However, because the then-NASA administrator James Beggs suffered from triskaidekaphobia (the fear of the number 13) and wanted to avoid associations with the unlucky Apollo 13 mission, the agency drew up a new numbering system for space shuttle missions, according to NASA history accounts by several astronauts at time. Initially, the missions were given sequential numbers indicating their order of launch, from STS-1 through STS-9. I’m glad I came.The space shuttle program is officially known as the Space Transportation System (STS), and so each shuttle mission is designated with the prefix "STS." “This is a once in a lifetime event,” said Oliver, 41, who lives near Dayton. Oliver, who manages an assisted-living residence, slept in his car overnight. Stan Oliver purchased a last-minute ticket from Ohio to Tampa on Thursday, and then drove Sunday night to Titusville. “We usually stand in our backyard to watch the launches but this time we wanted to see it up close and personal,” said Anita Johnson, a 57-year-old retiree, as she pulled lawn chairs out of the trunk of her car. Sisters Anita and Andrea Johnson decided Sunday at the spur of the moment to load up their car with a case of beer and a cooler of ice water and Diet Cokes and drive from the 110 miles from Tampa for the launch. “They’re so little, it’s hard for them to understand.” “”They say it’s a spaceship and I tell them we’re going to watch a spaceship,” said Samantha Hodges, of St. But they were still having trouble getting their minds around the idea. Their mother, Samantha Hodges, tried to explain to them the concept of space and showed them photos of the astronauts and Endeavour from NASA’s Facebook page. It was the first launch for 4-year-old Jolie Hodges and her 2-year-old brother, Jonah.
“Not as many people get excited about it anymore but we are.”Īdded Goulet: “To actually feel the launch when you’re across the river is something else.” “We enjoy the excitement of cheering on the astronauts,” said Shirley Goulet, 73. They postponed their return to New Hampshire to see the liftoff from U.S.1 on the Indian River. They had come out last month to see Endeavour off and were disappointed when an electrical problem kept it grounded for another two weeks. Kim Montes of the Florida Highway Patrol “I never saw any stoppage.”įor retired snowbirds Shirley and Jerry Goulet, Endeavour’s liftoff was worth a wait. Traffic on Monday was nowhere near what it was in February when spectators sat for hours on the roadways between Cape Canaveral and Orlando, turning highways into parking lots. “With the launch being so early, it’s going to deter people from coming here,” said Tom Summers, 48, who hawked shuttle T-shirts, caps, mugs and medals in front of a trailer in the dark, early hours of Monday. February’s launch and last month’s attempt were in the afternoon. But it was a smaller turnout than the crowds that viewed the last shuttle launch in February and Endeavor’s failed launch attempt in April.Įndeavour blasted off at 8:56 a.m. Hundreds of thousands of spectators joined Kariotakis in that history, witnessing Endeavour’s last launch and the second-to-last mission before the space shuttle program ends. “We’re part of history!” said Kariotakis, a 50-year-old day care owner from Montreal, while viewing the liftoff on U.S. – Manny Kariotakis got goosebumps watching the last launch of Endeavour, even though the space shuttle disappeared Monday behind clouds seconds after blasting off from the pad 10 miles away.
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