Getting Ready for Launch (L-10 Days!)

STS-135 Crew is finishing their final training and preparation at Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston. They will soon be entering quarantine and will fly back to Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida for the launch. Ground crews are finishing work preparing Shuttle Atlantis for launch. A leaky fuel pump was replaced on engine #3, final testing is underway.

Here in NY, we are preparing ourselves. Figuring out all the logistics, packing, travel times, all the various details as we get ready to head to KSC to view the launch! While I didn't get the NASATweetup tickets, I was able to get tickets for the whole family to watch from the visitors center! As we count down the days, then the hours, and those final 2 minutes, I will be sharing the experience on this blog.

On Saturday night, despite clouds, we were able to catch a couple glimpses of the International Space Station (ISS) as it flew over the northern sky. There is another flyover tonight (Monday) at 10:34 pm. The forecast isn't great, but if it clears enough, I will be back out there. It should be a great view tonight, very bright and almost directly overhead, just a bit to the north.

Meanwhile, we spent the weekend finishing this family Lego project... The cargo by contains a Canada arm and a satellite. Looks like Atlantis sitting on Launch Pad 39A don't you think?