Sailboats and Shuttle

Arrival of Explorer, mock shuttle to Space Center, Houston

Explorer makes her final turn down the channel,  look away from the Radar!

From the Border, Texas Highway Patrol comes in for the festivities

Coming around the Clear Creek Channel bend

Mock Shuttle arriving at Kemah Bridge, Clear Lake in Texas from Cape Canaveral at KSC

Trying to get a good shot of the dogs with the shuttle

The Crowd arrives and pack the shores

June 1, 2012

2 Coast Guard Helicopters, NASA helicopter (photographing the shuttle's arrival), thousand of observers turned out at lunchtime for Fridays arrival of the mock Space Shuttle (which is made of plywood) but amazing to see a lifesize model of the shuttle coming under the Kemah bridge (1977 Saturn V, on loan from Smithsonian Institute, came through here to its present residence at NASA now inside a building due to salt air and humidity damaging the metal).  I meet 2 former NASA engineers who worked on Apollo missions and loved hearing their tales of life with NASA in 1960s.

It was a leisure day for everyone.  One old guy leaving after the shuttle had an open Busch beer in his cupholder. 

We went to the Space Center, the next day, to tour the museum where we viewed the Saturn V and loved the Skylab in the Space Gallery.  Very cool if you are into space travel.  I have always been fascinated by exploring the outer limits, since I attended the week long space camp in 1987, Huntsville, Al.  I loved hearing Astronaut Eugene Cernan stories of landing on the moon and returning to Earth.