ground

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/avian_radar.html

Birds come with the territory at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which usually doesn’t mind when any of the nearby Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge’s 310 species of birds swoop through for a visit.

to fly to reach its a joy you know and so do the others. you fly with them and you beat the air back beat gravity back with each pull and keep the ground away for one more moment. you touch it when you have to but it can be pushed away kept away until you are too tired to keep pushing. the ground will not allow you to stay away forever, you cannot bear to stay away from the ground forever, the force that comes equally from you and the ground will pull always keep both of you together. you are not strong enough to break the bind and the ground is so large that it will not move. the same result every time:

you move to it. never the other way.

While birds might seem harmless, there’s a good reason for the concern. During the July 2005 launch of Discovery on mission STS-114, a vulture soaring around the launch pad impacted the shuttle’s external tank just after liftoff.

when you fly there is not much time to think of other things, you must you have to keep the ground away. you must you have to watch for the fallen. find the fallen, they let you keep the ground away for one more moment. another one keeping the ground away hello goodbye there is no time

The vultures are more active during the day as they search for food and circle high into the bright blue Florida sky, soaring on the thermal gradients.

there are times when the ground helps you push away, the hot air comes and you can keep away for hours and not worry about keeping away keep away while watching. the warmth grows with brightness and they keep you from the ground and never ask anything back never try to pull you down. the darkness and cold come and you must touch the ground it is not time, there is no warmth

The launch of Discovery will provide the first test for the technology during an actual shuttle launch.

and then the warmth comes and it is great too great to comprehend you cannot avoid it you cannot keep it away you are drawn to it and pulled and the heat and the brightness carry you forever and you’ll never touch the ground again. the brightness and the heat go to run away from the earth together and you cannot come with them but you will never push the ground away again