A Walk Between (Large) Buildings at the Space Center (Kennedy Space Center, Florida)

As I walked between buildings at work today that holds lots of history, I remember the faces of those hard working and dedicated Engineers walking with their respective Space Shuttle System Books, and others such as Technicians, Administrators, Cafeteria Cooks, Facility Maintenance and a whole lot of other workers that made up the Space family. It has been almost 4 long years and now I see nothing but, weeds growing between the cracks of decaying Asphalt as I walk alone in the vast emptiness of this super large parking lot.

My close friends no longer share my continued labor as some moved on to retirement and others will soon join them at the first week of February. Now I join the SILENCE of a great Space Center that was once filled with almost 9,000 people more than some small towns and I look up and the only thing I see are Buzzards in the air.....

Today, I turned in my Operational Digital Headset to the respective contractor that maintains this hardware as I no longer have any Rocket, or any International Space Station hardware to test. It was a very long walk from the Operations Support Building #2 (OSB-2) to the Launch Control Center (LCC) as I walked where many have once filled the parking lot with their cars and themselves.

All I can see is the large United States Flag on the Vertical Assembly Building (VAB) and wonder what will we have in the future as a Nation. Will China win us over in Space? Will our children enjoy the fruits of a nation that leads in Technology or will they will be forever be in slaved in working for another Country in less than ideal levels of standards of living and education? It was a warm and super calm day with occasional clouds coming and going and yet I see the mighty and beautiful United States of America flag forever on the large and tall VAB building wondering....as I too my year will come to finally retire or move on....but, I fear for our children's future as I just do not see that many going to Engineering, Mathematics or Science majors. All I see is Universities full of students from overseas!

What you say???

I say its sad. I believe it was one of our president's true blunders to remove our space capabilities which we had spent years building. I believe the root of our problems is our government, which has gone out of its way to make it difficult for the middle class to live in this county. This is no part is due to the great number of lobbyists fighting hard for our congressperson's attention and big business interest's. This should be outlawed!!

Originally Posted by PittSpecial

A Walk Between (Large) Buildings at the Space Center (Kennedy Space Center, Florida)

As I walked between buildings at work today that holds lots of history, I remember the faces of those hard working and dedicated Engineers walking with their respective Space Shuttle System Books, and others such as Technicians, Administrators, Cafeteria Cooks, Facility Maintenance and a whole lot of other workers that made up the Space family. It has been almost 4 long years and now I see nothing but, weeds growing between the cracks of decaying Asphalt as I walk alone in the vast emptiness of this super large parking lot.

My close friends no longer share my continued labor as some moved on to retirement and others will soon join them at the first week of February. Now I join the SILENCE of a great Space Center that was once filled with almost 9,000 people more than some small towns and I look up and the only thing I see are Buzzards in the air.....

Today, I turned in my Operational Digital Headset to the respective contractor that maintains this hardware as I no longer have any Rocket, or any International Space Station hardware to test. It was a very long walk from the Operations Support Building #2 (OSB-2) to the Launch Control Center (LCC) as I walked where many have once filled the parking lot with their cars and themselves.

All I can see is the large United States Flag on the Vertical Assembly Building (VAB) and wonder what will we have in the future as a Nation. Will China win us over in Space? Will our children enjoy the fruits of a nation that leads in Technology or will they will be forever be in slaved in working for another Country in less than ideal levels of standards of living and education? It was a warm and super calm day with occasional clouds coming and going and yet I see the mighty and beautiful United States of America flag forever on the large and tall VAB building wondering....as I too my year will come to finally retire or move on....but, I fear for our children's future as I just do not see that many going to Engineering, Mathematics or Science majors. All I see is Universities full of students from overseas!

What you say???

Sad, and demoralising!

We'd much rather squabble amongst ourselves (and particularly within US political factions) than act as inquisitive, bold humans and get together and face a much bigger 'common' enemy.

An 'enemy' that teaches us much about ourselves and gives us so many benefits as part of our struggles.

My family and I well remember one of our holidays to Nasa, standing in the Apollo 11control room whilst the historical simulation was played out on the main screen. Even then the tension was amazing.

The sheer size of the VAB etc was astounding.

To me, this half-hearted Mars thing is but a distraction, purely meant to feed the media and kids that think everything is a video game!

Why we haven't a permanent base on the Moon by now defeats me - and, I suspect, saddens the brave astronauts that risked all their lives..

Let's perhaps hope that others will rediscover their thirst for space exploration soon!

Originally Posted by Norman Adlam

Sad, and demoralising!

Let's perhaps hope that others will rediscover their thirst for space exploration soon!

Norman,

Thank you for your post. I can tell you that "others" have DISCOVERED their thirst for Space Exploration!!! The bad news is the flag is not ours!!