Endeavor successfully launched tonight under a November moon from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. We wish S&T graduate and astronaut Sandra Magnus, along with the Space Shuttle's six other crew members, a good weekend.While Magnus is aboard the International Space Station, she'll be blogging on Spacebook, a Missouri S&T blog aimed at getting more kids interested in science. Readers will learn the ins-and-outs of what's it's like to be an astronaut, from launch to landing. Here's an except for her post that describes what it feels like to launch (she spent 11 days in space in 2002):
"... about a minute or so before main engine cut off, we go through a time period where we feel 3g's through our chests. This is the maximum g-force that we experience. It seems to last forever and it is hard to talk; you feel like there is a 200 lb gorilla sitting on your chest. The greatest thing is that right after you feel this very strong force holding you down in your seat, the main engines cut off and you are in orbit and immediately start floating in your seat, only held down by your seat belt. It is quite a contrast!"Photo credit: NASA/KSC
