Chairman gets VIP invite to shuttle launch
The Greater Fort Myers Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Chairman Andrew Cochrane has been invited to the final NASA Space Shuttle launch at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. He will be a guest of Florida Sen. Bill Nelson at the Banana Creek VIP viewing site.
The invitation was extended through a letter handed to Cochrane by Sen. Nelson’s Regional Director Diana McGee and former FMB Chamber Legislative Committee member Carl Conley at the local chamber’s monthly meeting Thursday at Red Coconut RV Park. The Space Shuttle Endeavor with the STS-134 mission is scheduled to lift off on April 1, 2011, at roughly 3:15 p.m.
“We heard through (FMB Chamber President) John Albion that Andrew is a big fan of the space program,” said Conley, who noted Sen. Nelson was trained as an astronaut. “Today, we are proud to present a certificate to you, Andrew, where you will be the personal guest of Sen. Bill Nelson in the inside viewing area for the last launch of the U.S. Space Shuttle.”
Cochrane, whose jaw nearly hit the table when the news was announced, was speechless after the announcement and exclaimed merely, “Wow,” when he returned to the podium. He did offer a few words afterwards.
“It was a complete shock to me, and it’s a great honor,” said Cochrane. “It’s a very impressive facility.”
Cochrane has never gone to a space shuttle launch, but did take a tour of Kennedy Space Center with his wife last year. He said the tickets are where the astronauts’ families used to sit before the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986.
“It’s literally right where the countdown clock is,” said Cochrane, who admits to having every space shuttle launch and other rocket launches on his computer. ‘It’s at the three-mile mark and the closest you can be to be safe.”
Conley, who has been a regular visitor to Sen. Bill Nelson’s office in Tallahassee for various legislative reasons such as offshore drilling, Algenol Biofuels research and keeping the space program alive, said he pushed for launch tickets when he heard Cochrane was a space shuttle booster. He believes the work done by Cochrane, Albion and the chamber staff was beneficial in keeping offshore drilling off Florida’s coastline.
“Behind the scenes are countless groups like the Sierra Clubs and the Chamber of Commerces, particularly ours,” said Conley. “I’d like to point out with great gratitude how much of Bill Nelson and Diana McGee herself have helped this chamber to facilitate that involvement in the legislative activities that we do.”