Simple Things Can Mean A Lot To People

Video report of Atlantis visit to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky

Reader note: “The narrator did not seem to realize for whom “Rick Husband Airport” in Amarillo is named.”

Space Shuttle Atlantis Lands At Fort Campbell, News Channel 5

Reader note: “The shuttle ferry landed at Ft. Campbell Army base today, since the weather is bad at KSC. I live in Nashville, Tennessee, and Ft Campbell TN/KY is about an hour and a half drive. As soon as I heard that the shuttle ferry landed at Ft. Campbell this morning, I took off early from work and drove to the base. You would not believe the crowds. It took me three hours to get on the base to have a chance to see Atlantis. There were tons of kids with there parents. The kids, and the grownups too, were in awe at the sight of Atlantis. What better PR for NASA! A lot more exciting than some of PAO’s attempts to woo the public for sure.”

“The only bad thing was the public could not get as close up to Atlantis as we could when the shuttle ferry landed with Columbia at Ft. Campbell back in 1998, when the shuttle ferry stayed at the base for several days because of bad weather at KSC. Back then, we could stand under the wings and fuselage of the 747 ferry. Today, we had to stand much further away, behind fencing, because of homeland security rules, which are sad, but understandable.

Seeing Atlantis today was a little bittersweet for me. I remembered seeing Columbia back in 1998, and had a tear in my eye today, as I remembered watching NASA TV on that sad day, back in 2003, and realizing that Columbia was gone. That was the worst day in my life for me since 9/11.

Hail Atlantis … Hail Columbia!”