Quakernauts
July 8, 2011 at 9:43 am
Today is the last launch of the last space shuttle in the history of America! This is a pivotal moment for those (read: everyone) that once dreamed of being an astronaut. In honor of the occasion, we thought we'd highlight two very special People Who Went To Penn living the dream by being part of a group so exclusive, it makes Sphinx/Friars/Masala/Theos look like the Slavic listserv.
We're talking, of course, about astronauts Michael Gernhardt and Garrett Reisman. Garrett was an undergrad M&T who once appeared on the Colbert Report, while Michael has a Penn PhD in bioengineering and is also a professional diver. Neither are on today's final mission; they've both already served their time with a combined total of 150 days in space.
You can watch the launch live from NASA here. It's scheduled for liftoff at 11:26 a.m., but we know how these things go so maybe just block off the whole weekend.