WEEKLY WHINE

Well, it's about freaking time

This week STS-114 launches! Yaaaay!

Unless, of course, there are a couple of scrubs, or some sort of issue that requires attention.

But if it does launch, that means we're finally resuming our Commitment to Space. And it looks like you're as Committed to Space as we are, based upon your comments this week that made their way into the GoobNet Mailbox. We wish that some of them would make their way right back out, but we didn't have any such luck. In the meantime, don't forget that the Interaction crew is on their way to Cape Canaveral, FL, USA right now to do a series of programmes about STS-114. So send in your questions to them now. Just make sure they're better than these questions.

What are they going to do on this mission? – Jeb Cohen, Santa Fe, NM, USA

A lot. First they're going to lift off. Then over the course of the twelve day mission, they're going to inspect the tiles, dock with the International Space Station, inspect the tiles again, load some stuff onto the ISS, try to fix a tile, make faces at each other, replace some ISS components, inspect the tiles some more, undock from the ISS, and return to Earth.

That is a lot. – Gary Hull, Hull, England, UK

Duh.

What is the most challenging part of this mission? – Perta Daniels, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

The liftoff. And the landing. And everything in between. But mostly the liftoff and the landing.

What if this mission fails? – Abi Kromudi, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau

Well, that would be an unprecedented occurrence. There has never been a pair of consecutive failures in one human spaceflight programme. And if this is to be the first such pair, it may well be the end of the Space Shuttle programme, not least because there will be only two orbiters left.

And it will be your fault for jinxing it.

How can I help ensure that Discovery will succeed? – Amanda Kraus, Salzburg, Austria

There are plenty of things you can do. You can wear your Commitment to Space pin, you can wear your Commitment to Space shirt, you can wear your Commitment to Space string tie, you can wear your Commitment to Space hat, you can wear your Commitment to Space sunblock, you can wear your Commitment to Space propellor beanie, you can wear your Commitment to Space bowling shoes, you can wear your Commitment to Space Drew Carey glasses, you can wear your Commitment to Space press-on nails, or you can wear your Commitment to Space girdle. Or, if you'd prefer to use something that exists, you can always wear the STS-114 patch.

I was hoping for a Commitment to Space whip. – Jackie Christie, Orlando, FL, USA

I bet I can guess what you'd use it for.

Does anybody else think Eileen Collins is hot? – Patrick Murphy, Needham, MA, USA

Nope, just you. And her husband, I guess.

I'm selling STS-114 foam rubber index fingers. – Jimmy Floyd, Melbourne, FL, USA

Shut up.