July 20, 1999

Monday, July 19: Today, the group and I got to experience some amazing events that I will never forget. Even though the day ended with a little disappointment, the events leading up to the evening were spectacular. We started off early in the morning at the badging office trying to get our V.I.P. badges. Stephanie and her family had a little bit of trouble because they were Canadian, but we all got badges. Next, we headed out with one of the rangers for the wildlife preserve, which is actually made up of the Space Center's land. He took us on a wildlife tour. We viewed some alligators and an endangered bird called the scrubjay. The manatees never showed up, but we did see some flies the size of my head.

After the tour, we entered the Operations and Control building where we had our webcast. We all were interviewed by Linda, and then we got a chance to answer some questions from the people watching. It was a really neat experience and you can still find it on our website.

After only about 45 minutes of rest back at the hotel, we headed back out and met with a group of mostly women who we would end up spending the rest of the day with. It was really cool to see all these people from different magazines (including women magazines), TV stations, and other fields. A relative of the Wright Brothers was there along with a recording artist named Theresa. We were escorted by some astronauts, some of whom hadn't flown yet but were very anxious to.

With this group, we got a chance to tour some areas that we didn't get to yesterday. This included the Launch Control Center, where the launch is controlled from. It was really neat to see all the technology used for the launch. We also visited the inside of the Vehicle Assembly Building, where the shuttle is attached to the external tank and the rocket boosters. We learned about the process they use, and we also learned that in the end, the whole thing is connected to the launch pad with only four bolts! This building is absolutely huge.The last stop on the tour, and my favorite, was at the Orbiter Processing Facility. Not only did we get to walk under the belly of the orbiter Atlantis, but we also got to peer inside where they hold the payload. I took some awesome pictures, and I was really mystified by everything I saw.

After the tour, we all headed back to the visitor's center for dinner. There, I got to talk to Sally Ride and have my picture taken with her. Dan Golden, NASA's administrator, also talked to us, and we got to here the recording artist Teresa perform. Another neat thing about the dinner was the butter was in the shape of the orbiter.

The last thing we did before heading out to the launch site was we heard two of the women who had been with us for the day speak. The first was talking about controlling your body's functions to decrease motion sickness and other types of factors that could get in the way of the mission. The second speaker addressed the differences between males and females in a very humorous manner. Once both had talked, we were ready to head out to the Banana Creek launch site.

Before going straight to the bleachers, we all moved into one of the theaters at the Saturn V center hoping to hear the First Lady speak. Marissa and I, who were front and center about four feet from the podium, were especially excited. Unfortunately for us, however, her plane was late and we needed to head outside to view the launch.

The scene was really busy outside. The cameras were flashing and everyone was excited. We even saw Fabio there. The launch pad was magnificently lighted. As the countdown went on, everyone's hearts kept beating faster. When the clock reached six seconds, the launch was called off, however, but no one knew why. Anticipating it to start back up again, we all sat in silence. The announcer came on the speaker and said that the launch could not occur that evening. Everyone seemed down-hearted and headed out slowly to the buses. I was especially upset because while the other ambassadors will have a chance to see it if it launches in two days, I have to go home because of other commitments.

We learned later on that a faulty sensor detected that there was too much Hydrogen. If there is ever a question of safety, the launch cannot continue. Despite this dissappointing end, the rest of the day was a wonderful experience that I will never forget.