Why I am me, Part 1

I am perhaps a little strange. There's probably a reason for it, but I haven't bothered to figure out the reasons for everything I do, because I kind of like who I am. But here, now, for the first time ever, I will attempt to explain away some of the reasons I do what I do, and like what I like. So, I present to you, the first installment of "Why I am me":

Space:
I like space. Space vehicles, Satellites, the sciency stuff about space. Space. Space. What is your favorite thing about space? Mine is space. I have always liked space. I don't know where it comes from really, but I do know that when I was younger, it wasn't so much about the people that made going to space possible; the Engineers, Scientists, Planners, Schedulers, Chemists, Electricians, Production and Assembly, Seamstresses - the hundreds of thousands of people that worked for contractors and sub contractors and all of that - no. It was the vehicle. I have been fascinated with machinery for longer than I can remember. My Mom told me that when I was four, I wanted to be a garbage truck. Not the garbage man - the garbage truck.

So for the longest time, my fascination was about the devices that got us there. The Space Shuttle was-is probably the biggest influence here. I am too young to have known anything about Mercury, Gemini or Apollo when I was younger. I remember as a kid, my Brother had an LP that recounted the first Shuttle mission. We must have listened to that thing a million times. I can still hum the lame theme song that they came up with for it. Looking around a bit, I thank the internet for connecting to some of my childhood memories, because now I can buy that very LP on sites like ebay and the like. But I recall my Brother waking me up for Shuttle launches - I'm still not a morning person. That was about the only thing that could get me out of bed in a flash. It was so exciting to listen to Hugh Harris' distinct voice go through the countdown. Intensity growing as he counted from 10, 9, 8, 7, six, we are go for main engine start, whe have main engine start, 3, 2, 1, Liftoff! Watching the rockets lift the Shuttle into the air, and on its merry way was something that I could never get enough of. If they showed the engineering replays on TV back then like they do on NASA TV now, I would have sat and watched every angle they could have given me. I also know that my Dad played a part in the influence as well. Once, we went up to Edward's AFB to watch Discovery land. I'll touch on that more later. But it was always the vehicles. How cool is the Shuttle that it launches on rockets, and carries that giant tank, then turns into an airplane, and comes back to earth, and land where "it" wants to. All of the mechanisms that thing must have on board. I still drool just thinking about it.

Even more recently, launch vehicles like Boeing's Delta II have come to hold a dear place in my heart. I was more inclined to follow Mars Pathfinder, or Spirit & Opportunity than I was to somehow connect with a live astronaut. Call me an Engineer - I want to see what makes it tick. I'm still learning things about launch vehicles, and complex systems, and how they all play a role in taking man into space, but I am learning more and more that it is not the machines, which are still just as fascinating, but the people that designed, built, and maintain them that make them what they are.

That stated, I am now learning to truly appreciate, rather than simply akowlege the existence of, the people involved, as well as everything that came before dawn of , April 12th, 1981. I am learning just what a big deal it was when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, and how much work actually went into getting there. I am learning about characters like Eugene Cernan who just yesterday, gave a speech about the 50 years since President Kennedy challenged us to go to the moon (my favorite speech ever). I am learning just what upstanding citizens they were, that did the work to get us to where we are today. All of the companies that have been involved in building rockets, landers, rovers, space stations, space suits and everything else that we had to have. Did you know that Playtex was involved with Apollo? Do you know where the Shuttles were built? There is so much that can be known or discovered about what has already happened, that it could consume the rest of your life. Part of me would be content there.

But the rest of me wants to do more. I want to design. To produce. I want to build things. To figure out how to use all of these skills and talents, so somehow contribute to accomplishing something that has never been done before. I want to be part of exploration, and research, and the discovery of what else is out there, or why we are where we are. And so, it is space that makes me who I am.

Do you like Space, launch vehicles, and our accomplishments there? Tell me about it!