This morning I woke early to make my way to the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC to say goodbye to an old friend. Not that I had any physical connection to her, the way my colleagues who are engineers and technicians have had. But, we do share a little history.
In 1986 I was teaching 8th grade Earth Science the fateful morning we lost Challenger and her crew. My students knew my interest in space and saw how much it affected me. I continued to push forward, emphasizing the gains of such a dangerous enterprise. I emphasized the commitment of the nation with the news in 1987 of a new orbiter, OV-105, to be built out of structural spare parts, and to replace the lost vehicle.
Then in the following year, NASA announced the honor of naming the new orbiter would go to school students. The 'Name the Orbiter' contest began, where student groups would prepare projects to promote their choice of a name. My students wanted to enter the contest, and we selected the name Endeavour. Our project was to paint a life size orbiter outline in the parking lot, using math to determine size based on a scale model of the shuttle. We also included a packet about the name, making the discovery that the original Endeavour was used by James Cook to circumnavigate the globe doing scientific research, including witnessing a transit of Venus from the South Pacific.
When the finalists were selected, we were not among them, although the name Endeavour was selected and we all felt a pride that it was our choice. The next year I was hired by NASA, and on hand to witness the first launch of our namesake. Now, 24 years later, and too soon in my opinion, she is on her way to a retirement in California, the state of her birth.
Godspeed, Endeavour. May you continue to inspire in exhibit as you did in flight.
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