch like she did in space.2 Even her cargo bay doors are open, her robotic arm extended in a cheery greeting. Her landing gears are tucked away, so she is forever in flight. The enormity of her 78-foot wingspan and 5-story tail can only really be grasped in person.3
The awe-inspiring qualities of this black and white shuttle are not only visual but also historical.
Atlantis’ story will give you just as many goosebumps as the sight of her. She was named after an oceanographic research vessel and created with much the same spirit.4 She completed 33 successful missions over 25 years. The details of her military-driven first mission are still shrouded in secrecy.5
We know that satellites and probes were launched from Atlantis’ payload bay on later missions, and one of them was responsible for mapping 98% of the planet Venus. We also know that the space shuttle Atlantis’ crews completed spacewalks, including an emergency spacewalk to fix an observatory antenna.
In 1995, Atlantis’ focus turned from intergalactic to international as it became the first shuttle to dock with the Russian space station, Mir!6 In this way, Atlantis helped to forge peace in a post-Cold War world.
One of her most harrowing experiences was on a mission in 1988 when over 700 TPS (thermal protection system) tiles were damaged, and one went missing altogether. There could easily have been a burn-through, resulting in the loss of both shuttle and crew.
Remarkably, the full extent of the damage wasn’t even realized until the space shuttle Atlantis was safely back home. This made her “the most damaged launch/entry vehicle to successfully return to earth.”7
From scientific breakthroughs to near burn-throughs, Atlantis was a shuttle of miracles. Chris Gebhardt of NASA writes, “The Shuttle orbiter Atlantis has ingrained herself into our hearts and family and has demonstrated time and time again a determination never to give up and always do exactly what we ask of her.”8
It’s clear Atlantis has brilliantly fulfilled her mission to inspire. She will leave you with a fresh breath of determination – be it for space travel or a journey more earthbound – and its mission accomplished.
It’s hard to tear your eyes away from her, but if she’s taught us anything, it’s that there is always more to explore – especially at the Kennedy Space Center!
Hubble
Your next steps through the Kennedy Space Center will lead you to the Hubble Space Telescope Theater.
Here you can get up close with a full-scale replica of Atlantis’ cousin in space exploration (the real one is still hard at work, floating 340 miles above the earth).9 And by full-scale, I mean you’ll be confronted by a shiny, silver, school bus-sized telescope suspended in mid-air. She’s been called “a window to the vast unknown,” and like Atlantis, has some tales to tell that are out of this world.10
Launched in 1990, Hubble initially didn’t even work – she had an incorrectly sized optical mirror.11 (Oops.) It took 19 years and 5 service missions to get her operational – the last service mission being carried out by none other than Atlantis!
Since then, Hubble has made over one million observations of the universe, including the life cycle of stars, how planets form, and the dark energy of black holes. The latter has been of particular interest, because “Hubble discovered ‘dark energy,’ a mysterious force causing the universe to expand with time.”12
Columbia & Challenger
Thus, the Hubble exhibit is not only a reminder of the “vast unknown,” but also a reminder that the “vast unknown” is always growing: what we really discover as we learn more is that there is always more to be learned.
The most effective learning happens through remembrance.
From the grandeur of Hubble’s Theater, you enter into an exhibit that is simple and solemn but as powerful as that first glimpse of Atlantis. This Kennedy Space Center exhibit is appropriately entitled Forever Remembered – fitting because it is as much a memorial as a museum piece and because it will stay with you for the rest of your life.
The Challenger and Columbia were sister space shuttles to Atlantis. Challenger reached space in 1983, completing 9 successful missions and having the honor of taking the first female and black astronauts into space.13
Unfortunately, the Challenger space shuttle is better known for making history in her failed 10th launch attempt in January 1986.
A booster engine failed, causing the space shuttle to be torn apart 73 seconds after liftoff; the leaking oxygen and hydrogen erupted in a fireball.14 The broken shuttle fell back to earth, its cabin hitting the water below at 200 miles per hour.15 All seven crew members perished. The disaster, whose inevitability is still debated, altered the way NASA operated and completely changed the culture of its workforce.
In an eerie parallel, the space shuttle Columbia broke apart during a landing, resulting in the loss of seven brave astronauts.
Elizabeth Howell, who holds a Ph.D. in Space Studies, explains: “It was later found that a hole on the left wing allowed atmospheric gases to bleed into the shuttle as it went through its fiery re-entry, leading to the loss of the sensors and eventually, Columbia itself.”16
The damage to the left wing had been caused by a piece of foam falling from an external tank, hitting the wing during take-off in January 2003. Columbia was in space for 16 days with the damaged wing.
Her disastrous re-entry took place on the same calendar week as Challenger’s fatal launch.
Columbia had the distinction of being the first shuttle to fly in space in 1981, completing 27 missions before the disaster. Columbia’s missions were often research-driven, with the crew doing experiments around the clock.
Like Hubble and Atlantis, both Columbia and Challenger were pursuing discovery. The personal items of the fourteen astronauts, Challenger’s left fuselage, and Columbia’s cockpit frame stand encased, not as a deterrent of discovery, but as a memorial to the dedication of it.
Singer and songwriter John Denver, who was almost selected for the Challenger flight, composed these words:
They were flying for me
They were flying for everyone
They were trying to see a brighter day for each and every one
They gave us their light
They gave us their spirit and all they can be
They were flying for me
The Kennedy Space Center’s Mission Zone: Shuttle is something you need to discover for yourself. Though founded on science, the shuttles’ stories make for an emotional experience. They represent some of the greatest achievements in both space and American history.
Buckle up and prepare to blast off, because Mission Zone: Shuttle will inspire you to reach for new heights.
Have you been to Kennedy Space Center’s Mission Zone: Shuttle? Complete your mission and leave a comment below about what inspired you the most! Was it the sight of Atlantis in flight or one of the items belonging to an astronaut who gave their lives in the name of discovery?
Signing off for now, but stay tuned for Blast Off! – Part 2!
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Photo: iStock Photo
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