Gary Ayala
Well-Known Member
STS Columbia's maiden landing from space of the Space Shuttle program.
Edwards AFB, California
Nikon F2 w/ Nikkor 300mm - Tri-X (@ ASA 1600)
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- Thread starter Gary Ayala
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STS Columbia's maiden landing from space of the Space Shuttle program.
Edwards AFB, California
Nikon F2 w/ Nikkor 300mm - Tri-X (@ ASA 1600)
Tony Warren
Well-Known Member
What a momentous event to witness, Gary. One of the very greatest achievements that has led to so much more - ISS, Hubble etc.
Gary Ayala
Well-Known Member
It was pretty inspiring and exhilarating. The shuttle was flung into space with the most powerful engines even crafted by man ... yet silently floated back to earth and landed without any power at all. Just that very concept was/is simply inconceivable to me. Give NASA and JPL credit for thinking that something so crazy could theoritically work ... then make it actually happen.
The shuttle was engineered and fabricated by Rockwell in Palmdale, California. While having a very early morning coffee at the Edwards AFB cafeteria I couldn't help but notice Rockwell personnel walking around, (also with mugs of coffee), with "Space Division" embossed on their jackets. I vividly remember thinking "Wow ... this single American company has a Space Division ... most countries in the world don't have a Space Division."
