Remember Sputnik, Moon Walk, and Space Shuttles?

World Space Week just passed, a celebration of science and technology and how they have improved our lives.  The United Nations General Assembly created this special week to commemorate the October 1957 launch of the first human-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, which opened the way for space exploration, and the 1967 signing of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.

Now that we know what Space Week is all about, let’s talk about how you’ve experienced the space program in your life.  (Besides watching Astronaut Wolowitz on the Big Bang Theory.)

What I’m wondering is do you remember where you were when man first landed on the moon? Were your parents watching it on television?  Mine were.  That night I recall looking out the window, pointing to the moon saying, “I see him!”  Silly, I know, but I was only 3.

I remember being in awe of the space shuttle when it was brand new.  Do you remember first seeing it attached to that 747?  Images like that seemed so new and strange at the time.

I’ll bet you remember where you were when the space shuttle Challenger exploded.  I was in the laundry room of my college dorm and my floormate told me the news.  Ugh.  That’s one of those moments I’ll never forget.

Have you ever gone to watch the launch of a space shuttle?  Have you ever met an astronaut?  Do you know anyone whose experiments were done in space?