Launch!

Yesterday we had the privilege of joining the hundreds of folks viewing the launch of Shuttle Atlantis Mission STS-117 (click here for more from NASA). It was very exciting!! It went up with a roar into the clear blue sky, and we all watched until it became a pinprick star and disappeared through the atmosphere. This second photo is the same picture, zoomed so you can see the shuttle above the burning fuel exhaust. Our eyes saw the first pic with the bright light; we could not see the actual shuttle either before or during the launch.


We drove over to visit NJ friends Dave and Marge Lipscomb who have a house outside of Titusville, across the inland waterway from Kennedy Space Center. Titusville has been their getaway Florida home, but they will be making the full move this summer after their house sells.

We arrived about 5 pm for the 7:38 launch and found our little patch of ground to park ourselves among the many others to wait. (Interesting note: we ended up next to a gal I had worked with at Seminole Springs Elementary School and her family! It was her third attempt to see a launch; the previous two had been scrubbed.)


After the launch we walked back to the car and joined the hundreds of cars on the roads headed back home. We made it back to their house (with a brief stop for delicious icecream) around 10, then headed on home to our place, another 1 1/2 hours. Even though it was crowded, it was SO worth the effort. I'm anxious to do it again. There are six more launches planned for the next 12 months. Will I get to go to another? I hope so!