Where Were You When...

Do you remember where you were when the US launched its final space shuttle into orbit on July 8, 2011 at 11:29 a.m. EDT? Jimmy and I were very fortunate to be in a pretty cool location: the European Space Agency’s Space Expo. An AWC Member who works at ESA had extended an invitation to watch this momentous lift-off surrounded by ESA employees, which was too good of an offer to turn down. Jimmy left work early, so we could cycle the 15 miles to Noordwijk. Just before launch, Jimmy told how he’d been at Cape Canaveral for the first launch of the space shuttle in 1981, which was aborted with just 30 seconds left on the clock. Imagine his surprise when he’d just finished telling his tale and the clock stopped with 31 seconds left. Before we were convinced that he truly was a jinx, the clock started back up and as you  can see from the above screen, the STS-135 launch of Atlantis was a success.

After a celebratory toast with bubbly, we wandered around the space museum for the first time. Here we are posing in front of the model of the Eagle, the first manned lunar lander. Jimmy was deeply saddened that the US no longer has the ability to put men in space, but he managed to cheer up when we cycled to Leiden for dinner at our favorite restaurant.