Westfield residents Ken Stomski attends the Spacex “Starship” launch in Boca Chica, Texas May 4, 2021. (KEN STOMSKI PHOTO)
WESTFIELD – Ken Stomski and Peter Cowles are space shuttle enthusiasts who have not let a global pandemic curb their enthusiasm.
The Westfield residents have been at two spaceflight milestones within the past 12 months, including the Spacex “Starship” project in Boca Chica, Texas on May 4.
“Spacex likes to reuse whatever they can, which they have proven with their Falcon-9 rockets. The Falcon-9 rocket boosters are guided back to drone ships out in the ocean and reused on upcoming launches,” said Stomski. “The Starship launch was a test flight, to learn how to land this much larger rocket back onto terra firma. This particular vehicle was named SN-15, which means ‘Serial Number 15.’ Once it was launched, it reached the intended apogee of 40,000 feet and then returned back and stuck it’s landing for the first time since test flights have been conducting.”
Cowles and Stomski are known for live streaming Northrup-Grumman Antares rocket launches from Wallops Island, Virginia for the past five years. These missions bring supplies, including food and science, to the International Space Station, Stomski said. Cowles was also at the last of the space shuttle launches, known as STS-135. As the media specialist for the City of Westfield, Cowles has been putting NASA programming on channel 15 when it can be fit in between the local programming and content.
The Spacex “Starship” test launch May 4, 2021. (KEN STOMSKI PHOTO)
“Our parents had the Apollo program, and we grew up with the shuttle program,” said Cowles. “We are just at the beginning of the next generation of spaceflight.”
The Starship is a super heavy rocket and spacecraft combination that could bring astronauts to the moon by 2024, and further – Mars at some point in time, said Stomski.
Stomski has been interested in outer space and related topics since he was a child growing up in Westfield.
“I became interested in spaceflight during school with the start of the shuttle program,” he said. “Watching Star Trek from a young age may have had something to do with my interest.”
Stomski remembers watching the live launch of launch of the Columbia space shuttle on television. “For me, what makes it exciting is having an idea of how much thrust is being used during launch and watching that energy to send cargo or humans into space,” he said. “At this point, I think I have seen over half a dozen in person.”
Cowles’ interest in all things related to outer space also began as a child.
“I became interested in space when I was a little kid,” he said. “I remember getting a book on space and galaxies with tons of pictures and great articles explaining what you were seeing. My curiosity struck a chord with this and it resonates with me to this day.”
Cowles said the Challenger explosion – which took place on his birthday – cemented his interest.
Westfield residents Peter Cowles and Ken Stomski set up a video camera to capture the Spacex test launch. (KEN STOMSKI PHOTO)
“I was in high school, so I did not watch it live, but vividly remember coming into the library and a good number of lights were off and the TV was rolled out on the floor and on with news coverage of the accident,” he said. “I have watched several reports and documentaries of that day and learned a lot of personal lessons of hubris. To this day, I think that keeps me a bit humble.”
What really piqued Stomski’s interest was a program called Sea Launch about 20 years ago, which was a partnership between American, French, and Russian companies. Sea Launch used a modified oil rig to launch rockets for various customers. It would navigate to a launch site in the ocean and was operated via a mission control ship several miles away.
“Night launches are the most exciting as you can usually follow the vehicle to main engine cutoff and sometimes second engine cutoff,” Stomski said. “Of course, the plume is always fascinating to watch at any time of the day.”
Stomski said seeing a launch in person is indescribable.
“The rumble and thunder that you hear and feel cannot be explained — it is something you have to experience,” he said.
Cowles said it’s difficult to describe the feeling of being at a launch.
“It is hard to explain, but it akin to going to a drag race — you know the power of the vehicle, you can respect it on TV but when you are up close . . . man it is so cool to feel the rumble and feel the vibration of all that energy,” said Cowles.
Stomski and Cowles strongly believe the space program remains relevant today.
“The science conducted aboard the ISS in itself could help in finding cures for some cancers, the micro gravity on the space station has different effects on what may be experimented with,” he said. “The space program also demonstrates what could be possible with a strong STEM education.”
In June of 2020, Cowles and Stomski were in Titusville, Florida for the DM-2 launch. This was the first manned launch from American soil since the last NASA shuttle mission in 2011. The DM-2 launch was highly publicized as “Bob and Doug” were the first humans to ever fly aboard a Spacex Dragon module to the International Space Station. The module was named “Endeavor.”
“Unlike the space shuttles that ‘flew’ back the Dragon modules have a controlled splashdown into the ocean much like the Apollo spacecraft did,” said Stomski, noting that he and Cowles and broadcasted that event live on the Westfield Comcast cable system’s channel 15.
“Space is a way to inspire youth to the sciences,” Cowles said. “The wonder that we know so little of our universe. Humans by nature need to explore and this is the ultimate exploration adventure. Ask any scientist who develops a probe for outer space — you see the smile as they talk about the craft and the science behind it. The space program from 1960 to 1975 advanced science by leaps and bounds. We have lost a lot of that momentum to politics,”
Cowles said he agrees with astronaut Buzz Aldrin who said “The pilgrims on the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock. To my knowledge, they didn’t wait around for a return trip to Europe. You settle some place with a purpose. If you don’t want to do that, stay home. You avoid an awful lot of risks by not venturing outward.”
