WELCOME BACK!

By: Brandt Secosh
August 3, 2000

It is time to start a new year of Space Team Online and we are looking forward to it! Let's start by welcoming you back to school. I hope each of you had a great summer and are ready for some of the exciting events that will be happening in the space program. Looking at the launch schedule, it has International Space Station written all over it! As many of you know, the Russian built Zvezda module is now a integral part of the International Space Station. Joined with Unity and Zarya, all of the on-orbit components create the third brightest object in the sky! The Earth's moon and Jupiter are the only objects brighter than the station! Did you know that you can view the International Space Station from your location with the naked eye? See for yourself! To find out what time, direction and elevation is best suited for your area, please visit http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ . This sight also works for the Space Shuttle when it is on-orbit. So, it looks like the Space Shuttle will have it's work cut out for the next two years with regular launches from Kennedy Space Center delivering and assembling the International Space Station! Please visit this site to have a look at the schedule:  http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/schedule/schedule.htm

A lot has changed over the summer here at KSC for us as well. We have gone through a major re-organization at the center and most of us have moved to new office locations. My new office is at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center - a very cool place rich in the history of our space program. Our office was very fortunate because we ended up with some very unique office locations. Just outside of my window, I have a very impressive garden. It is know as the Rocket Garden. I have to say that it is an inspiration every day to see these rockets standing majestically outside of my window. To me they represent the spirit of the space program and the foundation that has brought us to where we are today. The rockets from left to right are the Titan II ; Atlas Agena ; Juno II ; Mercury Atlas ; Delta ;  Redstone and the Juno I .

This is a photograph of a mock-up of the Apollo Command Module. Apollo was a three-part spacecraft consisting of the command module (CM), the crew's quarters and flight control section; the service module (SM) for the propulsion and spacecraft support systems (when together, the two modules are called CSM); and the lunar module (LM), to take two of the crew to the lunar surface, support them on the Moon, and return them to the CSM in lunar orbit. This first diagram will show you the launch configuration and the second will show detailed information of the CM & SM.
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http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/diagrams/ad004.gif

I couldn't resist this photograph opportunity. I am standing in front of a mural of some of my bigger than life heroes. They are the Mercury Seven. This site will explain the Mercury Seven in great detail. Be sure to read the biographies - they are excellent!!! My office location offers a glimpse of the past and as I mentioned the foundation of where we are now. The future is shaping up to be incredibly exciting. The International Space Station is becoming a reality and we will soon be putting our first crews onboard! The Space Team Online is looking forward to keeping you informed of the status of the station modules, and the delivery of them on the Space Shuttle. Once again - WELCOME BACK!