Let’s go back to October 29th, 1998. I was in 8th grade at the time. I don’t recall if I knew the launch of Glenn was happening that day – I want to think I was aware – but for whatever reason early in the afternoon that Thursday the students assembled in the school gym to watch something – I had no idea what at the time, I don’t think. Once they fired up the TV’s (some massive CRT’s, remember this was 1998) I was delighted to see a somewhat familiar view – a Space Shuttle stack sitting on the launch pad down at Kennedy Space Center.
That’s when I knew what I was in for – a chance to watch a Space Shuttle launch while in school! You have to remember in those days it was very rare to even see a launch on TV. Yeah, CNN and the like would air them but I had to know ahead of time it was happening, and be home to be able to see the launch. This was well before I had internet access, let alone a computer, so I couldn’t just look up when the next one was to happen, and certainly sites like YouTube weren’t even close to being a thing, so live streams and recordings of launches, even if I had a computer and internet access, just weren’t a thing then – not in any practical capacity anyway.
This was indeed a very rare treat to see.
I recall the countdown happening on schedule, seeing that always beautiful main engine ignition and liftoff. This was still in the standard definition days, so the picture we got wasn’t anything too special, but it was the quality we were used to and still something to enjoy. Incidentally, this mission was the first broadcast in ATSC – the United States HDTV standard – but being this was 1998 only a few specialty locations had the equipment to actually display this broadcast and, interestingly enough, I can’t find any HD clips of the launch so… it is what it is. I was happy just to get to see the launch.
Move 2 minutes in, SRB separation. I recall counting it down to nearly the exact second, but my peers were quite shocked to see the boosters separate. Obviously, a bunch of 13-year-olds wouldn’t know a damn thing about how the Space Shuttle operated, so this event was a surprise to them – for me, it was just another sign everything was fine.
This was before onboard cameras accompanied every shuttle flight, so as the vehicle climbed away it became nothing more than a glowing dot in a deep blue sky, with only radio callouts letting us know everything was fine. By 8 minutes after liftoff the crew was safely in orbit, but by that time I’m certain we were already done.
I don’t recall much else of that day, us going back to class or anything, but the fact that, for whatever reason, they felt having us sit in for a Space Shuttle launch was a good idea is one of the few positive memories I have regarding middle school.
As mentioned before, in 2010 I would find a random framed Space Shuttle launch photo while at a local Goodwill. That launch would turn out to be STS-95. It’s hung on my wall ever since I moved into this house, sitting right by my computer, acting as a reminder of the times when I could genuinely enjoy space and rocketry, but, as always, that’s another story for another time.
20 Years Ago: John Glenn’s Return To Space: The Launch Of STS-95