ISS/Alpha/Freedom – A Space Station Spreading Its Wings At Last

Editor’s note: Some of the pictures coming back from space today have a special significance for me, and, as I correctly anticipated, a number of my friends who have also worked on the space station program over the years – regardless of which name it is/was called.

As far back as the late 1980s, the image we were working toward in all of our minds, was a large, symmetrical stucture – like a giant gossamer dragonfly, swooping through space.

Until today, the station’s wings always seemed to be wrong – stunted or folded – with everything taking on a tentative look and feel. With this shuttle flight the space station now looks the way many of us have always envisioned it – a thing of beauty – and potential.