By Matt Phillips
Special to the Review
A picture perfect day in Cape Canaveral, FL was interrupted briefly on Monday, May 11, 2009 as clouds rolled into the area.
Except this time, the clouds came from the ground and billowed into the air as the Space Shuttle Atlantis blasted through the blue sky on its way to the Hubble Telescope.
A year of delays was quickly forgotten as the countdown clock ticked toward the 2:01 p.m. launch time and the seven-person crew, which included 1983 Lake Orion High graduate, Drew Feustel, prepared for their monumental mission.
According to Astronaut Stanley G. Love, Ph. D., who flew aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis in February 2008 on a mission to the International Space Station, the last few hours before launch ‘are filled with nervous excitement as the crew will be continuously reviewing in their heads their exact responsibilities for the launch sequence.?
Love jokingly added, ?…and praying they do not mess anything up or say anything crazy that will be witnessed or heard by the 15 plus million people watching the launch.?
In terms of the launch itself, Love can provide some perspective on what the STS-125 crew is about to experience.
‘At T-00 seconds, the crew would feel the first shuttering shake as ignition occurs, then six seconds later, when the main engines kick in, they will feel like a giant has just grabbed them by the shoulders and is shaking them uncontrollably. Then eight and a half minutes later, you are completely weightless and you quickly see which items were jarred loose during the launch as they float throughout the crew cabin.?
The Florida sun shined brightly in the sky as if the day was made for this launch. With a temperature approaching 94 degrees, a slight sea breeze in the air and a few scattered clouds accenting the sky, the clock continued to methodically tick toward the moments described by astronaut Love.
NASA Launch Director Mike Leinbach said, ‘Everything seemed to fall into place this time and that the ground team must have had a premonition about this day since they moved the launch up by one day and a storm front appeared to be moving into the area late Monday.?
The excitement around the Kennedy Space Center began to build as the clock ticked even closer toward lift off.
As the seconds passed, the crowd that had gathered to document this mission began to bark out the countdown. ‘Two minutes 00 seconds,? came from one side of the audience. ‘One minute 45 seconds? was shouted from another direction and the updates got louder as the launch approached.
And then, like the quit before the storm,?00 seconds? and from a distance everything seemed to stand still for a brief moment.
Then a small roll of smoke began to rise from the bottom of the shuttle. Within seconds, the craft began to creep from the launch pad as the fire from the engines began to glow.
Within a few seconds, the shuttle was accelerating rapidly as the thrust from the engines and boosters created a trail of flames and smoke several times larger than the shuttle itself.
As it sped toward space, the orange tail slowly gave way to the clouds of smoke that painted a path beyond the capability of vision straight up in the sky.
Random cheers, clapping and shouts of joy seemed to slowly bring the crowd out of its silent awe. Something special had just happened and, as that feeling sunk in, smiles and excited laughter spread and though the shuttle was out of sight, nobody wanted to move until they had soaked up the moment just a little bit longer.
During the standard Post-Launch Press Briefing, Mission Management Team Chairman, Mike Moses, was excited to congratulate the entire NASA team on a successful launch and added, ‘This was a very successful launch and was a great start to a very challenging Mission.?
Moses continued, ‘This is just the beginning, and while we remain confident, five very important and difficult EVA’s (spacewalks) remain and will be a deciding factor in the ultimate success of the mission.?
The entire country can walk a bit tal today knowing seven brave individuals are making history, but the citizens of Lake Orion can all stand prouder still because Drew Feustel is representing our town during this historic mission.