I drove Up and Watched the Launch from the Beach infront of Patrik AFB. This was my First Launch and was Pretty Cool to be honest.

i was sekretly expecting it might splode.

i'm glad it didn't ?

btw, that second one is a badass photo...i see a horsey, a cowskull, lol, and a map of the British Honduras.

I'm a bit jealous, but we do get a few good ones coming up. Next spring we're supposed to have a Saturn V.

The thing about a launch is that several hundred people work on thousands of facets to make a single launch work. If any ONE thing is flake out on, the whole thing is toast..

How many things can you name that hundreds of people worked one, and no one slacked off or fucked up.

This makes me proud of America in spite of our 'elected' officials.

its busted already. They're all gonna die again!

Trun.. Did you feel the ground rumble? I watched a few from Cocoa Beach and I could feel it there.

Yay for NASA !
Godspeed Discovery.

nice launch... shame about all the heatshield tiles falling off again...

Poor Birdy

I can't say were really felt the ground rumble but the delayed sound was really cool just a deep low rollong growl. There were already people heading back to their cars before the sound made it our way. I think I'm going to try to get tickets or a press pass for the next scheduled launch. This time around Laura & Jeb Bush were there so it was a bit of a madhouse.

an astronaut answers the question how they deal with security issues in their minds after the liftoff:
'We dont deal with it, the feeling is so fantastic and if the sky opens and you see the stars you are so overwhelmed that you simply dont care'.

No one in the media deals with the potentials in space, nor do they talk about that it is absolutly fantastic to let spaceships leave the earth.
They NEED bad news, never forget that.

Anyway, i agree with beachgoat, time to show a little patriotism guys.
Now you have a reason.

security issues? when was the last shuttle 'car jacked' or suicide bombed?