I haven't been in a few years, but this summer- I plan to go back to Florida.
   Cocoa Beach. I'll have my customary "beer on the pier", and meet up with
   the good friends I have there. I like to arrive in the early afternoon, so that  
   means lunch. By the time the last plates are being removed, I'll be checking
   my watch. Then they will give me the traditional- "just go already, we'll
   see you when they close". WAHOO! NASA TIME! And it's off to Cape
   Canaveral. My friends long ago stopped going on the first day because
   they know I'll be dragging them back again on another day.

   Kennedy Space Center is known as the place where the Space Shuttle
   takes off and lands. If the weather's not right for landing, they land
   somewhere else and that's when you see it get the piggy back ride back
   home. When a spacecraft is in orbit, Johnson Space Center in Houston, Tx.
   has command. That's why one the the most famous radio transmissions
   ever made was not "uh Canaveral, we have a problem". But make no
   mistake- our manned space flight program begins and ends in Florida.

   With the tragic loss of two Space Shuttles. Challenger and Columbia. We
   saw first hand the enormous dangers of space flight. Those Astronauts
   are remembered as the Hero's they are. They died in service to Our
   Country. But a new generation of Americans do not hear about the earlier
   Astronauts that died doing their Country's business. Indeed, fulfilling
   this Country's vision. To land a man on the moon. An achievement that
   would not only be known for it's accomplishment alone- It had serious
   national secuity implications. To put it blunty, we beat the USSR by a
   country mile and they never even made it. In a cold war between Super
   Powers that is a devastating defeat.

   Allow me to speculate: I believe that a lot of people would be able to 
   name one person who has died on a Shuttle and one person who has 
   walked on the moon. But turn that around, and how many people would
   be able to name one person who has lived through a Shuttle flight, and
   one who died getting us to the moon? I hear someone from the cheap
   seats snarking that "it doesn't count when you crash your NASA T-38
   jet into the runway in California while going to check out the new "mods"
   on the Block 1 spacecraft". I say to you sir, that "you could not be more
   wrong. It does count and I've also made you sound way too smart- so 
   let me try it again".

         Him: "Yo dude, it only counts if you're in like a spacecraft or            
                   or somethin.
         AD: "You are an idiot to think that... but I'll play your game.
                  Ever hear of Apollo 1?
         Him: "Who?"

    I thought so. Since this has turned into Worthy Cause week here, we'll
    also use the way back machine one more time to highlight a reason
    for said Worthy Cause.

    Friday- January 27, 1967. Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee
    entered the Command Module of Apollo 1. High atop the mighty 
    Saturn Rocket. They were a few hours late due to the normal nagging
    delays. The kind of delays that happen when a thousand things have to 
    go right- even for a test. Thats right just a test. They were in full space
    suits and were about to do a "plugs-out" test. All auxillary cables in the 
    Command Module had been removed and they would be running on 
    internal power. An important test because the Command Module (CM)
    was what they would be orbiting the planet with in one month.

    No moon landings this time around. We're sure of the rockets, now we 
    test the CM on the ground and try to find any problems. At NASA,
    every procedure is planned and simulated many times. Even down to the
    question of should the main hatch be shut? They shut the hatch.

    This test was considered nonhazardous because there was no fuel in that
    twenty plus story rocket they were sitting atop of. However, the CM
    cabin's atmospere was 100 percent-pure oxygen. The closed hatch 
    took at least 90 seconds to open. 

    After hours of routine checks and testing that day. A radio transmission
    came from Apollo 1.

                                               Fire!

    Within 12 seconds, all three had been consumed by fire.

    The Astronaut Memorial Foundation wishes to keep the memory of these
    intelligent, brave and fearless men alive. Their mission goes further-
    they seek to train new generations of Astronauts while they are still in 
    grade school. Most will never wear a space suit, or even work for NASA.
    But will one day enter our national workforce with an intense interest
    and knowledge of mathmatics, science and technology. That's a win/win
    situation for all involved, including our Nation and national interest.

    If you have children, you can go to their website (see blogroll), and find
    out if your child's school can have a program established. At any rate,
    it's a good sight and well worth checking out.    

    I would like to dedicate this post to the men who are never talked about.
    They died in T-38s, an F-104, an X-15, and even a commercial airliner
    accident. They had three things in common- they were flying to advance
    the manned space program, they were Astronauts, and they are
    remembered and honored by The Astronauts Memorial Foundation.

                          Theodore C. Freeman
                          Charles A. Basset
                          Elliot M. See, Jr
                          Clifton C. Williams, Jr
                          Michael J. Adams
                          Robert H. Lawrence
                          Manley L. "Sonny" Carter, 
                                              

                                                     -AmeriDan