Diary of a Shuttle Launch Enthusiast: STS-130 Launch Coverage

We’re in the final stages of the countdown of both STS-130, the final night launch of the space shuttle, and possibly the U.S. manned space program–at least for quite some time.

President Obama’s recent announcement regarding the approved 2011 budget for NASA effectively cancels the next phase of the manned space program for the U.S., focusing instead on technology development and robotic space missions exploring our solar system and beyond.

Covering space shuttle launches has became a hobby for me since I saw my first launch, STS-114, the Return to Flight mission of Discovery and the first space shuttle launch since the Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003. I was hooked. Feeling the rush of the launch shockwave left me breathless (and teary-eyed) and I was determined to return for every launch remaining in the space shuttle program. I’ve kept my word and now find myself at the sad and final five launches of the shuttle program.

As I’ve written before in this blog, shuttle launch watching can be a trying game with many scrubs for weather or technical reasons, endless hours waiting to see if the countdown will continue. However, everything is looking quite good for the 4:39am ET launch of Endeavour early on Sunday morning with weather predictions improved to an 80% chance for a successful launch.

—Image courtesy of NASA. The STS-130 mission patch represents the cupola and the image of Earth is the first photograph of the Earth taken from the moon by Lunar Orbiter I on August 23, 1966.

STS-130 will be delivering the Tranquility node to the International Space Station. The special feature of this node is the cupola, providing a panoramic view of earth for the space station inhabitants. You may already be familiar with the Tranquility node and not realize it: it was named via votes on the NASA website. The name “Colbert” actually won the polling (fans voted in honor of TV personality Stephen Colbert), however NASA selected Tranquility as the final name. Stephen Colbert instead had the C.O.L.B.E.R.T. (Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill) exercise machine named after him, which launched on STS-128 and will be moved into the cupola so space station residents can work out in full view of the earth below.

I’ll be posting here throughout the launch, beginning with the 8:00am ET rotation of the RSS tomorrow morning (the RSS or Rotating Service Structure protects the shuttle when it is on the launch pad and is “rolled back” to reveal the shuttle 15-20 hours before launch).

For those of you who were curious what “STS” stands for, it’s quite simple: Space Transportation System.

—Susan Poulton works for National Geographic Digital Media and is a self-proclaimed space geek. Since graduating from Space Camp in 1987, she’s been fascinated by all things space and can’t resist sharing this passion with others. A veteran of 12 launches (and over 30 launch attempts), she has attempted to see every space shuttle launch since STS-114 in 2005.