There Is Always A Reason For Everything

While at the NASA Tweetup this past week there was some casual talk regarding the launch delays. It seemed that every time NASA took one step closer to lighting that candle something would happen that would cause another delay. Day after day we went through one thing after another. At some point a comment was made…

“It seems as if Discovery doesn’t want to leave so soon for her final trip.”

After 26 years of service, this was to be the final mission for Discovery. She had been the shuttle chosen to fly after both the Challenger and Columbia disasters. She had a long and proud record of service. And she didn’t want to go, apparently. At least not quite yet.

This morning was the biggest setback, as cracks were found in her external tank. If she had launched on Monday, as scheduled, those cracks may not have been found and we could have had another disaster. I’d like to think that Discovery knew that it wasn’t time to go, that it wasn’t safe to go, and so one small thing after another would come up to delay everyone long enough in order to find those cracks.

After 26 years of service in NASA, Discovery knows that “safety first” isn’t just a slogan.

Thanks for a wonderful week, and godspeed to you when you do take that final flight.