In October of 2008, I thought one of the top-of-the-list items on my bucket list was about to get crossed off: I was going to see a Space Shuttle launch!  The crew of STS-125 was preparing to leave “the surly bonds of Earth,” and their vehicle was kept company on her launch pad by their rescue vehicle – count ‘em up, that’s TWO space shuttles on Pads 39A and B.  Never before done, and the sight was just magnificent.  It was a no-brainer to attempt to see the launch.  Though I wasn’t one for spontaneous purchases or decisions, two friends convinced me to click on “Purchase” on that website, and it was a done deal.

Unfortunately, between the Thursday when I bought the plane ticket, and the following Monday when I came into the office, the launch had been delayed…not by days or weeks, but months.

I was left with that item on the bucket list, now bolded, italicized, and underlined.

Eight months later, in June 2009, the crew of STS-127 was about to embark on their mission to the International Space Station (ISS), and everything looked good for launch…I mean, everything.  So good, in fact, that three friends and I decided to make the drive out to Florida.  We had exactly 15.5 hours to make a 16-hour trip.

#MissionFLby4 was born (some of you may recall the documentation of our adventures on Twitter & Facebook – we’re still apologizing for the barrage of posts in that 24-hour period!).

By the time we got through Baton Rouge, we were down an hour we didn’t have due to traffic, but onward we went.  Somewhere between Baton Rouge and the Mississippi border, we realized we forgot about the CST to EST conversion.

Whoops. Another hour we didn’t have.  #MissionFLby4 was now #MissionFLby4EST.

Just outside of Tallahassee, I got a text from a friend who was working in MCC, saying that he had heard about some issues.  After a few interchanges, he gave up that he was only kidding around; I called him a jerk, and we pressed onward.

At 12:18 a.m., about 45 minutes later, with Tallahassee behind us, I got a call from another friend set to work console for the launch.

“Hey, where are you?” he asked.  I told him.

“I’m not really sure how to tell you this, but…we’re not launching,” he informed me.

Momentary silence was followed by, “Are you serious?  You can’t be serious.  Spaceflightnow.com just had an update 18 minutes ago that said tanking is going well!  Hold on, I’ll call you back.”

I quickly visited Spaceflight Now again.  Last update, 12 a.m.: tanking proceeding nominally.  I called my friend back – “Seriously?  Spaceflightnow.com still says we’re good!”  He asked if I really didn’t believe him.

“Nope, not really!” was my answer.

“Well, I don’t really know what to tell you.  I was supposed to be on-console, and they just told me not to come in.”

Right in the middle of his explanation, I received a text message from another friend: “Scrubbed.”

Disheartened, we exited the freeway, U-turned, and headed back west.

In May, when I left Houston to go to the Cape for the last of our STS-132 training sessions, I had high hopes to see my first launch.  I had a good feeling, but I didn’t want to jinx it.  And on May 14^th, when just before coming out of the 9-minute hold, we heard of “a loose bolt,” I froze.

“Foiled again?!” I thought.

Thankfully, it wasn’t.  At 2:20 p.m. EST, I bore witness to one of the most breathtaking sights of human passion, dedication, intelligence, perseverance, and sheer genius ever.  Seriously, if you haven’t seen a space shuttle launch, do yourself a favor and get out to Florida.  You won’t regret it.  And if you do, I’ll buy you dinner.

This week was a bit of a disappointment for many of us. Five launch attempts; five stark reminders that spaceflight is difficult, risky, and anything but routine.  Though many of us were hoping to see Discovery embark on her very last mission, it takes but a moment’s thought to realize that we must be safe in our endeavors, first and foremost. With crews’ lives literally at stake, every minute detail must be examined, every issue addressed.

Over the last few days, as we waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited some, I couldn’t help but think about all of the hard work going into supporting each one of those launch attempts.  I watched in awe as my coworkers in Houston and all of the support personnel in Florida, stuck in their own personal version of Groundhog Day, prepared to give Discovery the sendoff she deserves.  It was yet more evidence of the dedication and passion of the teams who work to support the US human spaceflight program each and every day.

As these thoughts whirled through my head, I was reminded again of why I love being a part of this agency.  It’s the intangibles we possess – the people, the collective intelligence, the shared passion and pride – that contribute to the success of our missions.  We are an agency of motivated, passionate, dedicated, and inspired individuals who are driven each day to contribute to fulfill humanity’s quest for the unknown, to satisfy the innate desire to achieve the impossible.

As Discovery lights up the night sky later this month, Endeavor embarks on her journey in February, and perhaps Atlantis on her true final voyage in June, I am confident that the nation will see evidence of the pride and passion we take in our work.  Though our future is uncertain, our forward path unclear, I am hopeful that our united belief in the values of space exploration will see us through the successful completion of the Space Shuttle program, the continuation of the Space Station program, and onward to whatever new endeavors we embark upon as a nation.