Danny
Ten Years of Memories

The thing I will remember ten years from now is the Solid Rocket Booster. As we entered Kennedy Space Center, there was an actual External Tank and pair of Solid Rocket Boosters on display. I canÕt believe something that small can launch a rocket. You need millions of pounds of thrust to get off the ground.

The Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) are the things that get you off the ground. If they didnÕt exist, we wouldnÕt have a space station in orbit around the Earth going 17,500 mph. Solid Rocket Boosters use solid fuel. They give lots of power, but also cause pollution. We have been working for years to use liquid fuel, like we use in the external tank, to launch vehicles into space. For now, only the SRBs can get the shuttle off the ground. We saw BoeingÕs replacement for the SRB at the gantry observation display area. These reusable launch rockets will launch the shuttle separate and land back at the Kennedy Space Center unmanned. I think that is very cool. As we were leaving the observation gantry, we saw the SRB cargo compartment, being transported into Kennedy Space Center on a barge on the inter-coastal waterway. That is the thing I remember ten years from now.