Painting Da Rocket

Mama texted me a video the other day, yet first a lil backstory.

In 2017 I moved to Huntsville, Alabama.

After looking for NASA jobs and being offered a position at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, home of Space Camp, I decided to take a risk and go for it!

So Mama & I went on an adventure down to AYUL-A-BAMA to find me a place.

We were searching and found a studio apartment with the manager Silvia inside cleaning.

We thought it was a good fit, stepped outside to think about it, then stepped back in to sign the papers!

My one apprehension was that it was right next to Rocket Center.

At first I was concerned I'd 'never be able to get away from my job.'

Yet in time, I came to love it. Why?

Because I lived next to a GIANT ROCKET.

It's called the Saturn V (Saturn Five).

We used the Saturn V to land on the moon.

Now this upright one is a scale replica, hollow inside.

Yet a real one is directly next to it, laying horizontally inside the Davidson Center for Space Exploration.

Here are some more pics.

It was glorious.

This was a sunset on the rocket.

And that was my apartment to the left!

Amazing!

Then in 2019 they started a campaign to paint the Saturn V.

Coincidentally, it was Pittsburgh's own PPG who donated the paint!

So painting began, using a really tall crane. Longer than a football field!

And it was cuh-razy because people would be up there.

If you look closely at the hanging platform, you can see the painters!

So one day I timelapsed some of the painting being done.

Thanks Mama for the reminder!

So to anyone reading, this is your encouragement.

Life is a grand adventure. If you have the opportunity to move somewhere random and work an out-of-this-world job, do it! You could meet amazing lifelong friends, learn things you never knew existed, and maybe even live next to a rocketship. 🚀