Notable Notebooks is on the International Space Station!

It has been a terribly exciting week. On Monday, the SpaceX CRS-12 Dragon spacecraft was launched from Kennedy Space Center. In its 6,400 lbs of cargo was a very important book - Notable Notebooks! I wasn't able to travel to Florida for the launch, so I watched the launch from my classroom with a few colleagues and friends. If I couldn't be there in person, at least I had good company!

Here's a video of the launch and subsequent landing of the first stage of the spacecraft. I hadn't watched a SpaceX launch before and marveled at the precision with which the first stage landed back at the launch site.

On Wednesday, Dragon successfully docked with the International Space Station via the station's robotic arm. Again, this whole event has made me realize how little I know about the intricacies of the current space program - and what an engineering marvel it all is. Here's a video of the capture.

Now, it's just a matter of waiting for the read-aloud of Notable Notebooks and for the video to be made available. It's a good thing I have the busy start of the school year to distract me!