NOVA.NET

THE BIFROST PROJECT INAUGURAL LAUNCH

In what must pass for a brisk day here in Kenya, hundreds of spectators and dignitaries gathered for the inaugural launch at the Bifrost facility on Kilamanjaro.

Our readers can check out the technical details at the Project: Bifrost site or our own review of the facility. Guests were given a brief lecture of the launch sequence with totally slash CGI effects before witnessing the launch.

Among the notable guests there were the full T2M/Africa and T2M/NA, plus representatives from the other T2M teams and several Utopia S&T novas and consultants. Anna DeVries and Mungu Kuwasha were spotted, as were dignitaries from most of the African governments.

The launch, as they say, went off without a hitch. The launch vehicle shot out of the tube so fast, I swear there were actual speed lines. The five lasers beamed from the top of Kilamanjaro to light the ice pack like a fiery rainbow. The shuttle then really took off and was soon out of sight and into orbit.

Much cheering and clapping ensued. Cameras tracked the launch from several vantage points and projected them into several large screens at the staging area, providing quite a view. It reminded me of what it used to be like to watch the Space Shuttle go up.

Soon after though, there was trouble. The launch vehicle was hit by something re-entering the atmosphere. The T2M novas sped into action. (Events are detailed in the next article.) The craft was saved and the pilots returned safely to Earth. Quite a show, folks, quite a show.

<<< Back to TOC