Liftoff!

I think I held my breath until the main engine cutoff, but this was magnificent to watch live yesterday. I was nervous until that cutoff happened having witnessed the Challenger tragedy in realtime when I was in high school. I watched a couple of shuttle launches after that, but haven’t watched a launch of anything in a long time. I was super emotional while watching because wow, what an incredible thing. This rocket is amazing, and going back to the moon’s orbit is pretty awesome after all this time. I’m excited about the possibility of a crew actually landing there again one day.

I’ve loved space and NASA as long as I can remember. I was not quite a year and a half old when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. I obviously don’t remember that, but maybe that’s why I love it so much. Like it’s been in my head for most of my life.

I’ve watched pretty much every space movie and documentary I can get my hands on from The Right Stuff to Apollo 13 to From the Earth to the Moon. I’ve seen the Challenger and Columbia documentaries, as well as documentaries on the entire Space Shuttle program. I’ve been to the National Air & Space Museum numerous times, the Udvar Hazy, and the Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville (where you can see a Saturn V rocket on its side! still the best rocket in my opinion). I’ve seen three of the four shuttles on display in DC, LA and NYC, and hope to visit the one in Florida at some point. I’ve built many of the LEGO space sets including the Saturn V, the Space Shuttle Discovery, the Space Shuttle Endeavor on the plane it rides on, the Artemis Rocket, and a few sets showcasing our incredible female astronauts. So yeah, I love it. I even love fake space like Star Trek and Star Wars, The Martian and Project Hail Mary (which you must go see in a theatre immediately if you haven’t done so already!), and many others.

I don’t think I ever imagined we would go back to the moon, but here we are. Seeing science in action is incredible and gives me hope for the future. I also love the diversity of the crew. That’s been a long time coming! I’m excited to see some of the footage and images the crew sends back to earth on this journey and look forward to watching the splash down in ten days.

How about you? Are you also a space junkie? Did you watch the launch? Would love to know your thoughts. Until then, please enjoy this trailer for Project Hail Mary. And seriously, go see it in the theatre. It’s incredible. Or as Rocky would say: Amaze Amaze Amaze!

And just for fun, here’s the LEGO Artemis rocket I built in 2024. It’s pretty cool, too.