Shuttle Saturday? (Maybe)
RichC, you scooped me (on the Shuttle updates!) 
I admit it. I was in bed last night, about to drift off to sleep, when I remembered “Ack! The Shuttle launch!” Justin had caught a news update before he wandered to bed, and in my near-sleep haze I did at least catch him say, “The launch was scrubbed… weather. When I woke up this morning, I wasn’t even sure that brief conversation was a memory or a dream — guess I was wiped out yesterday!
The next launch window for STS-116 is Saturday, but the most favorable conditions for launch are apparently on Tuesday. They’d like to get the Shuttle back on terra firma before January 1 since, comically enough, the Shuttle’s onboard systems apparently have their own version of a Y2K bug — they weren’t engineered to make a year change (eg. 2006 -> 2007) while in flight/on-orbit. As my Dad rightly pointed out, that seems inane, considering every cheap wristwatch made in the past 20 years can make the change, and every desktop computer.
I’m being mean, though. NASA did say it wasn’t a show-stopper if they had to be in flight over the date changeover, but they’d simply “prefer not to be”. What, do they have to reboot the Shuttle’s multiple redundant systems on January 1! “Synchronize watches… 3, 2, 1… HAPPY NEW YEAR! Ok, everyone REBOOT!”
Now that we’ve got time, check out NASA’s Interactive Timeline for STS-116. Be sure to click on the “Full ISS Assembly 1998 through 2010″ link, as well, to see an animated time-lapse of the Space Station being assembled piece by piece.
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Brrrr!
RichC said,
December 8, 2006 @ 9:42 am
I sort of pay attention because I grew up in Ohio and ‘personally’ interfaced with John Glenn and Neil Armstrong (ok … so I merely met them), but I’ve always been fascinated with flight and the space program.
BTW Neil Armstrong hits are the second most linked to stories on my blog behind Stacey David … go figure - http://blog.myarchive.us/index.php?s=armstrong
I hauled my family around the country to visit NASA facilities as they were growing up and was sadly at the Kennedy Space Center when tragedy struck in 1986. My daughter has since pick up the interest and has her goal set on becoming an astronaut (flight surgeon) for NASA. Even pick the Med School based on a director at NASA. She spent a summer doing research as an intern for NASA in New Mexico and in fact met the girl (Nora) that commented about the Solar Cells the other day. Dad continues to brag now, something you’ll understand this when ’sprout’ makes it to the potty and stuff … But my daughter finished her pre-med (in two years) this past summer, was commissioned into the Air Force has their full Med School HPSP scholarship. Who knows if the desire will continue since we all know how quickly life can change … I’m seeing the signs …
