SEPTEMBER 29, 1988
Where it began
STS-26 was the first launch I ever watched. I became the homeschooled kid who could name every Shuttle crew and none of the bands on the radio.
I still have NASA’s Return to Space pamphlet and the 1988 National Space Transportation System overview booklet. They connect me to that launch and to the extraordinary work that made it possible.
The courage to go again
Discovery’s crew gave that moment a meaning I appreciate more deeply now. The shuttle fleet had been grounded for more than two and a half years after the Challenger tragedy. Hauck, Covey, Lounge, Hilmers and Nelson would be the first to fly it again.
Years of investigation, redesign and testing stood behind them. But nobody could promise them a safe ascent or a safe return. They understood the stakes and were willing to risk their lives to get Americans back into space.
That is why STS-26 matters so much to me. I admire the courage it took to climb aboard, trust the people who had prepared Discovery, and carry the mission forward with the loss of Challenger still so close. Their bravery, and the dedication of the teams on the ground, deserve to be remembered together.
The long way round
Life took me through years of retail, warehouse and construction work before I found a way into tech. Eleven years in enterprise systems implementation, across approximately 550 client go-lives, taught me to turn requirements into plans, validate what had been built and decide whether a team was ready to launch.
The setting was different, but the habits stayed with me: preparation, clear communication, readiness reviews and responsibility for the outcome. Those are the skills I want to bring to the next chapter of my career.
From inspiration to determination
Then Artemis II carried people around the Moon for the first time in 53 years, and suddenly I was six again. The passion that had followed me since Discovery’s launch became a determination to do something with it.
My goal is to work in mission operations and program management on Florida’s Space Coast. I’m a Shuttle-era kid, inspired by the Artemis generation, hoping to follow the example of Apollo flight director Gene Kranz: prepare thoroughly, take responsibility and bring people home.
Why build this explorer?
This project is a way to share the mission that started it all: the spacecraft, the engineering, the people and the courage behind that September morning. I hope exploring Discovery here can spark a little of the curiosity that launch sparked in me.
-Dan Lee-Odinson