Saturday, August 13, 2005

Rocket Science


Iris made and launched this today at the FOGE.org LA kickoff event. Each kid decorated and named their own rocket. The guy reading the launch manifest couldn't believe that someone would name a rocket 'Rosy Hearts' and read 'Rosy Heat' instead. Iris was not as upset about that as the fact that the rocket went suborbital.

She said that it was a fake rocket because it didn't go into outer space. And the rocket was so small, it could only lift an ant. She thought she was going to make and launch a real rocket. A witness said her rocket attained an altitude of ~100 ft at the apex of the trajectory.

I guess I could show her movie clips of rocket launches that went awry so she can see what a tough business getting into orbit really is. (This 4 year old thinks she can just draw a picture of a dress, pick out some fabric, and wake up to find a new dress in her room.) She has also never seen a rocket blow up or a space shuttle fall apart. But, I don't really want to puncture her bubble of innocence.

Maybe she will forgive me for all the time I am spending away from her and at work this summer. If all goes well, I can take her up to see not one, but two, satellite launches this winter for satellites I am involved with. My husband says that, with our luck, the launch times will be just as cloudy as the fourth of july fireworks at the beach this year. The launches are always videotaped from a jet flying above the cloud deck. Can he say that about the fireworks?

keywords: Iris, modern motherhood

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