On July 4, 2006 Mike Fossum was a rookie astronaut making his first shuttle flight. At 2:38 p.m. EDT, Space Shuttle Discovery and the crew of STS-121 was off and running in a blast of sound and fury. “Oh boy ... oh my goodness ... what a kick in the pants that is,” Fossum says. After reaching an altitude of 50 miles – and it doesn’t take long to get there – Fossum and the other rookies on the flight were “officially” deemed flown astronauts. At 8 ½ minutes into the flight, Discovery was in its initial orbit and rocketing through space at a speed of 17,500 mph. The shuttle docked with the International Space Station, it was up to lead spacewalker Sellers and Fossum to get to work. Their three spacewalks totaled approximately 21 hours. Asked if he could possibly begin to describe the view, Fossum says simply, “I’ll try.” “It was just almost overwhelming to see the Earth, to see the curve of the Earth,” Fossum continues. “My full vision, from one side to the other, was almost unencumbered by this large bubble helmet that we’re in. The view is so much clearer (than from inside the Shuttle). The colors ... the vibrant colors ... the layers in the atmosphere on that thin band of atmosphere that you can see on the horizon ... I could’ve sat out there for hours just watching the Earth come by.”
On the fifth day of the flight it’s hard to tell if Mike Fossum was already awake - probably so. Rookie astronauts almost always wake up early. There’s too much to see, too much to do. He had a space walk that day and the view out his window? Spectacular!Still, for years, it’s been a NASA tradition that its explorers receive unique wakeup calls. The all-Navy crew of Apollo 12 was awakened to a bugle and boatswain’s pipe on its November 1969 journey to the Moon. There have been more than a few college fight songs and pieces of classical music. This was Mike’s wake up call.
Thanks to WorshipTogether.com for the original article and the link to the NASA video clip. Let’s all worship the God of Wonders today.
God Bless
Dan
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