"The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted..."

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 01/28/2015 at 09:06 • Filed to: spacelopnik, planelopnik

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"...it belongs to the brave." The words of President Ronald Reagan after Space Shuttle Challenger was lost on this day in 1986.

Tinfoil Hat in a thunderstorm, now with added diecast > ttyymmnn 01/28/2015 at 09:18

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Oh man, I'll never forget that. Dad would get me up out of bed for all the shuttle launches. I couldn't believe it when it blew up right there on TV, I was 13 and it still seems like yesterday in my mind. That feeling of disbelief was not felt by me until September 11, 2001.

Rock Bottom > Tinfoil Hat in a thunderstorm, now with added diecast 01/28/2015 at 09:49

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I'm with ya. I was 6 and the shuttle was the center of my universe. I didn't care much for cartoons or superheros, I wanted to watch spaceships and meet astronauts! I ended up working at NASA from 2009 to last March and the older guys still couldn't talk about Challenger (or Columbia, for that matter) without getting a little misty. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be in the organization at that time.

Tinfoil Hat in a thunderstorm, now with added diecast > Rock Bottom 01/28/2015 at 09:54

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That's very cool, getting to work at NASA! Living the dream. Any good tales?

Rock Bottom > Tinfoil Hat in a thunderstorm, now with added diecast 01/28/2015 at 10:18

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I worked in a wind tunnel at the NASA Ames Research Center, so I was part of the much less glamorous "First A in NASA". Not too many cool stories, but I will say that the people there are absolutely amazing. I'm an aerodynamicist at one of the Big Three now, and after spending 5 years surrounded by scientists and engineers that were thinking at such high levels, the auto industry is downright depressing. From the highest-level researchers to the mechanics and technicians, NASA is stocked with more scientific horsepower than most people can imagine. The average engineer in the auto industry has trouble with the basic laws of physics!

A while back I wrote brief history of the facility I worked at, the National Fullscale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC). Check it out if you're bored!

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/i-heart-experi…

Street Surgeon > ttyymmnn 01/28/2015 at 10:21

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Resnik was both a badass, and a total space babe!

Tinfoil Hat in a thunderstorm, now with added diecast > Rock Bottom 01/28/2015 at 10:24

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I will read that tomorrow, it's 2:20 am here(aus) and my pillow needs me. I imagine that the auto industry would be a let down after NASA! It'll be hard to top that.

Coachrotte33 > ttyymmnn 01/28/2015 at 12:51

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I remember this day as a rowdy kindergardner sitting with all my classmates watching. Such a pivotal time for me growing up.