Random space travel meanderings by one Emily C. Read my other blogs at these links:

This Space Available
Awww Yeah, It's John Young
Iconic, Historic NASA Photobombs
Neil Armstrong Eats Fried Chicken By Himself
The Adorables - Al, Jim, Charlie, Joseph and Neil
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LEGAL NOTE: Generally ALL of the photos on this site are by NASA and/or NASA photographers save for photos taken by myself (which would be annotated as having been taken by me, Emily C.). I take no picture credit for any photos having been taken by NASA and NASA photographers, for obvious reasons. Thank you.

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lightthiscandle: From Collectspace, a 1983 photo of the first four shuttle crews. This picture is flawless. My babies.
lightthiscandle: Columbia STS-1 astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen are greeted at Midway Airport by John B. W. Corey, a Chicago water commissioner. The astronauts were being honored by the city with a ticker-tape parade. Oh, this is lovely.
lightthiscandle: astronautfashions: Bob is owning this shit. Y’all should have brought your sunglasses. (Photo from Retro Space Images) SIDEBURNS. This may be one of the greatest photos ever, save for the time when STS-1 and Deke went to Third Century America with all of the tubas, etc. 
kaiyves: shuttleisland: “On the craft’s maiden voyage, the crew of space shuttle Columbia took this image that showcases the blackness of space and a blue and white Earth, as well as the cargo bay and aft section of the shuttle. The image was photographed through the flight deck’s aft windows. In the lower right corner is one of the vehicle’s radiator panels. The pentagon-shaped object in the upper left is glare caused by window reflection.  STS-1, Columbia’s maiden voyage, launched on April 12, 1981, and was the inaugural flight in the Space Shuttle Program. Columbia and its crew were lost during STS-107 mission in 2003. As the shuttle lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 16, a small portion of foam broke away from the external fuel tank and struck the orbiter’s left wing. The resulting damage created a hole in the wing’s leading edge, which caused the vehicle to break apart during reentry on Feb. 1.” Image Credit: NASA The beginning and the end.
From Retro Space Images - Crip and John on the Phil Donahue Show.  Phil Donahue: So, what did you two think about being selected to be the first astronauts to fly the space shuttle? That must have been so exciting! Crippen: YES! Oh my goodness! I did cartwheels down the hallway! It was, hands down, the happiest day of my life, other than the time I won Mr. Extremely Awesome Tan at the beach this one time!  Young: Yeah. Ah was sorta excited. Whutever. Was ah scared? Nope. 
lightthiscandle: From Collectspace: Astronauts Dick Scobee, John Young, Bob Crippen, and Fred Gregory in the VAB, December 1980. The space shuttle Columbia, which is behind them, was scheduled for rollout. I WANNA STEAL JOHN’S JACKET.
Did you know…STS-1 was supposed to be a sub-orbital mission?

“Originally intended to be a sub-orbital test of the Space Shuttle system, using the RTLS flight profile devised for emergency abort scenarios.[42] The mission was cancelled when astronauts refused to fly it, having deemed the plan to be too dangerous. STS-1 commander John W. Young recalled that “I said no. I said let’s not practice Russian roulette, because you may have a loaded gun there. So we didn’t.”

That being said, if John Young refused to do it, it’s officially dangerous.

Article cited: “Astronauts in Danger,” Popular Mechanics, Dec. 2000.

Bob Crippen gets the Space Congressional Medal of Honor with…John Young, of course. “Dang. Mah friend Bob can sure fly the hell out of that dang shuttle. That rascal.”
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