by Al G.
The last 10
years of my engineering career were spent at Lockheed Sunnyvale, working on
solar power for the International Space Station. Our team designed, built and
tested the solar arrays, which are easily seen in clear skies at dawn and dusk.
Though I now live in Poulsbo, Washington, I’m able to see the results of my
Lockheed efforts without leaving home. Poetry expresses it best.
Night Passage
Twenty degrees up from west-northwest
the light appears,
as setting sun in Hilo
catches solar sails above me
here in Poulsbo's summer sky,
then races east
for seven glorious minutes,
winking out in Earthen shadow.
I, two hundred miles below,
can feel those silicon chips once more
in my gloved hand,
testing, checking,
making sure they'll do their job,
each three-inch square
a perfect piece among the many thousands
giving light and life to occupants
within the speeding Station's walls...
I smile.
