by dolphin1Chester, Cheshire, England, UK
Jul 2011 1,609 Views 8 comments
Space Shuttle 1981 - 2011 - A tribute
NASA Space Shuttle 1981 - 2011
To continue in our quest into space
A new fleet of aircraft, to take the place
Of the Apollo spacecraft, old and worn
So a new type of craft was so welcomingly born!
Wings like an aero plane, but so much more
Flying to heights like no aircraft before!
Rockets to carry her above the earth’s sphere
Once disengaged, she was alone, that’s clear
7 men aboard her on a most historical flight
April 12 1981, must have been an amazing night
Cleared for lift-off the rockets boomed
Columbia in all of her glory, on the landscape loomed!
Her mission pure and simple
To put the systems to the test
To orbit the earth and safely return
Was all that could be hoped for, at best!
Triumphantly she won the day, an amazing feat indeed
As she re entered the earth’s atmosphere, at unprecedented speed
Gracefully she approached the runway, John Young and his team
As the elated Commander of this flight, completed an impossible dream!
Other shuttles followed, to join this amazing fleet
Of reusable winged spacecraft, an aircraft hard to beat
Challenger was lost to us, in the quest for outer space
Endeavour was built to stoically take her place
The missions they have carried out, have enabled us to explore
With the placing of the Hubble Telescope
Beaming back pictures down to earth
That we could have never seen before!
To build an international space station, so very near its completion
In July 2011, we will see the Shuttle deletion!
With just flight remaining the fleet will enter history!
We wonder what will follow them, what sort of craft it will be!
To all of the crews who have flown with them
We admire their courage and vision
To the crew of the Atlantis flight
We wish you a safe, successful, final mission!!
Elizabeth Ostafijczuk
To continue in our quest into space
A new fleet of aircraft, to take the place
Of the Apollo spacecraft, old and worn
So a new type of craft was so welcomingly born!
Wings like an aero plane, but so much more
Flying to heights like no aircraft before!
Rockets to carry her above the earth’s sphere
Once disengaged, she was alone, that’s clear
7 men aboard her on a most historical flight
April 12 1981, must have been an amazing night
Cleared for lift-off the rockets boomed
Columbia in all of her glory, on the landscape loomed!
Her mission pure and simple
To put the systems to the test
To orbit the earth and safely return
Was all that could be hoped for, at best!
Triumphantly she won the day, an amazing feat indeed
As she re entered the earth’s atmosphere, at unprecedented speed
Gracefully she approached the runway, John Young and his team
As the elated Commander of this flight, completed an impossible dream!
Other shuttles followed, to join this amazing fleet
Of reusable winged spacecraft, an aircraft hard to beat
Challenger was lost to us, in the quest for outer space
Endeavour was built to stoically take her place
The missions they have carried out, have enabled us to explore
With the placing of the Hubble Telescope
Beaming back pictures down to earth
That we could have never seen before!
To build an international space station, so very near its completion
In July 2011, we will see the Shuttle deletion!
With just flight remaining the fleet will enter history!
We wonder what will follow them, what sort of craft it will be!
To all of the crews who have flown with them
We admire their courage and vision
To the crew of the Atlantis flight
We wish you a safe, successful, final mission!!
Elizabeth Ostafijczuk
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Posted: Jul 2011
About this poem:
I have followed the Shuttle Program tirelessly, regretably never getting to see a live launch......and as the final flight of "Atlantis" is preparing - I wrote a tribute to all those who contributed to the continuation of Space TravelGod Speed Atlantis and all aboard - it will be a bitteer sweet mission
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Comments (8)
I enjoyed reading
I, too, marvel at space exploration and all of the individuals and national spirit and funding that has gone into making the endeavor successful. Thank you for sharing your poetic tribute!
I also would have loved to see a launch!