The UP
Aerospace launch from Spaceport America on April 28, just outside of Las
Cruces, New Mexico, was historic for many reasons, which one could guess by the
amount of media attention it drew. It was the first launch from the spaceport
that actually went into space!
The targeted
trajectory would bring it up to a 70 mile apogee, but rumor has it,
it went nearly 80 miles. There were 200 cremains on a payload just below the
nose cone, behind a painted American flag, courtesy of Celestis - http://www.memorialspaceflights.com/legacy.asp.
There were also student experiments aboard.
Among the
ashes were a portion of what I collected off of my car windshield wiper on
September 11, 2001, in Park Slope Brooklyn, a mile and a half directly downwind
of Ground Zero. I had collected the ashes in hopes of getting them tested to
see what poisons they might contain. It dawned on me some years later that I
could use Celestis' service to finally get the closure I longed for. Like many
New Yorkers, I never had a "normal" way of mourning the tragedy.
Launching the ashes represented the fact that we will not let terrorism (or any
terrestrial issues for that matter) deter us from thinking about the future in
a positive way. It symbolized lighting a giant candle in memory of that day and
the hard times that followed. I invited my friends who had also suffered a
great deal from 9-11 to find their own meaning in the launch. Unfortunately
none of them could make it, being the hard working New Yorkers they are, but I was
on the phone with several of them and it really lifted their spirits.
Originally
the 9-11 ashes were to fly on a SpaceX Falcon 1 from Vandenberg Air Force Base,
but after some delays, Celestis gave customers the option of moving a portion
of their payload to the smaller UP Aerospace rocket.
Not only
was this convenient for my family, who still live in Las Cruces, but the launch
was very meaningful to me for a few reasons. I have been following the progress
of private
space companies for 15 years, and have been a fan of the XPrize competition
since 1996, which in large part helped to make this space port a reality. It
also felt very close to home when I was interviewed by a local film crew
Celestis hired to cover the event, and the man holding the microphone was the
drummer in my first rock band that performed in Las Cruces in the early 1980s!
Since those early days I have found my place in the world writing space-themed
music, mainly in a band called ZIA, which I named after the New Mexico state
flag in 1991, a Navajo Sun symbol that I always felt looked like a vertical
launch pad. The fact that so much is happening for space just outside of my
home town is both amazing and surreal.
One
advantage of launching a portion of the ashes on UP Aerospace's rocket is that
we will all get our payloads back after they have flown into space. When the
ashes are returned, I will be giving a commemorative plaque to Rudy Giuliani to
thank him for keeping New Yorkers sane after that horrible day. His leadership
will never be forgotten. I will present the ashes in a special display to
President George Bush to thank him for promoting an initiative for ongoing
human space flight beyond Earth orbit
during this
time of war. One thing that brought me out of my shock and made me finally shed
much needed tears after 9-11 was when I saw the first war protests in Union
Square. I thought surely, if we go to war at this point in time, we will not
have the resources to send humans to space for a very long time. Like many
people I know, my life revolves around the prospect of humans eventually
getting into space permanently.
When
President Bush announced his New Vision for Space
Exploration Program in January of 2004, I felt great satisfaction in
knowing that even if his plan does not follow through with perfection, at least
someone in power is pushing the initiative. And should the government not take
the reins, over the course of the last few years we have seen private space
companies build real hardware - and real spaceships that have already carried
humans into space. We are not giving up on space - no matter what - and that is
what the launch of these 9-11 ashes symbolized to me.
Although
launching the 9-11 ashes was a giant moment for me, it was a small part of the
launch itself. So many other precious payloads were onboard. Chris Pancratz,
Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Space Society, flew, and
another portion of his cremains will be on the next Celestis payload on the
Falcon 1 launching from Vandenberg.
Chris will
be remembered dearly by members of the NSS. He was very helpful to our NYC
Chapter, always listening to our ideas with enthusiasm.
Understandably,
the reason for the massive amount of media attention was that James Doohan
(Scotty from Star Trek) flew, as well as Mercury 7 astronaut, Gordon Cooper.
Their widows were both present and spoke eloquently at the service. We were all
honored to be part of this, not only as Star Trek fans and space nuts, but the
press was also welcome, and they were open to listening to everyone's stories.
Several networks interviewed me about the 9-11 ashes, which is something I
originally meant to keep private. The enthusiasm was so tremendous that I felt
open to sharing my story in hopes that it may help others feel closure about
the tragic event as well. This, along with hundreds of other loved ones' cremains,
student experiments, and the historic nature of the flight in general, must
have weighed heavily on the shoulders of those responsible for carrying out the
flight.
The launch
itself went very smoothly except for brief periods where tracking was lost, but
perhaps that was a normal situation. The sounding rocket flew over the Organ
Mountains and into White Sands Missile Range where they regained tracking in
plenty of time for the landing. The rocket split in two, opened two parachutes
and landed in the Missile Range where they have a vast amount of experience in
payload recovery. The amount of empty land, clear skies, and a missile range
just over the mountains that can coordinate on missions such as this make this the
perfect site for a private spaceport. Space enthusiasts will appreciate this
flight for showing a business model for future business in space.
Celestis,
who was a customer of UP Aerospace, prides itself on being a quality funeral service
that happens to do business in space. Local industry such as the vendors at the
launch site, nearby hotels and restaurants in Hatch, Las Cruces and Alamogordo
all benefited from the event.
In closing,
it may be interesting to describe the atmosphere along the dusty drive to the
spaceport. It is as in-the-middle-of-nowhere as you can get within the United
States. At one point, as we drove to and from the site, several beautiful
horses crossed the road. They must belong to one of the local ranches. Shortly
after that, four cows sauntered along the road blocking our car. Jackrabbits
and lizards scurried across the road in front of us, having a lot more sense of
"getting out of the way" than the
cows did. A
turtle tried to find shade under my Dad's car. Along the way were police to
wave us along, which was reassuring when the only other clues are tiny little
signs that read "Spaceport America" with an arrow, every so often. At
one point you have to drive through a rancher's gate, into his yard, to get to
the rest of the road. Of course, nothing is paved and massive amounts of dust
gets stirred up as cars go by. This will all change. Although it was within an
uncomfortably small margin, the spaceport tax bill just
passed last month!
What else
is one to do if lighting a little birthday candle in Union Square does not fit
the bill of mourning such a horribly dark day? I finally got to light a
properly sized candle, and get my long-awaited closure for 9-11. I want to
thank UP Aerospace for providing the candle, and Celestis for the opportunity.
When the Falcon 1 lifts off from
Vandenberg
Air Force Base later this year, I will get to light an even bigger candle and
dream of our future in space when the payload re-enters the atmosphere like a
shooting star.
Elaine Walker serves as a
National Space Society Region 8 Chapters organizer.
NOTE: The views of this
article are the author's and do not reflect the policies of the National Space
Society.
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