- Oct 24, 2000
- 29,767
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Below is an e-mail sent from orbit by CDR Willie McCool to some of his Naval Academy classmates early in Columbia's final mission. Willie was a good friend,
and a stand out in the Class of '83 from the first day of Plebe Summer, right on through to accepting the second to last diploma at graduation, as the second brightest star in our Class. God has now asked him to be one of seven, equally bright stars in Heaven's newest constellation:
Sat 1/25/2003 2:20 PM
Greetings from 150 miles above the Earth! My apologies up-front for not writing each of you personally. The tempo is very high, and what few
precious free moments I do have, I try to use absorbing the overwhelming smorgasbord of new experiences. There is so much to share with you! Too much to write ... so hang tight until post-flight when I can bring photos and videos to accompany the stories. This has been an unbelievable adventure!
I hope you enjoyed watching the launch, and thanks for hanging tough through the many delays. More later when we return ...
Willie
PS - As I write, we just experienced a sunset over the Pacific, just East of Chile. I'm sitting on the flight deck in the CDR seat (front right) with a view of the Earth moving gracefully by. Sunsets and sunrises from space come every 45 minutes, and last only about 30 seconds, but the colors are stunning. In a single view I see looking out at the edge of the Earth - red at the horizon line, blending to orange, then yellow; followed by a thin white line, then light blue, gradually turning to dark blue, then various gradually darker shades of gray, then black with a million stars above.
It's breath-taking!
CDR Willie McCool > RADM Jim Flatley, USN (Ret) > Butch (retired carrier pilot) > Tom Horton > Terry Potter > My father > Me > ATOT
and a stand out in the Class of '83 from the first day of Plebe Summer, right on through to accepting the second to last diploma at graduation, as the second brightest star in our Class. God has now asked him to be one of seven, equally bright stars in Heaven's newest constellation:
Sat 1/25/2003 2:20 PM
Greetings from 150 miles above the Earth! My apologies up-front for not writing each of you personally. The tempo is very high, and what few
precious free moments I do have, I try to use absorbing the overwhelming smorgasbord of new experiences. There is so much to share with you! Too much to write ... so hang tight until post-flight when I can bring photos and videos to accompany the stories. This has been an unbelievable adventure!
I hope you enjoyed watching the launch, and thanks for hanging tough through the many delays. More later when we return ...
Willie
PS - As I write, we just experienced a sunset over the Pacific, just East of Chile. I'm sitting on the flight deck in the CDR seat (front right) with a view of the Earth moving gracefully by. Sunsets and sunrises from space come every 45 minutes, and last only about 30 seconds, but the colors are stunning. In a single view I see looking out at the edge of the Earth - red at the horizon line, blending to orange, then yellow; followed by a thin white line, then light blue, gradually turning to dark blue, then various gradually darker shades of gray, then black with a million stars above.
It's breath-taking!
CDR Willie McCool > RADM Jim Flatley, USN (Ret) > Butch (retired carrier pilot) > Tom Horton > Terry Potter > My father > Me > ATOT
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