Ocean Of Storms

Everybody talks about the weather, but NASA never does anything about it:

Thunderstorms are threatening to delay NASA's planned launch Saturday night of space shuttle Endeavour, already running a month late.

Endeavour is back from a series of hydrogen gas leaks for a third launch attempt. But forecasters say there is a 60 percent chance that storms could force a postponement.

Scary stuff coming from above!  The sky is falling!  The sky is falling!

Speaking of which, I recall spending part of my summer at NTodd's Pa's Wife's Folks' house in North Carolina in 1979 when Skylab was to crash to Earth.  The 30th anniversary is this weekend, and a small town in Western Australia is marking it:

This Sunday marks 30 years since parts of the NASA space station crashed over Esperance, scattering debris in and around the south coast town.

Merv Andre from the Esperance Historical Society says it is a significant anniversary.

"It could have been a tragedy and this is really a celebration of the fact that it landed safely," he said.

Esperance Shire president Ian Mickel says the foundation for a special Skylab monument will be unveiled on Sunday.

"Lots of people remember it, it's become an iconic event and it's certainly put Esperance on the map," he said.

Invited guests to Sunday's commemorations include an American radio host who raised $400 to pay the littering fine Esperance rangers imposed on the US Government in 1979.

The fine was finally paid off by a local radio host in April.

Anyway, the first manned Skylab mission was commanded by Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr.  Pete was also commander of Apollo 12, which was struck by lightning during its rainy launch (pictured on the right) a few months after I was born.  That caused more than a few problems with the spacecraft's platform, so I guess NASA became more cautious after that.

Conrad died 10 years ago this past Wednesday in a motorcycle accident (not unlike TE Lawrence), just a few weeks before Apollo 11's 30th anniversary.  July is a particularly busy month for significant dates this year.  Stormy, even.

ntodd