I recently had an opportunity to view the new Endeavour exhibit at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. It was an emotional day, filled with the promise of possibilities and the work it takes to achieve our goals. A big, giant space ship in a big giant room is just pretty darn cool, too…
A friend recently visited the shuttle as well, and I was reminded of his comment to me that it made him proud to be an American. I wholeheartedly agree.
I was also reminded of President John F. Kennedy’s speech at Rice University in 1962, discussing the challenges our nation faced in the burgeoning space program. For me, his powerful oration helps to serve as my own launching point for accomplishing the dreams I hope to accomplish.
“There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win…”
Greg Morton 
An awe inspiring sight! Thank you for sharing. It really puts things into perspective when we reach for the stars.
: ) Tami
Saw the Endeavour fly over at NASA Ames, while it was in only view for just a matter of seconds it was definitely an experience for a lifetime. While waiting that morning I met two wonderful people who worked on the shuttle from it’s conception, including the wind tunnel testing and the shuttle carrier aircraft, they shared their memories of those times. A Great day.
It sounds like a great day! I was fortunate enough as a teenager to see a shuttle (don’t remember which one) land in the desert at Edwards Air Force Base. It was my first experience seeing the shuttle and my first experience with the boom associated with breaking the sound barrier. In some respects, we were simply looking at an odd looking plane flying out of the rising morning sun, but even at such a young age I understood the significance of where that plane had been. Surrounded by thousands of people parked randomly in the desert, all to catch a glimpse, I immediately knew I had witnessed something special.
Thanks so much for sharing your story with us!!! I appreciate you stopping in and commenting. Have a FANTASTIC day!!