The Right Stuff

OK, I semi-lied but I forgot the shuttle was landing today. I gazed out the window this morning - the stars were so bright and I tried to imagine the astronauts sneaking a last glimpse of their journey in space.

Around 6:21 I heard the sonic BOOM from Shuttle Atlantis landing. It sounded like someone stomping twice on the roof of the house. I didn't feel a shake (I was upstairs) but it just sounded like a big knock or stomp. I've heard louder ones - where it's deafening. This wasn't too loud.

I watched the landing on TV and got a few pictures (like the dork I am).



Shuttle approach - about a minute after the boom




Shuttle Landing Safely



And so our quote of the day from The Right Stuff:

There was a demon that lived in the air. They said whoever challenged him would die. Their controls would freeze up, their planes would buffet wildly, and they would disintegrate. The demon lived at Mach 1 on the meter, seven hundred and fifty miles an hour, where the air could no longer move out of the way. He lived behind a barrier through which they said no man could ever pass. They called it the sound barrier.