Female Frontiers Ambassadors Witness STS 93 Launch - Finally!

July 23, 1999

It had been a long week for Female Frontiers Ambassadors Marissa Mueller, Stephanie Wong, and Sabrina Kurtz. These three young women paid a recent visit to Kennedy Space Center to witness the launch of STS 93 and to take part in a Learning Technologies Web Cast. What was going to be a web cast of the launch featuring their visit turned out to be a series of three web casts. Unfortunately, Sabrina had to depart prior to the launch, but she was with us in spirit!

The first web cast began on Monday, July 19 at 11:30 p.m. and would continue until July 20, 1999, at 12:36 a.m. EDT, the original scheduled date of the STS 93 launch. As most of you know, that launch was halted at 6.5 seconds before liftoff due to a faulty sensor reading. Although the girls were a bit disappointed, they handled the cancellation like real troopers noting that safety was paramount to launch operations. They vowed to come back for the rescheduled launch date of July 22, 1999, at 12:28 a.m. EDT - and did!

July 21 was looking great! We set up once again that evening and the webcast was underway! The countdown was progressing very smoothly. About 45 minutes prior to launch, we all noticed a flash. Was it a flash from a camera? No, it was lightning - not a favorable thing for launch operations. The lightening continued, and the controllers extended the launch window in the hope that the storm would pass and the launch would go forward. Finally, the launch window expired and the announcement came over the Kennedy Space Center Press Site loudspeakers that the launch would once again have to be delayed. Disappointment, but understanding yet again. Then it was announced that the launch would be delayed for only 24 hours! The new launch time for STS 93 was now July 23, 1999, at 12:24 a.m. EDT. The girls and their parents all huddled together and decided they would stay for the rescheduled launch much to the delight of Linda Conrad and myself.

On the morning of July 22, I received a call from a colleague that the encoder and equipment that we had been using would have to be picked up and forwarded to Georgia in support of another ongoing project. After a brainstorming session with Linda Conrad, Kate Weisberg, Marc Siegel, and myself, we decided the show must go on and decided to try something a bit out of the ordinary. We would have a web cast using audio and interaction through the Quest chat room featuring the Female Frontiers Ambassadors. The only element that was missing in comparison to the previous web cast was the video portion.

So, the plan was made and everyone hung together as a team. It was now time to set up for the presentation! Unlike the other setups, this one was quite easy. Linda Conrad (right) brought her Laptop to take questions from the Quest Chat Room that would be answered by our remaining Female Ambassadors Stephanie Wong (left) and Marissa Mueller (center). I set the phones up and documented the entire event on film. Kate Weisberg from the Learning Technologies Channel would later use the film to digitize and archive it with the STS 93 series. Just as planned, the web cast began at 11:45 p.m. on the night of July 19. The enthusiasm was high, and the questions from the chat room began to pour in (Thanks to all of our chat room participants). Linda, Marissa, and Stephanie were having a lot of fun and the anticipation of launch was high. We all watched as the countdown clock continued to bring us closer and closer to launch time. After the T-9 clock began the girls appeared very confident that the launch of STS 93 was REALLY going to happen and they were right! At 24 minutes past midnight, STS 93 and the Chandra payload lifted off from pad 39B, lighting up the night sky as if it were daytime and treating the girls to a spectacular sight. As impressive as this was, there was yet another surprise they were about to experience - the delayed shock wave from the launch. As Marissa tried to contain her enthusiasm and still tell the web cast audience what was happening the air was filled with a thunderous crackling sound from STS 93. Marissa was now shouting into the telephone in disbelief of the event that she was experiencing live from Kennedy Space Center. Their persistence paid off making this a trip they will always remember. I have witnessed many launches from Kennedy Space Center, both manned and unmanned, and, as always, I was in awe of this spectacular sight. To me it is a tribute to the cooperative effort of many innovative scientists, engineers, and support personnel - a true national treasure!

I will leave you with this final picture that demonstrates the amazement and delight of the Female Frontiers Ambassadors and Space Team Online Project Manager, Linda Conrad. I would also like to take a moment to wish Stephanie, Marissa, and Sabrina great success in the pursuit of their careers - hopefully with the space program. It was great working with each of you!

NOTE* To learn more about web cast technologies and how you can participate in these, please visit the Learning Technologies Channel at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/