 In 1998, I was at KSC for a project and they were going to launch Atlantis two days after we were there and I really wasn't told what to expect So I we we went out of the the building Five minutes before launch. I had my movie camera and I stood right by the control tower as I was filming and And I saw the lock the rockets light up and saw it lift. I really didn't hear anything About 10 seconds later as I was filming. I started to hear this faint roar and then it got louder and louder and then the vibration Went through the ground right through me like almost like an electrical shock and I was so Blown away. I probably looked like a cartoon character and I let go of the camera And I was you know, and I was kind of leaning back and watching it But filming it at the same time and I filmed I kept it in the The camera's view all the way to the point where you couldn't see it anymore. I Was the launch honoree and I was lucky enough to go see For a second time and the second time I watched it and I filmed everybody else So I could kind of imagine how I looked like The large crowd everybody looked the same like they were all kind of when the sound and the roar and And and all that got there. They were all kind of blown away Pretty cool my special moment on the program, I think when it all hit home on what we do is my first trip to KSC and Looking at the vehicle assembly building It just made me realize how many people it takes to build the space shuttle and all the support and teams across the country that go into making the space shuttle fly and and supporting the astronauts it's it's amazing that Humans have the capability to make something like that happen and Until you go down there and see it I don't think it I know it didn't with me hit home and It's just amazing what Americans are able to do as a team So back in the on the B1 test stand back when I used to work space shuttle main engine Used to work in the turbo machinery combustion devices arena And so I was unable to kind of go to all the facilities the different test stands and can remember on the B1 stand We had an alligator he was good size alligator 18 20 foot And they had a contractor that used to work on the facility with us and she would when it was break time She'd go down and buy some moon pies And she'd go out and she'd walk out the door and she'd yell Rudy because she'd named the alligator Rudy and You could see Rudy hit the water from the bank across the way and he'd swim all the way over and She tossed him a big triple-decker moon pie and he was quite happy with that Although we're not supposed to feed the alligators. They've been seen eating some Some things so it was good. We were asked to go to Florida To get in the shuttle to go behind the engine to crawl up in there with a boroscope to inspect I believe it was impellers and the problem that was on it was a thing called IGA Intergranular attack meaning that when the thing was cleaned or manufactured somewhere somehow There was like a Surface anomaly that was happening on our titanium hardware so that if there was IGA The company would have to remove the engine So it was easy enough to take two engineers and fly them out to the to the hardware to look at the pump And we found there was no IGA and that little flight You know made us like a little we had our little hero moment our little CNN moment You know that saved the day, but I was happy as a young lad to come to this firm and be given that awesome opportunity To be the one like Derek Fisher on the Lakers, you know to shoot that shot to save you know save the day We were able to save save the flight by flying out there securing The date and the schedule, you know, because it's a lot to that but that that's my fondest memory Since I've lived here in Florida though, I think one of my neatest moments was um for SDS 115 I got to actually roll out to the pad on the crawler with the orbiter and It was part of a vibration team and there was many people and they were all on their computers And we had sensors on the engine sensors on the orbiter to see what the shaking of the one mile an hour trip does for you And part of my duties was just to make sure nobody got hurt fell downstairs and whatnot I really wasn't a vibration person But one of the neatest things was about 6 30 in the morning We're getting close to the pad then the sun rises over the ocean So you kind of forget where you are when it was really pretty and then you stand next to a spaceship That was pretty neat about a year and a half after I started working here. I had the opportunity to go to a launch at KSC and while at a reception I had the opportunity to meet John Young and I was able to talk to him for a while and he asked me what I was working on and at the time I was working on an investigation team for the high pressure fuel turbine blades and He started to ask me very specific questions the level of detail indicated that he was very Familiar with the the investigation At that time it became clear to me how much was riding on our engines and how important it was Do our jobs not only right, but we do it right every time probably the most memorable memorable moment would be the first launch STS 70 with the Lux Pump 14 I was the first part when he pumped the fly on the shuttle. That was July 13th 1995 and that launch not only was important for us being the first product to fly on the shuttle but It also was the launch that was delayed by the woodpeckers that were attacking the foam on the external tanks So we were patiently waiting for the launch, but it kept being delayed because of foam problems with the external tanks So now they have people guard against that with sirens and horns to blow away, you know scare away the woodpeckers Well, I think what's so amazing about space and the shuttle and everything that goes into this is The wow factor of it. I think as a child you are wowed by almost everything everything to you is amazing is captivating is interesting and there are very few things that you carry on as an adult that you feel the same way about and I feel that the space program and space exploration are one of the few things at least for me that still Captivate me that still make me go. Wow. This is amazing every time I see a picture of the planet earth or the northern lights Or even other solar systems. It just shocks me and amazes me So I think that's the importance of space and how it makes people feel it just makes you feel like a child again that Shock that it gives you Back in about 1970 and I was a little girl. My father was working on the SS me capture proposal he was on the proposal team and He worked incredibly long hours as they all did. I think they were working about 16 hour days and For a long period of time. I really didn't see him Yeah, you might see him on the weekends definitely never during the week because he would work so late and There was tremendous pressure put on all of those people Because they knew that with the end of the Apollo program that if they didn't capture the SSME contract that this division may not exist anymore and One night he came home with the news that they had won the proposal and it was very exciting thing And I can remember my mom and my dad Calling all the relatives and letting them know that they had won the program. So it was a big deal and that would have been around 1971-72 sometime in that time frame. So and he spent the rest of his career on SSME supporting SDS one I went down there as a worker if you will supporting and I had the foresight to bring One of these big black briefing cases full of view graphs. We didn't have all the electronic aids in those days So in the two-day delay, I ended up giving briefings to all the dignitaries like Yardley and Weeks and people like that just to occupy them until we finally launched And of course, uh, the launch was the culmination of 10 years of intensity I can remember my wife looking at me and I'm standing there with tears Plowing down my cheeks and she was slightly embarrassed and then she looked around and everybody else involved Was in the same emotional state, you know, so we just celebrated like you couldn't believe Several of us ended up in the Atlantic Ocean As part of the celebration with all of our clothes on My son, you know, he really, um He's he's a funny guy, you know, he's his mom I just love to tell people that you work on the space shuttle program And they asked me about it all the time Well, what does your mom do and and does she go up on the space shuttle? You know these little kids, you know, and he says no, you know She just makes sure the hardware is connected on the computer And when that shuttle takes off it Touches my heart that I had something to do with it And uh, like I said, it's very intriguing The experience is is almost uh a little bit like Groundhog Day because every every launch Is different and new They've never been done before that particular launch that day Whether it's during the day or afternoon Or evening Is special And uh, there's a there's a certain thing that you feel It's both a visual experience as well as a physical You you feel like raising the American flag and clapping and at the same time You feel very patriotic about it all and amazed by it all Those of us who get to work very close to the hardware And the people who work on the hardware You are just amazed at the complexity Of the whole thing And the beauty of the whole thing So uh it's each one is is a special experience