Friday, November 21, 2008

A kid from my high school is on the International Space Station!

My good friend Kurt points out that I haven't made a single comment about the fact that astronaut Stephen Bowen, currently doing repairs on the International Space Station, is from my tiny home town.

He launched on the Space Shuttle Endeavor on Friday, November 14 and will be up there at least through Thanksgiving.

This guy was just two years ahead of me in high school and now he's 300 miles up...doing space walks and everything!


That's him! That's Stephen Bowen!

During one of the space walks, Bowen's partner, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper lost a tool bag while working on a joint that positions the solar arrays. This clip shows the exact moment it happened...



I can't even believe that Stephen Bowen is up there doing that for real! I didn't really know him but it is technically possible that he saw my high school band "Back Alley" play. And while that probably wasn't as thrilling as the moment he walked into the vacuum of space for the first time, it feels kind of cool for me!

Good luck Mission Specialist Bowen!

2 comments:

Domino Bianchi said...

Sometimes I walk down the street and wonder if there is a bag of tools about to drop on my head. I'm glad it's not paranoia, and has been confirmed as a legitimate possibility.

Tim Foil said...

Bags of tools are the new anvils.