...and its for the mission we all hope will never be needed...STS-401
It was quite a feeling, and took a few landing attempts to finally get it right, the HAC diamond put me too far to the left of centerline each time and then i had to correct back, i made the runway all 3 times, just went off the side the first 2 though because i wasnt aligned properly
on my mission everything went smoothly, and i know it was just virtual, but i just felt so sad as i cast Atlantis off into the darkness (it was orbital nighttime when i let her loose)
i had done other missions before, i even "completed" one other but i didnt realize at the time that you had to start at Launch T-1:50:00, and i started that one at Launch T-0:01:00, but this is my first mission and patch completed from beginning to end...
I think i might tackle STS-124 next, as thats the only shuttle mission of the 5 i saw lift off that i also saw land during the time i lived in Florida, so it holds an extra dear place in my heart already
Sam