The final night launch

This morning the Space Shuttle Endeavor lifted off for a mission to the International Space Station. This was the final night launch before the shuttle fleet is retired. Night launches hold a special place for me. Even though I have never been to Florida to see one in person, I have fond memories of getting up early in the morning with my dad to watch them on television. A few years ago I wrote this short story as an example to my students of a short personal narrative.

T-minus…

By Pete Darragh

A firm but gentle hand shook my shoulder, as I slowly became aware of my dad. “Peter, do you still want to get up? We only have a few minutes left.”

“Yeah dad, I’m ready.”

As I rolled out of bed, I noticed that it was still dark outside. The orange streetlight was glaring into my room, and I could just tell everything was quiet. Our cat Moonshadow prowled across my bedroom floor. There were only a few reasons I woke up when it was still dark out. Either my uncle was taking me fishing, or my dad and I were going to watch something special happen. I put on my robe and slippers, and went out to the front room.

My dad was already in the kitchen making hot chocolate. The light from the kitchen was so bright, but my eyes were slowly adjusting. My mom was still asleep because it was around 3:00 AM. This was a school day, and I knew I would be tired later, but my teacher would understand.

My dad came out with the hot chocolate. The mug was really hot. We turned the television on and switched channels until we found what we were looking for. The news broadcast showed a blue sky over Florida. There were birds flying around and a huge clock with a countdown timer going. There was less than one minute left on the clock. Dad sat down next to me, and we sipped our hot chocolate together. I wondered if he was burning his tongue too.

Closer and closer – I knew what would happen, but was really excited anyway. Sitting on the shelf nearby was a model of the space shuttle. In just a few seconds we would watch the real space shuttle thunder off toward space.

T-minus 10 seconds. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5… I sat closer to the edge of the couch, dared a quick glance at dad and smiled.

“Main engine start, 2, 1.. Liftoff of the space shuttle!” Announced the commentator, the excitement rising in his voice.

Dad and I watched as the space shuttle slowly cleared the launch tower, climbing towards the heavens. Birds scattered from Cape Canaveral, and white smoke billowed out from the thrusters and main engines. The shuttle began to roll around, gaining ever more and more speed. Soon, it would be going over 2000 miles per hour and then the thrusters would drop off the sides. The astronauts onboard must be having quite a ride!

After less than a minute, cameras could no longer follow the shuttle, it was too far away. The hot chocolate in my mug was cooler now; I forgot to drink it during the launch. Dad turned off the television and I headed off to bed.

“When is the next one dad?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but we’ll be sure to watch it!”

I laid down in my bed to catch a few hours sleep before school. As I fell back asleep, I thought of the astronauts on the space shuttle, looking down at Earth. Maybe they thought of all the people watching the launch, from their televisions, like my dad and I.