AirSpaceMag.com

Bill Schmidt leads a crew of nine electricians who maintain more than 950 lights on the East Coast’s longest runway. His main tools for keeping all those lights on are a screwdriver, wrench, and voltmeter. “One thing a lot of people don’t know is that when the shuttles land at night, the runway is lit up like a football field, all 15,000 feet of it,” says Schmidt, 59. “The astronauts can see it from 15 miles out.” The end of the shuttle era does not jeopardize his job, since the runway is used for a dozen or more takeoffs and landings each day. His employer, EG&G, recently advertised for another electrician and got more than 100 applications. Despite the job security, Schmidt says he’ll miss standing on the taxiway watching the shuttle land. “About the time you see the shuttles approach, you hear a whistling noise as the air streams over the flight surfaces,” he says. “We’re about 100 yards away and it is an amazing thing to see, and to know they’re home safe.”

David Burnett/Contact Press Images

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Photos from: "Throttle Down" »