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Photographed by Lisa Grossman
The coolest Christmas tree ever! At a pre-launch party at the home of our friend Kandy, whose first NASA job was scheduling T-38 planes for the astronauts, I got to pose with this tree decorated with space shuttle mission patches that have all been flown into space and then given to Kandy afterward. The room is full of space memorabilia and photos signed by shuttle astronauts and crew.
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Photographed by Lisa Grossman
Nick's family hosted a party two nights before the launch was scheduled to lift off in the most amazing party venue ever: the Apollo/Saturn V Center. With more than 100,000 square feet, this enormous building houses the biggest rocket NASA ever made, the Saturn V, which launched the six Apollo missions to the moon. Hundreds of guests mingled and raised a toast to a safe launch.
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Photographed by Lisa Grossman
Astronaut Ed Lu, who spent six months aboard the space station in 2003, shared the latest news with the party guests about the STS-116 crew (who are kept together in quarantine before a launch) as well as the latest weather predictions, which gave about a 50/50 chance of launching two nights later.
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Photographed by Sandra Hammack
Goofing off in a mini model of the space shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center is the closest I'm ever going to get to blasting off!
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Photographed by Lisa Grossman
To kill time while waiting for launch day, what could be better than a walk on the surf and sand of Cocoa Beach (yes, the setting of I Dream of Jeannie) with my niece Page and sister-in-law Sandra?
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Photographed by Lisa Grossman
In fact, my whole family dipped a toe in the surf at Cocoa Beach.
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Photographed by Lisa Grossman
Here we are (with the KSC Rocket Park in the background) departing for the buses that will take us to the VIP viewing area for the first night launch of the space shuttle in more than four years!
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Photographed by Lisa Grossman
The VIP viewing area has nice bleachers with plenty of room for everyone. But we preferred to stand near the water's edge, alone and with an unobstructed view of the launch pad about three miles away across the water.
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Photographed by Sandra Hammack
At about T minus one hour, the wait was becoming unbearable. But if it was hard for us, imagine what Nick was feeling in the shuttle, on his back, strapped in and waiting several hours for his first launch.
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Courtesy of NASA
The seven astronauts suited up and ready to head to the launch pad about three hours before the launch. That's our friend Nick, second row on the left.
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Courtesy of NASA
The launch is a go. The weather is perfect, with a starry sky and calm winds. We can't believe it when the countdown hits: 10, 9, 8 … You see the intense light of the ignition before you hear anything, as it takes time for the sound wave to travel across the water. It takes incredible thrust to lift the shuttle, and it seems to hover and move very slowly at first.
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Courtesy of NASA
During the launch, five huge ospreys flew out of a nearby tree, startled by the light. You can see one in this photo. We could see the shock wave traveling across the water toward us and then -- BOOM -- the sound hits you. You can feel the pressure in your chest, and the vibration makes your leg muscles twitch and makes your clothing flap. It's almost unbelievably intense, both the light and sound, plus the emotion of knowing our friend is riding that rocket into orbit!
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Courtesy of PAO/Rob Navius
About a minute into the launch, the sky is lit up almost like daylight. The launch can be seen from miles around. We heard from an acquaintance on Martha's Vineyard that they could even see the launch from there.
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Courtesy of PAO/Rob Navius
A few minutes into the launch, it looks like the shuttle is arcing downward toward earth, but it's an optical illusion caused by the earth's curvature.
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Photographed by Lisa Grossman
At 8 1/2 minutes into the launch, the shuttle has finished thrusting, has separated from its fuel tanks and is floating in orbit at 17,500 miles an hour. This is the point where the astronauts are out of danger and start to float free. Back at our hotel, we raise a champagne toast to a successful launch.
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Courtesy of NASA
The shuttle docked successfully with the space station and began what is considered one of the most complicated missions ever. On December 18, Nick sent this e-mail to his family from aboard the space station: "Greetings from 195 miles above the southern Pacific! We're all having fun, and enjoying the fantastic views when we can -- but the mission is even busier than we anticipated, especially with the solar array problems and fourth EVA [extravehicular activity]. I hope I have the chance to write more soon."
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Courtesy of NASA
Against a gorgeous backdrop of planet Earth, the astronauts perform one of several spacewalks (known as EVAs) to install a truss to help power the space station. The crew is charged with rewiring the electrical system on the station, an incredibly important and complex task.
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Courtesy of NASA
Discovery made a picture-perfect landing as the sun set on December 22nd at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, concluding mission STS-116. We were thrilled to hear that Nick was safely home in Houston in time to celebrate Christmas with his family.
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