I was sitting next to my best friend, Davie Jackson, in class at the University of Michigan. Davie was a pretty cool guy. His birth name was David, but we all enjoyed calling him Davie. He was tall and muscular, one of his favorite things were sports. Davie had thick, jet black hair and vibrant, jade eyes. The girls were all over him, but he chose to remain single. I was a lot like him, though just a little bit shorter and not as muscular. I had bright blue eyes and brown black hair. I was more fascinated in piloting and flying compared to his passion for sports. We were great friends, though.
We were both Seniors studying Aerospace Engineering. Our professor's name was Jack Parks, we just called him by his last name, however. He was a cool guy, wasn't very big though. He enjoyed teaching, it was obvious. He would always discuss his teaching and how much he enjoyed it.
The day was a Friday, April 10, 2020. I was 22 years old, Davie was too. That day wasn't like every other day in class, though. Parks was much happier than usual, and we all knew why. That day was the day the SLS MK1 was launched to carry Orion to Mars with the first brave souls willing to throw their lives away. Half the world was going to be watching the launch, and almost everyone watching was overwhelmed by excitement.
Parks yelled out with glee, "Today, my students, we are going to see the launch of SLS MK1, live! This is going to be the largest launch NASA will ever have!" Davie continued to look down at Parks from the fifth row of seats in the class, but nudged me with his arm and laughed, as he said, "Parks has no idea, ten more years and we'll be somewhere far out." I laughed but I thought that there was no way.
Parks turned on a small projector, then proceeded to pull down a colossal screen. He exclaimed with joy, "Are we ready?" The class smiled as laughed, agreeing with him. Parks laughed as he turned on the projector. The screen lit up with the image of the biggest rocket made to that day. A deep voice began to narrate the scene as a CNN news banner covered the bottom. It was labeled Ferry to Mars: Launch Day.
We all sat in suspense as we watched the atmospheric engines ignite. The launchpad lit up like the Sun, and there was a count down by the narrator. Everyone went dead silent as the noise shook the room, even though we weren't at the launch. The rocket took of just as the narrator announced it. The sighting was magnificent, even through a projector. Everyone's eyes were wide open except for a few. The professor looked like he was ready to cry at the sighting. The rocket gradually sped up as it flew towards the edge of the atmosphere.
I was amazed at the speed that the spacecraft was hitting. There were no visible effects to emphasize it, though. The cameras lost focus as the craft flew further and further, only to look like a small ball of fire. With the successful launch of the Orion, aboard the SLS MK1, NASA could focus on other things.
