A New Endeavour
I had a reason to want to watch the space shuttle take-off from the Kennedy Space Center on Youtube last night. One of the astronauts on board, Stephen Bowen, is my youngest sister Trish’s brother-in-law. Stephen was my wedding party escort at Trish’s wedding in 1991. Back then, we joked about my being a Peace Activist Bridesmaid to his Naval Officer Groomsman. At that time, he worked on a submarine. Now, I guess Steve, a father of three from the small coastal town of Cohasset, Massachusetts, can say he’s been from the bottom of the ocean to the far reaches of space.
At 7:55 p.m. Eastern Standard Time the Endeavour blasted off, going at a rate of 1,000 miles per hour and gaining by the time it was just 6 miles from the launch pad. Headed for the International Space Station, the seven member crew will spend 15 days performing basic maintenance on the station before returning to Earth. 
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – Space shuttle Endeavour raced toward the international space station on Saturday for a home makeover job after a brilliant moonlit launch … The shuttle and its seven astronauts blasted into orbit Friday night on a mission to redo the insides of the space station, adding some extra bedrooms and a spare bathroom and kitchenette … “It’s our turn to take home improvement to a new level after 10 years of international space station construction,” commander Christopher Ferguson called out. Besides enough Thanksgiving turkey dinners to go around, Endeavour is carrying thousands of pounds of equipment for the space station, most notably a revolutionary recycling system to turn urine into drinking water.
Because I don’t get Fox or CNN, I watched the launch just after it happened on youtube. From takeoff until it was a bright ball disappearing into space, it took less than five minutes. My youngest nephews, Matthew and Patrick Bowen, who were on site with their parents and the rest of the Bowen family during the launch, admire and look up to their Uncle Steve. And on this night they had to look really really far.
Post notes: Update on the successful launch is HERE. See the video HERE. Read the Quincy Patriot Ledger story on Steven in which my sister and her husband Danny are quoted HERE.
November 15th, 2008 1:30 pm
Gosh, that is really amazing! To be that closely related to a real astronaut is something. How great that you were able to see it on youtube!
November 15th, 2008 3:52 pm
How about that! Six degrees of separation 🙂
November 15th, 2008 6:32 pm
GO, Stephen!! That’s fantastic, and I hope their mission goes well.
November 15th, 2008 7:59 pm
This is a great Entry and it is hard to believe we know the guy. xo
November 15th, 2008 10:36 pm
Thank God for Youtube and the connection you maintain with this courageous guy. I enjoyed your post!
November 16th, 2008 7:44 am
Good entry Colleen. I’m still on cloud nine about the entire adventure! I can’t imagine what it felt like to actually be there.
And lucky Matt and Pat. Because of their uncle they have enjoyed a life changing event.
I love it!
I’m feeling proud.
November 16th, 2008 11:23 am
And we’re not going to feel fully grounded until Steve and the rest are back on earth.
November 16th, 2008 1:12 pm
Colleen,
That is too cool! To know someone who has been up in space…it boggles my mind…
November 16th, 2008 5:39 pm
How wonderful for you to be so close to something so exciting. Darn good looking too—I assume he is married? 😉 Ain’t the Internet grand in how it links all of us…rural and city?
November 17th, 2008 11:33 am
What an exciting career! I’ve never known an astronaut in person…very cool that you do, but I imagine it is hard not to worry as well as being excited. He certainly is a handsome fellow too! I would be terrified to go up but I think the view in space from those shuttles even through the TV screen is one of the most beautiful things ever.
November 17th, 2008 10:19 pm
It’s little sister Trish here….just in from “Cloud Nine”….and that’s putting it mildly considering I’m still on it! Viewing this launch was so unbelievable that putting it into words is difficult. We had a perfect moonlit night….as close as humanly possibly and allowable by NASA and overlooking the water….hearts pounding, the clock ticking and then a sight like no other you’ve ever seen before. And to think that man and science created all of this? How awesome is that? The noise was there too but I imagined it would be louder but maybe the breeze carried some of it away. Now Danny and Jackie will fly back on Thanksgiving to witness the landing with their parents and a few select others. Then we’ll all really feel at totally at ease again. xo
November 18th, 2008 10:47 am
Though only 80 miles away I felt like I could touch it, and the beauty and excitement lives with me still, a big full moon on the right endeavor to the left vying for my attention marvelous
March 4th, 2011 11:30 am
[…] what was called by the press as space station “home improvements.” You can read that post HERE. NASA officially retires its space shuttle program this […]