Discovery Mission Has A Navy Feel
The space shuttle Discovery lifted off tonight for a trip to the ISS -- I watched it live while waiting for the Heisman results to be announced. I hadn't heard before I saw the coverage that there are three Navy officers aboard this flight: CAPT Robert L. Curbeam Jr., CDR William A. Oefelein, and CDR Sunita L. Williams. CDR Williams will be transferring to the ISS for a six month tour of duty there.
I've always thought submariners would do good in space -- we're used to living in a high-tech vessel that operates essentially independently of outside support for long periods, and which can kill you if you operate them incorrectly. So far, we haven't had a chance to prove it, but we might be able to soon. Waiting for his ride is submariner CDR Stephen Bowen, a Mission Specialist. I knew him slightly -- he was XO of PCU Virginia when I was Eng on PCU Jimmy Carter, and we shared the same crew support building in the shipyard. I'm sure he'll do us proud when he gets into space.
One thing's for sure -- those dolphins make even a NASA uniform look good:
posted by Bubblehead at 7:59 PM
3 Comments:
Navy has always led the way in space!
But I do have to wonder about the hairlength of the female astronauts. Weren't we supposed to keep our hair short in case of an emergency?
12/09/2006 8:47 PM
CDR Oefelein is a big deal here in Anchorage, being homegrown. Our NBC affiliate sent their news director down to the cape to cover the launch. Local boy makes big time.
12/11/2006 3:35 PM
Major funny -
When they open the hatch between the space shuttle and the ISS and their Commander came aboard the ISS, they rang a ships bell and announced Space Shuttle 116 arriving. Very cool. Both crews seemed to have a great laugh....
Lots of high fives all around.
flem snopes, you also have a very cool governor..
12/11/2006 5:00 PM
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