AS A UNITED SPACE ALLIANCE employee providing engineering support for crew training, I had the pleasure of working with U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Robert Behnken, who flew on space shuttle missions STS-123 and -130. During the final weeks of training for -130, Bob offered to carry a personal item of mine into space. His offer was flattering, but it also presented a challenge. How do you choose an object worthy of such an experience? The widget of my choosing would undergo all the physical contortions of a space shuttle flight: The uneasy twang just before liftoff (the swaying of the shuttle stack caused by the three main engines firing), the cacophonous shove of the solid rocket boosters, and the majestic awkwardness of zero-G.
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