How I accidentally Achieved My Life-Long Ambition of Going Into Space
I was always a science fiction fan, and a big believer in human space exploration, from the time I learned to read. I expected to grow up into a world where people traveled around the solar system as routinely as they took the train from NYC to Washington, DC. I was going to be a space traveler - before they even invented the word "astronaut"! By the time I was in high school, I already had a plan to accomplish this goal.
When I went to college, parts of my plan unraveled - I was unable to major in physics or engineering, which I figured would be necessary. (These courses of study were not open to young women at the time.) However, I managed to get a summer job at Grumman Aviation, where they were building spacecraft! Details and backstory in another journal entry. I had a minor role in helping to build the Lunar Modules (or LEMS) used in Project Apollo.
Recently, in
minoanmiss's and
siliconshaman's journals, I got into conversations about the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and other former space vehicles, including the Lunar Modules, some of which had gotten left behind on the moon. The one that saved the Apollo 13 mission, and got the crew back to a safe Earth orbit, was sent into the atmosphere to burn up because it contained a radioactive power source, which could have caused trouble if the module crashed onto land or into the ocean.
I also found out that one lunar module, the one named "Snoopy" which had been assigned to the Apollo-10 mission, had never landed on the Moon at all. During the mission, the Lunar Module's engines were fired to send it into an orbit around the sun, probably somewhat parallel to Earth's orbit, and nobody today knows where it is, although there's a search being performed.
I happen to have touched one of the seats in the "Snoopy" LEM with my hands while it was still at the Grumman factory. Therefore, something of me really did go into space! Bits of my DNA are theoretically still present inside "Snoopy", and out there in the cold and darkness and vacuum, they're likely to survive until the sun expands in its death throes and burns everything out to the Earth's orbit. Or until some other explorers come along and try to determine what the strange little spacecraft's builders were like, and reconstruct human beings from the traces of DNA left by myself and other Grumman workers.
This is pretty bizarre to think about, although in a pleasant sort of way. It wasn't how I imagined I would get into space, but it'll do until I think of a better plan...
This entry was also posted at https://acelightning.dreamwidth.org/190065.html. Reply wherever you read it.
When I went to college, parts of my plan unraveled - I was unable to major in physics or engineering, which I figured would be necessary. (These courses of study were not open to young women at the time.) However, I managed to get a summer job at Grumman Aviation, where they were building spacecraft! Details and backstory in another journal entry. I had a minor role in helping to build the Lunar Modules (or LEMS) used in Project Apollo.
Recently, in
minoanmiss's and
siliconshaman's journals, I got into conversations about the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and other former space vehicles, including the Lunar Modules, some of which had gotten left behind on the moon. The one that saved the Apollo 13 mission, and got the crew back to a safe Earth orbit, was sent into the atmosphere to burn up because it contained a radioactive power source, which could have caused trouble if the module crashed onto land or into the ocean.
I also found out that one lunar module, the one named "Snoopy" which had been assigned to the Apollo-10 mission, had never landed on the Moon at all. During the mission, the Lunar Module's engines were fired to send it into an orbit around the sun, probably somewhat parallel to Earth's orbit, and nobody today knows where it is, although there's a search being performed.
I happen to have touched one of the seats in the "Snoopy" LEM with my hands while it was still at the Grumman factory. Therefore, something of me really did go into space! Bits of my DNA are theoretically still present inside "Snoopy", and out there in the cold and darkness and vacuum, they're likely to survive until the sun expands in its death throes and burns everything out to the Earth's orbit. Or until some other explorers come along and try to determine what the strange little spacecraft's builders were like, and reconstruct human beings from the traces of DNA left by myself and other Grumman workers.
This is pretty bizarre to think about, although in a pleasant sort of way. It wasn't how I imagined I would get into space, but it'll do until I think of a better plan...
This entry was also posted at https://acelightning.dreamwidth.org/190065.html. Reply wherever you read it.